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BLACK WILLIAMS, Pg. 17-21
Hopkins Hall, the main administration building at Williams, was possessed for three days by roughly thirty black Williams students. The event started at four o'clock in the morning, Saturday, April 5, 1969; a time when residents of Williamstown least expected any sort of action.
The process of entering the building involved a high degree of planning; every participant recognized the various codes used and knew of the entire sequence of events which were to be taken.
Upon entering the building, the security guards present were informed of why the action was being taken. They were asked to leave the premise in street clothing. The guards did not hesitate in doing so. Immediately after the students involved met in the building, the doors, which always remained opened, were chain locked. Windows were guarded electrically. What occurred in the building involved little disruption of the school's property. The rooms were rearranged for sleeping accommodations. Though card playing and other entertainment occurred, it must be remembered that, once in the building, the participants hand no idea how long they were going to remain there. They could have been within the structure for three weeks instead of three days, and it seemed that, from talking to several people involved, most of the occupants were willing to accept any length of time needed to obtain their demands. Food was brought into the building by students who supported the movement, including blacks from Amherst and Bennington. President John Sawyer was willing to let the occupants remain in the building as long as they desired.
When discovered at daybreak that Saturday, the event incited much activity on and off the campus. Despite the heavy rain that morning, many white students and administrators collected on the steps to demonstrate their support or revolt of the happening. Signs were placed on many of the dormitory doors by whites encouraging support from non-informed students. No violent action to halt the demonstration was reported, but it deserves credit to mention that the Williamstown Police Department, under Chief Joseph Zoito, purchased a sufficient supply of riot equipment the previous year (April 20, 1968) when the WAAS made its first requests to the college. The purchase of such equipment could only have meant anticipation of mass violence, and in all probability, racial violence.
The media, not only in Williamstown, North Adams and Pittsfield, but the newspapers in Springfield, Massachusetts included extensive coverage of the action taken in Williamstown. Classes were cancelled for two days following the incident. A faculty meeting was scheduled; the College Council met in numerous sessions; all college meeting were arranged, all of which focused on the demands of the black students. Virtually no one at Williams, or, to a lesser degree, in the town was ignorant of what happened.
Most residents of Williamstown opposed what the black students did, but few knew about the reasons why blacks did what they felt was necessary.
Why did the event occur? Why was occupying a building necessary? What were the black students demanding? What were the results: The occupation occurred because, even though some of the requests made in 1968 by black students were fulfilled, life at Williams remained inadequate for blacks. A member of the Afro American Society explained:
"... we recognized the need for immediate and sincere effort in rectifying those unnecessary socio-cultural and intellectual injuries reaped on Black students at Williams."
It seemed that this unified action by blacks was largely a result of a unified black organization, the Afro American Society. With the forty or so black students enrolled (a large figure in 1969), if there had been no such organization, one could speculate that such unity in their action could not have existed. The demands presented to the school were listed as "non negotiable." The demands, in addition, were to be received and acted upon as "a package" only. (Click here to see the 15 Demands.)
Dissatisfaction arose when these demands were not adequately fulfilled one month prior to the occupation. Preston Washington explained that taking possession of a building (in response to the school not meeting most of the demands) was necessary "because at this time we (the Afro American Society) can see no other way of reaching those goals which we deem so urgent." The progress of the all collect meetings was reported to the Afro American Society members. Confusion resulted because neither the school nor the occupants knew who was going to act first.
Finally, the school agreed to accept all but three of the demands, the first of which allowed for an all black residential house and cultural center combination. The college stated that this would have involved illegal maneuvering according to the Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting racially segregated housing. In addition, such action was against the overall policy of Williams - the emphasis of individualism in giving and receiving an education. The other two refusals involved giving three scholarships for African students each year and the naming of the Afro American Studies chairman only by approval of the WAAS.
The doors of Hopkins Hall were opened on Monday, April 7th, and black students walked out of the building. Apparently, they accepted the school's willingness to support all but the three demands. In this sense the demands were not treated as a "package" as the occupants insisted them to be. Upon entering the building, the college's administration found everything in order. |
