Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
818/677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

Celebration Marks Anniversary of 1968 Student Revolt

The day will include a dramatic monologue, speeches and a discussion on the lessons learned since 1968, when a student revolt at CSUN led to the creation of the Pan African and Chicano/a studies departments.

"The Pan African Studies Department at CSUN was born out of the same struggle that gave birth to departments at San Francisco State University, Yale, Cornell, Antioch and many others," said David Horne, chair of the Pan African Studies Department.

"At one time there were more than 350 programs and departments in American universities that grew out of the same ferment. Although many of them are no longer part of higher education, the Pan African Studies Department at CSUN has stood the test of time," he said. "On Nov. 4, 1998, we will celebrate the past achievements, present contributions and future potential of the department."

On Nov. 4, 1968, more than 20 African American students took over the fifth floor of the administration building of what was then San Fernando Valley State College protesting the institution's treatment of minority students.

The at-times violent stand-off eventually led to the creation of Pan African and Chicano/a studies departments at what is now Cal State Northridge. It also resulted in the harshest criminal penalties for students involved in any campus protest in American history. Those students prosecuted became known as the San Fernando Valley State 19.

The anniversary celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the university's Performing Arts Center on the east side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.

From 11 a.m. to noon, there will be screenings of "Storm at Valley State" and a video interview with former Black Panther leader Stokley Carmichael.

At noon, CSUN student O.G. McClinton will give a dramatic presentation of "Ways I've Been: The Story of Nat Turner," written by San Francisco playwright S.K. Auduron.

James Garrett, a founder of the Black Student Union and the first academic department of Black Studies at San Francisco State University, will give the keynote address at 1 p.m.

Following Garrett will be a panel discussion on "The Evolution of Pan African Students at Northridge: Lessons for Students." The panel will be moderated by Horne and will feature professors James E. Dennis, Barbara A. Rhodes, Verne Bryant and Eleazu Obinna.

"We really encourage the community to participate," said Rhodes. "What happened 30 years ago was the core for the developing diversity of Northridge today."

The day's events are sponsored by university's W.E.B. Du Bois-Fannie Lou Hammer Institute, the Pan African Studies Department and the Union Program Council.

For more information, call the Pan African Studies Department at 818/677-3311.