African American Studies Commons^™

Revolution Or Reform: Contradictions Within The Ideology And Actions Of The Black Panther Party, 1969-1970, Jana Cary-Alvarez

Honors Program Theses

Surprisingly limited scholarship exists on the Black Panther Party, and much of that scholarship has an extremely divided view of the Party; either the Party is separatist or built alliances, either the Party is revolutionary or reformist. By studying the Black Panther newspaper in the year 1969, "The Year of the Panther," it becomes clear that the Party was all of these things. The party created alliances with a wide variety of groups while maintaining that they were a Black Power organization. It practiced revolutionary Communism while advocating reform of the American system. In short, the Black Panther Party was …

Strive And Struggle: Documenting The Civil Rights Movement At Cal Poly, 1967-1975, Josh Harmon, Laura Sorvetti, Catherine Trujillo

Creative Works

“Strive and Struggle: Documenting the Civil Rights Movement at Cal Poly, 1967-1975,” pays tribute to the students, administration, and national civil rights leaders that brought about lasting changes to Cal Poly.

In collaboration with University Archives, Kennedy Library staff, Graphic Design student assistants, and History Department graduate students, the exhibition is presented through the pages of the campus newspaper, the Mustang Daily, and explores campus reactions, struggles and triumphs during the Civil Rights years, as well as the efforts to establish Ethnic Studies courses, recruit Black faculty, and combat racial prejudice on campus.

Though the peak of the Civil Rights …

Where We Stand: 1975-2011, Laura Sorvetti, Catherine Trujillo, Josh Harmon

Creative Works

Where We Stand is an extension of the 2009 exhibit Strive & Struggle: Documenting the Civil Rights Movement at Cal Poly, 1967 – 1975 and similarly draws from Mustang Daily articles, student club documents, and oral accounts to construct a brief history of African American advocacy on the Cal Poly campus from the Civil Rights Movement to the present day.

The exhibit documents the roles that student and faculty organizations played in building awareness of issues of diversity and identity on campus. Assessing their efforts reveals both what has changed since 1975 and what remains to be addressed on the …