Allen Building Crisis: Tape #19
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
- | We came in the front door. | 0:02 |
There wasn't any physical violence. | 0:03 | |
That secretary and the man, they lied. | 0:05 | |
We escorted them out; they walked | 0:07 | |
on their own two feet. | 0:08 | |
- | own two feet. | |
They roped the doors off, they chained the boards up. | 0:10 | |
I mean, put chains on the doors. | 0:13 | |
They boarded the doors up | 0:14 | |
with, you know, boards and nails. | 0:16 | |
We moved furniture and things like this. | 0:18 | |
This took us one minute and 59 seconds. | 0:21 | |
They barricaded everything. | 0:23 | |
- | The undersigned faculty members | 0:29 |
of Duke University strongly support the general program | 0:30 | |
of the Duke Afro-American society. | 0:34 | |
It's high time that this university, | 0:37 | |
in line with action already taken | 0:39 | |
by such institutions as Harvard, Cornell | 0:40 | |
and Columbia, began to implement a solid | 0:44 | |
Afro-American studies program and | 0:47 | |
to recognize the very special needs, academic | 0:50 | |
and environmental, of the Black students | 0:53 | |
in this predominantly White university. | 0:55 | |
We feel further that regional situations and commitments | 0:59 | |
of Duke University further reinforce | 1:02 | |
the need for immediate action. | 1:04 | |
As the events of Black Week | 1:07 | |
at Duke have amply demonstrated, | 1:09 | |
Black people in America have unique heritage | 1:11 | |
and have made a unique contribution | 1:14 | |
to American culture and history. | 1:16 | |
The total absence of a Black studies program here | 1:18 | |
no longer can be tolerated for it is intellectually | 1:23 | |
as well as humanly indefensible | 1:25 | |
and constitutes an educational deficiency | 1:28 | |
for both Black and White students. | 1:30 | |
We must, at this time, recognize and act | 1:33 | |
upon our Black students' special needs, | 1:37 | |
ensuring for them a nurturing academic | 1:40 | |
and social environment at Duke University. | 1:42 | |
- | What we hope to accomplish | 1:50 |
by, you might say, seizin' a part | 1:52 | |
of Allen Building this morning, | 1:54 | |
we just got rid of the U-Haul truck | 1:57 | |
and brought a few people over | 2:00 | |
and sneaked 'em in. | 2:01 | |
(audience laughter) | ||
That's all there was to it. | 2:03 | |
(audience conversation) | ||
This is supposed to be a sort | 2:07 | |
of a power play; we have to have something, | 2:09 | |
you know, if we're going to try | 2:10 | |
to make some demands upon the university. | 2:11 | |
With nothing, you know, you don't have anything, | 2:13 | |
no inner ground to bargain from. | 2:16 | |
Our play right now is to show the trustees | 2:20 | |
that we are together on this thing. | 2:22 | |
We were aware that they were supposed to be in town | 2:25 | |
for a meeting of the Board of Trustees, | 2:28 | |
and we thought that it was most appropriate | 2:31 | |
that we should try to take part | 2:33 | |
of Allen Building while they were in town. | 2:34 | |
So, they wouldn't have to rely on the news media, | 2:36 | |
which would sometimes distorts our purposes. | 2:38 | |
- | Well, if a man's gonna send 85 or 70 cops | 2:48 |
on a bunch of flimsy things he thinks | 2:52 | |
that are happening inside, I don't think | 2:55 | |
at the moment we can see that we're gonna get 'em. | 2:58 | |
But I can say this much: we're gonna fight | 3:00 | |
all the way to the end to get 'em, | 3:02 | |
but we're gonna leave this goddamn rat hole. | 3:03 | |
- | Alright, there's a faculty meeting | 3:12 |
this afternoon starting at 4 o'clock | 3:14 | |
in the Baldwin Auditorium; the ultimatum was run | 3:15 | |
to the assembled faculty members. | 3:20 | |
A motion was made that the ultimatum not take effect | 3:23 | |
until the faculty have time to deliberate upon it. | 3:26 | |
At which point, Dr. Douglas Knight, the president | 3:30 | |
of the university, arrived at the faculty meeting | 3:32 | |
and said that the motion was out of order, | 3:35 | |
since the process had already been set | 3:40 | |
