Retelling History: Ethnic Studies' Origins Are at SF State

VOICES OF MONTEREY BAY -- The origins of ethnic studies start with student activists themselves, 52 years ago in the Bay Area.

In 1968, following the firing of a beloved San Francisco State professor who was involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement and minister of education for the Black Panther Party, students from the Black Student Union and the Third World Liberation Front created a coalition and went on strike.

The strikers had a list of 15 demands, among them a school dedicated specifically to Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State, as well as higher admission rates for students of color, who at the time made up only 4 percent of the student body.