Amid a national movement of Black student activism and after a series of racist incidents on and off campus in 1968-69, a group of Black Springfield College students sent a memorandum to College President Wilbur E. Locklin in February 1969. In that memorandum, they stated that they felt displeased with the prejudices suffered by the Black community at the school. They go on to list nine demands of the college, such as the enrollment of 200 Black students into the incoming freshman class of ‘73, the addition of a Black staff member to the admissions office, and the hiring of a Black coach for one of the athletic teams. After several months in which Black student leaders grew dissatisfied with the lack of progress on the list of 9 demands, more than two dozen Black students protested the administration’s conduct by taking control of the Administration building on May 16, 1969. Dr. Jesse Parks eventually helped to escort the students from the building. All students involved in the May 1969 Administration Building takeover were placed on probation and required to perform 300 hours of community service, a punishment that drew criticism in the fall of 1969. Amid ongoing Black student activism and a perceived lack of sufficient action on the part of the college administration, a group of 49 students took control of the Massasoit Hall dormitory. The protesting students would remain there for two days, until the college obtained a Superior Court civil injunction and the Sheriff’s Department led all the occupiers out of the building and onto a motor coach bus to bring them directly to court. While none of the students was prosecuted criminally, the college suspended for one semester those students who had been involved in the Administration Building takeover in May 1969 and placed on strict probation the remaining student activists involved in the Massasoit Hall takeover. Many of the Black student activists who were disciplined as a result of their involvement in the Massasoit Hall takeover chose not to return to the college. Nearly two years after the first incident, student protestors again seized the Administration Building on April 6, 1970, this time by white students in protest of the perceived “double jeopardy” placed on the Black students in that they were punished by both the Superior Court and the College. The students were arrested by police, charged with trespassing, and later expelled from the school. The students sued the college in Probate Court because the college judicial system offered no due process to students. The court agreed and prevented the college from proceeding against any of the occupiers until a new judicial system was in place and approved by the court. During the Collegium that took place over the summer of 1970, college officials determined that the students that were removed from campus should be invited back by the President, and, if they chose to return, participate in a series of workshops with a group of College representatives to improve Black-white relationships on campus. President Locklin declined the collegium’s recommendation to readmit the suspended students. Throughout these two years and for a period after, the Locklin administration worked to meet some of the original 9 demands while deeming others to be impractical.

- Written and researched by Matthew Cole (Class of 2019), 2019

- Revisions to main text suggested by Larry Libow (Class of 1971)

- Revisions to main text made by Dr. Ian Delahanty, Associate Professor of History, 2021

July 1965: Chief Judge Bailey Aldrich overrules Federal District Judge George C. Sweeney’s ruling in favor of desegregating Springfield public schools.

July 16, 1965: Springfield police arrest 18 individuals (including 17 African Americans) while using excessive force outside of the Octagon Lounge, a nightclub on Rifle Street, which was a predominantly black neighborhood at the time.

March 1968: 10-foot cross soaked in lighter fluid was found on the grass behind International House.

April 1968: Formation of the Afro-American society, under the leadership of James Russell, III and beginning of plans for a Black Arts Festival the following year.

April-May 1968: Columbia University protests play out, creating a backlash against Black students at SC.

January 1969: Signs advertising the upcoming Black Arts Festival were torn down on campus.

February 8, 1969: At SC Black Arts Festival, comedian and activist Dick Gregory predicts heightened activism and radicalism among young black andwhite students; rumors of a “black anarchist” riot lead many white students to leave campus during the festival.

February 13, 1969: Locklin pens an op-ed in the Student about a recent effort by S.C. students to start up a Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter. He comes out adamantly against the organization’s tactics and rhetoric, claiming that a “silent majority” of students always suffer from SDS-sponsored activities at places like Columbia.

February 1969: First list of nine demands created by black student. Demands include 200 black students accepted for class of ‘73, a black member of the Admissions office, and more black faculty, including athletic coaches.

February 19 (4:00 p.m.): Emergency meeting of faculty. Also around this time, Springfield’s Black community (self-described ghetto residents) sent a memo with their own demands. Memo is undated but seems to coincide with black students’ demands.

February 20: Informal meeting of faculty to consider what to do in response to the Black student demands; creation of a faculty task force.

February 22: Meeting between President Locklin and Central Committee for Black Students

February-early March: First meeting of faculty task force.

February 23, 1969: James Russell interviewed by Springfield Republican; explains reasons for demands, citing apathy of student body and tendency of the student body to focus exclusively on “athletic events.” Russell said black students hadn’t taken over a building b/c he had faith in the Humanics philosophy and its ability to allow people to see “what is happening.”

March 18 & 19: Meetings at which various task force members presented their findings to the college community. Includes task force committee members, agenda, etc.

May 9, 1969: A number of Black students and an “outsider” disrupt faculty members at a meeting called by the Academic Dean.

Morning of May 10, 1969: A carton is set on fire inside the Administration Building.

May 10, 1969: Black student leadres create list of 11 demands of Locklin administration, including plan for Black cultural center, Black day for freshman orientation, and increase in Black enrollment at Springfield College. List is transcribed by the Reverend Bob Parsonage.

