The Five Demands: Shaping the Future of the City College of New York
Maxwell Q. Bogan
FIQWS 10115 CP8 Composition for US Experience
Prof. Tessa Miller
October 15, 2023
“Power to the people! Black Power to the People! Puerto Rican Power to the People!” was chanted on the campus of City College in the month of April, 1969. At this point in time, the Onyx Society, a black empowerment group formed at CCNY, had released a document called “The Five Demands,” and led some of the largest and most impactful student-led protests of the time. Black and Puerto Rican students had barricaded the buildings closed, a diverse body of students continued protesting on campus, and police officers both patrolled the area and brutally beat students.
A once predominantly white-male school in the middle of Harlem, New York, a predominantly Black & Puerto Rican community, now having violent and anarchist student-led protests for equality of the students. How could this happen?
City College of New York, originally called the Free Academy of the City of New York, was founded in 1847 as an all-male school. In 1866, it became the College of the City of New York. In 1929, it was named City College of New York when the Cuny System was established, and finally in 1930, it became an institution open to all genders. The College campus, which still stands today, was in the middle of Harlem, one of the most diverse communities in the city of New York. The only thing though, was that the campus’s diversity consisted of mostly white students. (The Five Demands, 2023)
To create an atmosphere of “inclusivity” and “diversity”, the College created a program called SEEK. The SEEK program, founded in the summer of 1965, was an initiative for students of lower income to have a college education. On top of that, though it wasn’t stated, it was also a way to increase the diversity of the college. During this time period, white people had a much larger sum of money than non-whites. In 1963, a study was taken which stated that on average, a white family had about 7.5 times as much money as someone who was not white (Pathe, 2015).
Though the SEEK program’s initial reason was to create an inclusive space for low income students, which consisted mainly of students of color, it was anything but that in the beginning. White professors, teachers who had worked with only grade schoolers, nobody with any experience working with “colored” kids. On top of all that, they were given old and used textbooks, writing utensils, notebooks, and basically all their materials. The SEEK program was supposed to be something that was a “model” (SEEK Program History, 2019) initiative, and instead became a program in which students who “didn’t work hard enough” (The Five Demands, 2023) were singled out in front of their whole class of white students.
These circumstances, creating an uncomfortable area of education for those in the SEEK program, led to a slow but steady awakening by the students that something needs to be done. With the Civil Rights Movement in its prime, schools around the country were protesting their rights, and City College was doing nothing. Action started by holding gatherings with the SEEK students, talking about the problems with their materials, professors, learning spaces, almost everything having to do with school. They knew something great had to be done.
On April 4th, 1969, Martin Luther King Jr, the most looked up to leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was shot and killed in Memphis, TN. The man whom every minority and many white supporters in the country looked up to was murdered. This sparked complete outrage throughout the nation, causing violent riots and protests, especially at universities. The SEEK students, looking for “something great” (The Five Demands, 2023), had found what was needed. Thus, 10 representatives were elected to compose The Five Demands, a list of 5 demands of the City College of New York.
The students knew that these demands wouldn’t just be given to them though. They would have to force the school to give them the education they paid for, the education that should have been given to them in the beginning. So, on April 22, 1969, more than 200 Black and Puerto Rican students occupied 17 buildings for a total of 2 weeks (Meminger, 2019). These protests, of course, angered many of the white students and faculty of the school, but it wasn’t until Mario Procaccino, a candidate in the upcoming Mayor election, had acquired a court order to open the college that physical resistance started (The Five Demands, n.d.a). Police were called onto campus, those who didn’t agree with the protests would create fights, and much more. The arrival of police on campus caused President Gallagher to resign, and thus, the protests were basically over.
But then what? How have these protests changed the structure and shape of the City College of New York? City College first implemented open enrollment to allow more youth in NYC to come to City College, diversifying the school even more. In a survey taken in 2023 of students at City College, all of the students agreed with and supported the movement of the 5 Demands, but 52% of students said that they would not participate in the protests. Even the current President of City College, President Vincent Boudreau, said that the Five Demands and the protests is something he is the most proud of about City College (The Five Demands, 2023). Students, faculty, alumni, and anyone else at City College should be proud of the history City College has, from being a once predominantly white school to one of the most diverse colleges in the country, having less than a 15% composition of white students (College Factual, 2023) . Through these protests, yet violent at times, the students conveyed their ideals and hand in hand worked to negate prejudice being shown to minorities. And though prejudice has not fully been eliminated throughout the world, the Five Demands show what happens when people unify to abolish prejudice, and take one step closer to the unification of all.
References
Perez, K. (n.d.). Percy E. Sutton seek program. Enrollment Management. https://enrollmentmanagement.baruch.cuny.edu/seek/program-history/#:~:text=In%20the%20summer%20of%201966,sort%20in%20the%20United%20States.
Neighborhood, B. (n.d.). Race, diversity, and ethnicity in Harlem, Manhattan, NY. https://bestneighborhood.org/race-in-harlem-manhattan-ny/
Pathe, S. (2015, February 18). Today’s racial wealth gap is wider than in the 1960s. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/todays-racial-wealth-gap-is-wider-than-in-the-1960s
Memminger, D. (2019, April 16). Remembering when student protesters took over City College 50 Years Ago. Remembering the Fiery 1969 City College Student Protest. https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/04/17/1969-city-college-student-protest-50th-anniversary-civil-rights
The Five Demands. (n.d.). The Five Demands – 1969: Student Protests at City College. The Five demands. https://fivedemands.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
Copeland, & Gallagher, B. G. (Buell G. (1969). Five Demands conflict collection, 1969-1970.
“The City College of New York Diversity: Racial Demographics & Other Stats.” College Factual, College Factual, 22 Mar. 2023, www.collegefactual.com/colleges/cuny-city-college/student-life/diversity/.
