May 20, 1968: The UW BSU Sit-In

May 1968, whose crucial 40th anniversary we obviously indulge this month, was a political rollercoaster ride in more ways than one. Worldwide is the legend of that month's philosophy-fueled and historically cathartic student-worker uprising in Paris. But equally important for us here in Seattle is the 40th anniversary of the date in focus here, when the University of Washington was unfathomably rocked by its Black Student Union (BSU), then freshly formed and quickly meaning serious racial justice business.

As the students of the Sorbonne and elsewhere fantastically shook France's political foundations, the UW BSU staged a surprise occupation of the offices of UW President Charles Odegaard to demand that the UW take steps to amend the overwhelming lack of minority representation on its campus. The BSU took this action as a very risky last resort, after weeks of politely petitioning the University to develop a recruitment program for black students and a black studies program. Prior to the sit-in, the University had politely expressed its alleged sympathy for the BSU's concerns, yet ultimately ignored the issue. As several Seattle police cars and a growing crowd of UW community members anxiously waited outside the UW administration building, Odegaard, after four hours of intense negotiation with the BSU, finally signed a statement committing the UW to the BSU's demands.

The UW BSU sit-in remains unique among examples of student direct action in that its long-term impact involved not merely changes to UW policy, but also the establishment of new departments, new administrative positions, and even new buildings on the UW campus. The legacy of the event remains with us today in the form of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity; the Ethnic Cultural Center and Theatre; and the American Ethnic Studies department. In addition, several of the sit-in's young organizers have today become significant leaders in the local social justice community, including King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, UW Associate Vice President for Minority Affairs Emil Pitre, and multi-faceted community activist Aaron Dixon (then a Garfield High student and co-founder of the Seattle Black Panther Party and Garfield's own BSU).

This year on May 20, the UW community will celebrate the UW BSU sit-in's 40th anniversary with a full day of public events. The full program can be viewed at http://www.washington.edu/diversity/40Y/. All are encouraged to attend, hopefully keeping in mind how the dream of May 1968, at the UW and elsewhere, remains profoundly unfinished business.

sources: UW Daily archives, Ruckus archives, HistoryLink.org