Willard Straight Takeover. Assembly at Barton Hall, raised arms.
- Title:
- Willard Straight Takeover. Assembly at Barton Hall, raised arms.
- Collection:
- Introduction to Photography Collections at Cornell
- Set:
- Inequality and legacies of discrimination
- Agency:
- Cornell University, Office of Visual Services
- Creation Date:
- 1969
- ID Number:
- RMC2012_0478
- Collection Number:
- 4-3-2093
- File Name:
- RMC2012_0478.tif
- Work Type:
- Photograph
- Materials/Techniques:
- black-and-white photographs
- Subject:
- Willard Straight Hall (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Black studies
Cornell Afro-American Society
Black Studies Program Establishment
On-Campus Racial Relations
IntraCampus Racism
Cornell University - Description:
- Looking out into Barton Hall, a large round gym with basketball hoops visible to the far left and right. It is filled with students. In the foreground are several rows of people standing in shadow, many with their fists raised, viewed from behind. Beyond them, in the middle and background of the image, the dense crowd is brightly lit with hazy overhead lights. Many of these people are also standing with their fists raised. Because of the distance of the photographer from most of the faces in the crowd, individual expressions are difficult to discern.
"On April 19, 1969, students (mainly Black) occupied Willard Straight Hall during Parents' Weekend as a continuing form of protest about racial issues on Cornell University's campus. Citing the university's "racist attitudes" and "irrelevant curriculum," the students occupied the building for thirty-six hours. The takeover received national attention as thousands of Black and White students became involved, which engaged the community in broad discussion about race relations and educational matters. [...] After the peaceful end of the takeover, Cornell introduced a curriculum in Africana Studies and established the Africana Studies & Research Center." Kofi Acree, from his Willard Straight Occupation Study Guide. See https://guides.library.cornell.edu/wshtakeover - Notes:
- Photograph of many students in Barton Hall during Willard Straight Hall Occupation, April 1969. Photo shows group with raised hands in the foreground and hall completely filled with people in the background. Reverse side of picture has image information as follows: Cornell University Photo by Sol Goldberg, office of public information, Neg file no: 69413, Roll no 32, frame no 8a.
- Cite As:
- Office of Visual Services photographs, #4-3-2093. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- Office of Visual Services photographs
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The copyright status and copyright owners of most of the images in the Mellon Teaching Sets Collection are unknown. Whenever possible, information on current rights owners is included with the image. Digitization took place at varied times from items held at Cornell University Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections in service of a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Cornell is providing access to low-resolution, non-downloadable versions of the materials as a digital aggregate under an assertion of fair use for non-commercial research and educational use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. For more information about these volumes, please contact the Rare and Manuscript Collections at rarefref@cornell.edu. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.