Willard Straight Hall Occupation Study Guide: Audio/Visual Materials

(also available online for Cornell users)
66 Minutes
From the well-publicized events at San Francisco State in 1968 to the image of black students with guns emerging from the takeover of the student union at Cornell University in April 1969, the struggle for a more relevant and meaningful education became a clarion call across the country in the late 1960s.

In this documentary, past and present Cornell University students and administrators recount the history of the takeover of Willard Straight Hall by Black students in 1969 and dicuss the implications of the event.

In this program educators discuss Black Studies, focusing on 3 major themes: origins, current status and the future of Black Studies.

Documentary on the origins of Black studies programs at American colleges and universities, including news footage of events of the 1960s and interviews with figures involved.

These student protest videocassettes feature the events of April 19, 1969, including the occupation of Willard Straight Hall, the mass assembly and addresses in Barton Hall, and members of the University Faculty leaving Bailey Hall

Graduates of the Africana Studies and Research Center reflect upon their experiences at Cornell University. They relate how they were prepared for their lives through the institution. Also explain the need for Black institutions within larger institutions.

This film is about the 1969 takeover of Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University. Included is a historical overview of the demands made by Black students to have Cornell start a Black Studies program. Actual footage and audio of the takeover are included. This film was produced by Ralph Diamant, and narrated by Tom Jones.

Through interviews with five Cornell Black students, Catherine Galasso asks them to reflect on the significance of the Willard Straight Hall takeover. She wants to know what does it mean to them, and what is its message for the future. The takeover took place on April 19, 1969, when a group of Black students from the Afro-American Student Association occupied the building during parents' weekend as continuing form of protest about racial issues on campus. Included in this film is footage from the takeover.

Panelists talk about the beginning of Africana studies, its struggle, development, problems, and future.

This film is a retrospective look at the takeover and how it impacted both the Cornell and Ithaca communities. Film maker Gossa Tsegaye interviewed three of the student leaders who took part in the take over as well as the Africana Studies and Research Center founder and director James Tuner and an Ithacan resident. Included in the film is some rare footage from the takeover.

"Everyone remembers the four white students slain at Kent State University in 1970, but most have never heard of the three black students killed in Orangeburg, South Carolina two years earlier. This stirring investigative documentary restores that bloody tragedy to the history of the Civil Rights Movement after years of official denial"--Container.

The panelists address issues of higher education which they feel have been neglected at Cornell since the takeover by black students of Willard Straight Hall in 1969, for example, the low number of minority faculty appointments. They argue that universities have an obligation to constantly re-examine the needs of a diverse academic community, and embrace a spirit of inquiry, debate and activism

The panelists examine race relations and the Black social position at Cornell and in the world from the 1960s to the present. They urge development of African studies departments throughout the country.

Jones reminisces about the anger, determination, and hope driving the 1969 confrontation between Cornell's administration and minority students, of which he was one. He urges students in the 1990s not to limit their potential with historical resentment, but to strive to create an appreciation for cultural diversity as well as community.

Panel looks back on the Willard Straight Hall takeover from various perspectives.