in motion and it could not be retired. | 3:42 | |
At this point, one of the faculty members got up | 3:44 | |
and moved that the meeting be adjourned, | 3:49 | |
since there's nothing it could do. | 3:52 | |
This motion was defeated at which point | 3:53 | |
approximately 50 members of the faculty | 3:56 | |
who had voted to adjourn the meeting walked out. | 3:58 | |
- | And right now in the Canterbury Hall | 4:07 |
overlooking the main quad, out the window | 4:09 | |
I can see a little bit of smoke still going on. | 4:12 | |
The students regrouped. | 4:15 | |
There goes a grenade right in front of us. | 4:17 | |
The smoke I can see is pouring up out of it. | 4:19 | |
Several people are dispersing, running. | 4:22 | |
The students evidently regrouped | 4:25 | |
about 10 minutes after they were dispersed. | 4:27 | |
Regrouped and charged again towards the police. | 4:31 | |
The police then retaliated with the gas, | 4:34 | |
and some of the students now are going into buildings. | 4:36 | |
I hope in a minute to have a student up here | 4:41 | |
in just a second possibly | 4:45 | |
to tell us exactly what's going on. | 4:46 | |
I don't know maybe you can hear | 4:48 | |
in the background some of the students | 4:49 | |
now downstairs below me as they come in upstairs. | 4:50 | |
You got one? Alright, just a minute. | 4:54 | |
We'll have him here in just a second. | 4:55 | |
A student who was involved a moment ago | 4:57 | |
and saw exactly what happened. | 4:59 | |
Your name please. | 5:01 | |
- | Bill Roof. | |
- | And, Bill, where were you | 5:04 |
when this latest activity broke out? | 5:05 | |
- | Staying down in front of FF Dorm. | 5:07 |
- | And exactly what did you see? | 5:09 |
- | Smoke. | 5:12 |
- | Smoke, and that in a word. | |
It's just about what we see right now. | 5:14 | |
Are the students still out there? | 5:16 | |
Are they in any way charging the police, | 5:17 | |
or are the police charging the students? | 5:19 | |
Can you give us a description | 5:21 | |
of what was going on? | 5:22 | |
- | Small groups started getting | |
close to the police and calling them names | 5:25 | |
and provoking to some extent. | 5:27 | |
Mainly, just a lot of people are getting run out | 5:29 | |
of the rooms, 'cause the tear gas in the rooms. | 5:30 | |
- | Alright, there were another grenade, | 5:34 |
I believe, over there; that might just | 5:36 | |
be the little bit of smoke still going on | 5:38 | |
from one that had just recently gone off. | 5:40 | |
I see also a lot of photographers out there, | 5:43 | |
a lot of bulbs; a cheer going up just there. | 5:45 | |
I'll try to see what exactly | 5:47 | |
(crosstalk) | ||
One demonstrator picked up a grenade, | 5:51 | |
threw it back at the police, still smoking. | 5:53 | |
That evoked a great cheer from the crowd | 5:56 | |
and the spectators surrounding them. | 5:57 | |
I see now that looks like there's some activity | 6:00 | |
that's going on right in front of me down below. | 6:02 | |
A lot of students are regrouping. | 6:05 | |
Are those students or police going | 6:09 | |
toward Allen building there? | 6:10 | |
- | Those are police. | |
Those are police; they're heading back | 6:13 | |
toward Allen Building. | 6:15 | |
(crosstalk) | ||
Just police, right at the moment, out there. | 6:17 | |
Well, right now it's kind of hard | 6:21 | |
to say exactly what is happening. | 6:22 | |
I see more students falling back. | 6:23 | |
Perhaps the threat was put out for another smoke bomb | 6:27 | |
or whatever that is that is being thrown out there? | 6:30 | |
(crosstalk) | 6:33 | |
Very mild tear gas? Thank you. | 6:35 | |
I hear two or three grenades go off. | 6:38 | |
There's lights on all outside in front of here now | 6:39 | |
as the students once again are charging inside the building. | 6:41 | |
There's another smoke bomb going off | 6:45 | |
right between here and Allen Building in that quad. | 6:46 | |
There went something; I couldn't tell | 6:49 | |
exactly what that was. | 6:50 | |
Evidently, there still is a lot of activity going on | 6:54 | |
out there, which is the understatement of the year. | 6:56 | |
