OLUFEMI “FEMI” OGUNDELE
PRUDENCE CARTER
KYNDALL ELISE DOWELL
CALEB DAWSON
WALTER J. HOOD
JOHN A. POWELL
Professor, Berkeley Law, African American Studies, Ethnic Studies
You can read a lightly edited version here or watch the full conversation on our YouTube channel.
TAKIYAH FRANKLIN: Before we get started, I’m going to take this moment to give a brief background on the trajectory of the struggles of Black and brown people at UC Berkeley. In 1968 there was a five-month strike that demanded a radical shift in admissions practices. And that was followed swiftly, in 1969, with a three-month strike that led to the creation of the Ethnic Studies department. Fast forward to 1999 and protests against financial cuts to that very department. The protest continued with rallies and sit-ins that led to a five-point agreement and the creation of a research center on campus now called the Center for Race and Gender.