Cornell '69, 50 Years Later

I was a senior government major at Cornell University in the spring of 1969, when the campus was in turmoil after an armed takeover of the student union building by eighty members of the campus's Afro-American society.

This site is a discussion forum for participants and observers of those events. It was launched at the 40th anniversary of those events, and continues now with the 50th.

To contribute your thoughts and reflections, click on the "Comment" tab at the end of the "Remembering 1969" post or any of the other posts.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Cornell '69 Commemorative Events

The Cornell Press Relations Office has sent me the following list of events scheduled for this spring, in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Straight takeover events.

The ALANA student group is having events starting the week prior to commemorate the anniversary. Below is their tentative schedule. The contact is Iris Delgado (imd3@cornell.edu).

Monday, April 13th: posters will be on the Arts Quad with facts and pictures of the WS TO

Friday, April 17th, 5pm: Beginning at Africana Center, Eric Acree will be speaking about Africana Library and the ways in which it has been a vital role in the WSH TO as well as explaining any false ideas students may have about Africana's formation. The walk will continue to Wari House with a member of the Wari House speaking of its history and its role in the TO. We will then go to Old Africana site while Ken Glover will speak of its history, and then finish at WSH with a group picture and the banquet. Speakers contacted are: Lucy Brown, Dr. Turner and Alexis de Vaux. One or two possible Sun members may also join the panel.

Saturday, April 18th: There is a tentative collaborative lunch with Wari House Alums. Details to be determined.

Sunday, April 19th: The Welfare Poets will be performing. Location is to be determined due to the conflict of Cornell Days.

Other than that:


There will be displays in the Africana Center, Uris Library, and I believe Willard Straight.


Gary Stewart's "East Hill Notes" April show will include interviews with Ithaca residents who lived here in 1969 and an interview and tour of the Straight with Kent Hubbell. This is aired on a local Ithaca cable channel, as well as taped and posted to CornellCast at this link.

The Chronicle will include articles.


The September issue of Ezra Magazine will include info about the takeover, but primarily focus on the Africana Center's 40th anniversary.


There is a NYC WSH TO Meeting on April 17. Renee Alexander in Alumni Affairs and Development is the contact. Gayraud Townsend '05 (former Ithaca councilmember) is the organizer. Takeover alums are being invited. Cornell ILR Prof. Nick Salvatore is one of the NYC event invitees. Nick was at Cornell for the takeover and he has been involved in chronicling it over the years, and apparently he is planning a book.


The Cornell Alumni Magazine's April issue features the TO. The end of the article has a place for comments. I hope we can have a spot on cornell.edu linking to it that will encourage more people who were around in 1969 to add to this archive. See this link.

Crystal Sarakas from WSKG has been in contact with us about doing a radio program.

This may also be of interest to you--the library's collection of images connected to the takeover a this link.



Thanks to Linda Mikula from Cornell's Press Relations Office for putting this together and sending it on.

1 comment:

  1. 40 years ago, I had feelings that I expressed in a letter to The Daily Sun.
    The news and views I was getting about the AAS and Straight Takeover were controlled by groups who seemed to have styles and interests different from mine. The judgments and opinions being presented were from a few people, whether appointed or elected, who were expected to be leaders and experts. I understood how things work and didn't mean to be negative or short-sighted; however, the failure to respect non-traditional participants and include non-institutional voices was a problem for me.
    I hope the Commemoration doesn't make me feel those same limitations.
    One key might be to welcome input (not just questions) from many sources.

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