It's a little quieter out there. | 7:00 | |
There was another grenade; I can't see | 7:03 | |
from my vantage point exactly what is going on down there. | 7:05 | |
I see a lot of smoke flowing around. | 7:09 | |
A lot of people running, I hear a lot of cheering out there. | 7:11 | |
But at this moment, I can't exactly describe | 7:15 | |
what is going on for the windows are just | 7:17 | |
to my left, and the activity is just | 7:20 | |
to the left of the windows. | 7:22 | |
And I can't see around that corner. | 7:23 | |
- | Tape dubs for report made 5:15, February 15th, 1969: | 7:41 |
- | Black people aren't willing to compromise, | 7:52 |
because all this belongs to us. | 7:54 | |
We don't compromise; all this belongs to us. | 7:55 | |
Ain't no such thing as watering down those demands. | 7:57 | |
We water this stuff down, we ain't got nothing. | 8:00 | |
All this belongs to us; we shouldn't | 8:03 | |
even have to ask for this. | 8:04 | |
When they first brought Black students | 8:05 | |
on this campus, they were supposed to make | 8:07 | |
this atmosphere here so Black students could relate. | 8:09 | |
They're supposed to make us stay in here, | 8:11 | |
so Black students can get an education. | 8:13 | |
All we get is indoctrination. | 8:15 | |
(crowd cheers) | ||
So we want complete amnesty for all the Black students | 8:24 | |
on this campus, because we had a right to do what we did. | 8:27 | |
Because we were fighting for our humanity. | 8:32 | |
We were asserting our humanity. | 8:34 | |
You better get together and fight for yours. | 8:36 | |
(applause) | 8:38 | |
- | Quite frankly, I still believe the ends have | 8:46 |
to be just, but I don't think in all cases | 8:50 | |
those ends can be achieved in this present process | 8:53 | |
without the application of pressure. | 8:56 | |
(applause) | 8:58 | |
- | That's what it's about; it's about human beings. | 9:04 |
All men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. | 9:09 | |
(roaring applause) | 9:12 | |
And that among these rights are life, liberty, | 9:14 | |
and the pursuit of happiness; that's what it's about. | 9:18 | |
(applause) | 9:22 | |
And anybody who stands in my way | 9:32 | |
of me being me is committing a crime against humanity. | 9:36 | |
I don't care who it is, and I don't care what he uses | 9:41 | |
as his rationalization for doing that. | 9:45 | |
Let me pose a question: why is the administration | 9:52 | |
and the Board of Trustees uptight about 13 demands | 9:57 | |
that relate to people being people? | 10:02 | |
You know why? Why! | 10:04 | |
First off, 'cause they Black people. | 10:06 | |
First off, 'cause they Black people. | 10:09 | |
And understand that first off 'cause they Black people, | 10:10 | |
and second of all, because they are beginning | 10:13 | |
to act in their self interests. | 10:16 | |
In other words, they're beginning | 10:19 | |
to understand how America operates. | 10:20 | |
And for The Man that says, (mumbles) | 10:23 | |
"They gettin' educated, they beginning to see | 10:24 | |
what we been doin', and we don't want that." | 10:27 | |
But you know what the real reason is? | 10:28 | |
Know what the real reason is? | 10:30 | |
They worried that if they have to deal | 10:32 | |
with the Black students, and they gon' have | 10:35 | |
to deal with them, that some of y'all are gonna wake up | 10:36 | |
and say, "Damn, if they gettin' that, | 10:39 | |
why ain't I got something to | 10:42 | |
(roaring cheers from crowd) | ||
- | And you've got to give us a reasonable chance | 10:53 |
to go at that one, and it was that reasonable chance, | 10:55 | |
by the way, that was denied | 10:59 | |
when you moved in on Allen Building. | 11:01 | |
(students' groans and sentiments) | 11:03 | |
Two days, this list turned up two days before you moved in. | 11:08 | |
- | Dubs for special report 8:00 pm 16 February 1969. | 11:15 |
- | Black students have agreed to a joint statement, | 11:22 |
which will be read by Dr. Kerckhoff. | 11:24 | |
Although there are some instances the university appears | 11:28 | |
to have been adjusting themselves to some aspects | 11:31 | |