May 12, 1969: Four students, John Briggs, Brad Gough, Steve Goldberg, and Larry Libow, demand that the faculty support the demands of Black students and for President Locklin to sign.

May 13, 1969: The President and faculty members reject the 11 demands, voting 83 nay, 23 yea. President cites apparent loss of administrative authority as reason for rejection.

May 14-15 1969: 33 black student protestors occupy the Administration Building at 10:45 p.m., remaining there until they left peacefully at 11:15 a.m. the following morning. Prof. Jesse Parks escorts the students from the Administration Building; a crowd of supportive students and community members joins them in marching down Alden Street.

May 15: Emergency student council meeting is held.

May 21-June 5: Faculty task force meets four times.

June 2: A group of white students issues a list of 15 “commands” to President Locklin, including the implementation of all Black student demands and Locklin’s resignation.

June 6, 1969: Students who occupied the Administration Building are placed on strict probation and are required to perform 300 hours of non-paid “work service”.

June 9, 1969: 16 students expelled from Harvard University for their roles in the seizure of an administration building in April of that year.

June 11, 1969: President Locklin approves an experimental Black Cultural Center for the upcoming fall semester. Locklin states that the building will be run and operated by a faculty-student committee, with a married student living in the Center and supervising daily activity.

August 18, 1969: Faculty Institute focuses on “Conflict Resolution for Colleges Today”.

October 15, 1969: Memorial Service for American service members amid the Vietnam War draws anti-war protestors and stimulates anti-Vietnam War activism on campus.

November-December 1969: Growing unrest over 300-hour requirement for students who participated in the Administration Building takeover.

December 1969: Decision that the 300-hour service requirement had been “fulfilled”.

December 10, 1969: “Day of Concern” event at S.C., featuring Julian Bond, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Joan Baez, and others.

February-March 1970: Dismissal of Larry Libow from Springfield College after a dispute with the administration over free speech in the Springfield Student.

March 10, 1970:

5 am: A group of Black students enters Massasoit Hall and ask that students in the building leave. 49 Black students take control of the dormitory in protest of the administration’s alleged inaction on the demands submitted the previous year.

8:30 am: President Locklin and Dean Costello meet with the group and ask them to leave, which is refused.

2:30 pm: Dean Costello returns to urge students to leave once again, presenting them with an official written directive stating that they were in violation of college regulations.

6:15 pm: Students are again urged to leave, and are served a Preliminary Injunction and a Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.

March 11, 1970, 1 pm: Students are warned that they are being served a contempt citation if they do not leave. None leave, and all are served a citation. March 12, 1970, 1:30 pm: The Springfield sheriff and his deputies arrive on campus, and take the protesting students into custody. 49 students are taken to Superior Court. The students are assessed $50 bail and are released late Thursday afternoon when bail is provided from outside sources. The trial is set for Tuesday, March 17th.

March 17, 1970: At a hearing for the 49 students who occupied Massasoit Hall, a bomb threat is called into the Hampden County Superior Court, forcing the court to close.

March 19, 1970: The verdict of the trial results in all 49 Black students being convicted of civil contempt. Forty seven of the forty nine students are sentenced to jail time ranging from 20 to 30 days. The two other students receive fines. Judge Tisdale stays the execution of the jail terms to March 20, 1971.

March 25, 1970: The 49 Black students and their parents are sent notifications of disciplinary hearings scheduled to commence on April 6,1970. They are also notified that their suspensions were removed effective March 29 of that year, and they could return to campus at that time. The charges brought against the students were as follows:

* Interfering with the privacy of the residents of Massasoit Hall and with the contractual rights between the college and such resident students rightfully entitled to the use of Massasoit Hall.

* Failure to comply with requests made on March 10, 11, and 12 by the Dean of Students to leave Massasoit Hall.

* Failure to comply with the written directive of the Dean of Students issued on March 10 to quit the premises.

* Violation of the rules of the College for dissent and demonstration as published in the Student Handbook of 1969-1970.

A fifth charge is levied against fourteen of the students for violation of their probation imposed on them as a result of their involvement of the Administrative Building takeover in May of 1969.

April 6, 1970: 19 white students seize the Administration Building for the second time in less than a year. The group allegedly seized the building to disrupt the college hearings concerning the Black students who took over Massasoit Hall on March 10. The students were arrested after college officials called the police and said they were trespassing. All students involved were charged with trespassing and breach of the peace.

April 11, 1970: Students begin to protest the administration by organizing a hunger strike, which six students conclude after 115 hours. The hunger strike is followed by a “camp-in”, where nearly two dozen students pitched tents in front of the Administration building and remained in them for several days.

May 8, 1970: The administrative staff at the College organizes a Collegium to reestablish the college’s “purposes, goals, and actions” by means of a dedicated commission, and the Collegium’s first meeting takes place. The Collegium goes over the goals of the college, how to enact the changes necessary to meet those goals, and further plans for important topics, such as the readmission of the students who took over the Administration building earlier in the year.

- Written and researched by Matthew Cole (Class of 2019) - 2019-Revisions to main text suggested by Larry Libow (Class of 1971) - Revisions to main text made by Dr. Ian Delahanty, Associate Professor of History, 2021