of Black students' problems, the lack | 11:34 | |
of effective communication and Black student involvement | 11:37 | |
in the processes needed to deal correctly | 11:41 | |
with these problems has lead us to where we are now. | 11:44 | |
It is the hope of Black students, | 11:49 | |
that the constructive results obtained | 11:51 | |
will make Duke University more relevant to the needs | 11:54 | |
and aspirations of Black people. | 11:58 | |
(applause) | 12:00 | |
- | The felt need of an advisor | 12:12 |
for Black students has led to the commitment | 12:13 | |
by the university to employ such a person, | 12:17 | |
and the person employed will be, must be, | 12:20 | |
mutually acceptable to the students and the administration. | 12:23 | |
The decision has already been made | 12:32 | |
to establish such a unit next Fall on west campus. | 12:34 | |
The specifics of the arrangement must wait | 12:40 | |
for two things, however: the first, | 12:42 | |
and I'm sure most important to you, | 12:45 | |
is the active participation of the Afro-American students | 12:47 | |
and the organization of the unit, | 12:50 | |
and the second, which may not be as important | 12:52 | |
to you but is very important, is the clarification | 12:55 | |
of the technicalities involved in the fact | 12:59 | |
that the Department of Health Education and Welfare | 13:01 | |
is associated with the fiscal support | 13:04 | |
of housing units on this campus. | 13:06 | |
The meeting would involve some of the students, | 13:13 | |
Afro-American students, the Duke faculty members involved | 13:15 | |
in the current plans, members of my committee, | 13:18 | |
and one or two outside consultants who have had experience | 13:21 | |
with such programs at other universities. | 13:24 | |
The review of these students' cases is | 13:30 | |
in process, and efforts are being made | 13:32 | |
to involve as many of them as possible | 13:34 | |
in the recently announced summer program this summer. | 13:36 | |
Although this program was conceived of as primarily | 13:40 | |
for entering freshmen, the hope is that it can be organized | 13:43 | |
in such a way as to serve this dual purpose. | 13:46 | |
The concern expressed about the grading | 13:53 | |
of Black students is viewed by those | 13:55 | |
with whom we talked last night | 13:58 | |
as part of a more general problem area, | 14:00 | |
relating to the grading system as Duke. | 14:02 | |
Certainly, other students have expressed | 14:06 | |
concern and dissatisfaction | 14:08 | |
with the grading system here as you know. | 14:10 | |
They wish to form a committee on Black activities | 14:17 | |
within the Student Union, having its own budget. | 14:19 | |
Those of you who have supported their cause | 14:24 | |
in the past are in a very strong position | 14:26 | |
to help bring about this possibility. | 14:29 | |
Again, my committee would be happy to assist | 14:32 | |
in the process of communication, | 14:34 | |
but as a faculty committee, it is naturally not | 14:36 | |
in a position to take direct action in this area, you are. | 14:39 | |
That admissions are only in part based on such scores. | 14:46 | |
This is true for all students, not just Black students. | 14:51 | |
In addition to such scores, high school performance | 14:56 | |
and recommendations are strongly weighted. | 14:59 | |
These latter sources of evaluation are | 15:03 | |
more strongly weighted in the case of those students | 15:05 | |
whose backgrounds are such | 15:08 | |
that the SAT scores are more likely | 15:10 | |
to give a faulty picture. | 15:11 | |
The university is committed to a significant increase | 15:17 | |
in the number of Black students on campus. | 15:19 | |
(applause) | 15:23 | |
Recruitment of such students is continuing, | 15:28 | |
and the more active involvement of Black persons | 15:31 | |
in that recruiting process will occur. | 15:33 | |
It is agreed that my committee should act as a point | 15:38 | |
of contact for filing documentation of any such incidents. | 15:42 | |
We are seriously, completely committed to learn about | 15:47 | |
and do something about such actions. | 15:52 | |
It is understood by all parties | 15:57 | |
that the university has already initiated due process | 16:00 | |
under the pickets and protests regulations. | 16:03 | |
The students involved have expressed a desire | 16:06 | |
for the proceedings to begin as soon as possible, | 16:11 | |
and the administration has agreed | 16:15 | |
that they will begin as soon as possible. | 16:17 | |
We are a committee representative of the university faculty | 16:22 | |
and its educational values and concerns. | 16:26 | |
We are charged with understanding | 16:29 | |
and reconciling manifest concerns of the student body, | 16:31 | |
at this time, by the Black students primarily | 16:35 | |
with the educational mission of the university. | 16:39 | |
We are concerned with maintaining academic values | 16:42 | |
of learning, objectivity, and evaluation | 16:45 | |
of ideas and persons, and these are paramount | 16:48 | |
in our educational mission. | 16:50 | |
We will make every effort to be responsive | 16:53 | |
to interests and concerns of Black students | 16:56 | |
and to special problems of acculturation | 16:59 | |
to the academic environment; we are committed to action. | 17:02 | |
Thank you. | 17:07 | |
- | But it seems to me that the question is | 17:12 |
this administration has got to relinquish, Board of Trustees | 17:15 | |
(mumbles) | 17:18 | |
has responsibility here, have to relinquish the power | 17:19 | |
to the students to decide that this is going to happen | 17:21 | |
in a given place and in a given time | 17:25 | |
and that this will occur. | 17:27 | |
Now, you've come out and you answered | 17:30 | |
a lot of Black demands and everything, | 17:31 | |
but you haven't changed the power structure. | 17:32 | |
So what, in effect, you've done is given sanction | 17:34 | |
to everything that's happened over the last couple | 17:36 | |
of days, because this does get things done. | 17:39 | |
It gets specific things done. | 17:42 | |
Now if they would change the goddamn structure, | 17:43 | |
maybe it wouldn't result in things that have | 17:46 | |
(applause and cheers drown out speaker) | 17:47 | |
- | We are a committee that has been appointed, but we are not | 17:54 |
in a position to add members to the committee. | 17:57 | |
However, we are in a position to work with students, | 18:00 | |
and if you want to elect a committee to work with us, | 18:06 | |
there's no reason why that shouldn't be done. | 18:11 | |
- | I sincerely hope that the White students who are here, | 18:17 |
and all students for that matter or for those | 18:22 | |
of you who are faculty members, that we begin | 18:25 | |
to realize the significance of involving all people | 18:27 | |
in whatever is going to happen to their lives. | 18:32 | |
And I think that is very important that the White students | 18:35 | |
at Duke and on any other campus, | 18:38 | |
that they be involved in the things | 18:41 | |
that are deciding their existence on this campus. | 18:43 | |
I hope that all of us are gonna begin | 18:46 | |
to take a whole new look at our whole process | 18:48 | |
of education, because one of the problems | 18:50 | |
that we are having in this country | 18:52 | |
is that those things that we're learning are | 18:55 | |
fast becoming irrelevant to the people | 18:57 | |
who are outside of these walls. | 18:59 | |
So, I hope that the whole educational process | 19:01 | |
will take a new look itself, and at all of this, | 19:04 | |
welcome the chance to have a country that, | 19:08 | |
not necessarily has to be integrated in the old sense, | 19:14 | |
but at least a country where there will be some respect | 19:17 | |
for people as people and a belief in humanity, | 19:21 | |
and that this country will begin to set some priorities | 19:27 | |
for the education of its people and for the growth | 19:29 | |
of its people rather than for the destruction | 19:32 | |
of people and other lands and within this country. | 19:35 | |
So, I hope that this is the beginning of that kind of stuff. | 19:37 | |
(applause) | 19:40 |
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