Items

• The Downs Report Recommending Faculty Rank for CUNY Librarians

  After years of being "rather consistently discriminated against in the matter of salaries," librarians at CUNY at last achieved faculty rank through the recommendation of Robert B. Downs, a consultant hired by Chancellor Bowker to examine and report on professional personnel procedures in the libraries. Downs was dean of library administration at the University of Illinois, a former president of the American Library Association, and a fierce champion of intellectual freedom. He argues that the quality of a university depends on the quality of its libraries, and that to meet the challenges posed by its new university status, CUNY would need to recruit and retain well-trained librarians and acknowledge their educational role in the institution. Similar arguments would later take shape in the AAUP's Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians. The "Downs report," as it became known across CUNY Libraries, was entered into the minutes of the Board of Higher Education Proceedings, September 20, 1965, as Calendar No. 13, Library Instructional Titles. At the following meeting, the Board approved revisions to the bylaws that eliminated the ranks of librarian, associate librarian, assistant librarian, assistant to librarian, and junior library assistant; professional librarians were hereafter classified as faculty, with corresponding titles and salaries.
• Committee to Clarify Policy memo, June 13, 1968

  B-SCENS Committee to Clarify Policy, in a June 13, 1968, memorandum, reported on approved changes to the Coalition's policy on removal of the chair and members of the Steering Committee.
• Oral History Interview with Gerald Meyer

  Conducted as part of the Professional Staff Congress' (PSC) oral history initiative, this interview with Gerald ("Jerry") Meyer begins with his early education and covers his career at Hostos Community College, including his involvement in the Save Hostos movement during the 1970s and the local union chapter. The interview is undated.
• Floppy Discs of Syllabi
• Chancellor Albert Bowker to Al Vann: Letter - May 22, 1969

  On May 22, 1969, Albert Bowker, Chancellor of the City University of New York wrote a letter to Al Vann, Chairman of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services (B-SCENS), conveying his wish to overcome a “deadlock” over the choice of president for Community College 7. In the letter, Bowker clarifies his reasons for not supporting Rhody McCoy for the presidency, and his position on the power of the representative delegation of Bedford-Stuyvesant community organizations, led by Vann, to select a president for the new CUNY college. Bowker concluded by expressing concerns that Community College 7 may not be established if Vann and his contingent are unwilling to compromise.
• Black Power Salute at Brooklyn College during 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.), shows members of both P.R.A. and B.L.A.C. at the 1969 flag raising ceremony during the Malcolm X Day and Memorial event on Brooklyn College (BC) campus. Event organizers and attendees can be seen saluting the Puerto Rican and Black Liberation flags prior to raising them on the campus flagpole, located in front of the BC library and the President's office. According to Nieves, students were saluting and supporting "Power to the People," Independence, and the struggle for Civil Rights. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographsof participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Salute at flag raising ceremony during 1969 Malcom X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC), shows B.L.A.C. member Larry Sparks as he raised the Black Liberation flag on the flagpole located at the East Quad on campus during the 1969Malcolm X Day and Memorial event on the BC campus. Also shown are student members of P.R.A., and B.L.A.C. standing guard so no one disrupted the event or would touch the Puerto Rican and Black Liberation flags raised at the center of the campus. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Tony Nieves and other student activists guarding flagpole during 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo was part of the collection of photos shot by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC). The photo (taken by Orlando Pile, former president of B.L.A.C.) shows Nieves (on the right with glasses) standing next to members of P.R.A., B.L.A.C., and S.D.S. at the flag raising ceremony during the 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial event at the campus. Student-activists guarded the flagpole so no one would touch the Puerto Rican and Black Liberation flags raised at the center of the BC campus. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Student Activists standing guard at the 1969 flag raising ceremony during Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College, shows members of P.R.A., B.L.A.C., and Students for a Democratic Society (S.D.S.) at the 1969 flag raising ceremony during the Malcolm X Day and Memorial event on the campus. Student-activists were standing guard over the flagpole so no one would disrupt the event at the center of campus. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Students guard flag pole during 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC), shows members of B.L.A.C., and Students for a Democratic Society (S.D.S.) at the flag raising ceremony during the Malcolm X Day and Memorial event in 1969. Speaking on the megaphone is David Powell, pioneering student activist at BC during the late 1960s. Student members of S.D.S. are standing guard over the flagpole so no one would touch the Puerto Rican and Black Liberation flags raised at the center of the BC campus. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Flag Raising Ceremony during Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College, shows members of both P.R.A. and B.L.A.C. at the flag raising ceremony during the Malcolm X Day and memorial event at BC in 1969. The Puerto Rican and Black Liberation flags were raised and flown on the flagpole located at the middle of the Brooklyn College campus in front of the Library and the President's office on the East Quad of the campus. Event organizers and attendees can be seen at the ceremony. This photo was accidentally overexposed by Nieves. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Professor Carlos E. Russell with Brooklyn College Students

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, a member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC), depicts: (left to right) Black Panther Party, B.L.A.C. and P.R.A. member, Ray Aviles; P.R.A. member Ruth Ramos; Professor Carlos E. Russell; and P.R.A. member Dylcia Pagan. Pagan would later became a political prisoner for her role as a Puerto Rican Nationalist fighting for the independence of Puerto Rico in the U.S. before receiving clemency from President Bill Clinton in 1999. BC students and faculty are gathered for the Malcolm X Day and Memorial event at BC in 1969. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Carlos E. Russell speaks during Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo was taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC). Professor Carlos E. Russell, former faculty member of the Department of Afro-American Studies at BC, is seen on stage, addressing the crowd. Russell was one of a handful of faculty members supportive of the late 1960s and early 1970s Puerto Rican and Black student-led movement at the college. Seated on stage to Russell's right are Ray Aviles, member of the Black Panther Party (B.P.P.), B.L.A.C. and P.R.A., and Askia Davis, also member of the BPP and B.L.A.C. Standing on the edges of the stages are B.L.A.C. and P.R.A. members holding the Puerto Rican (photo left) and Black Liberation (photo right) flags. BC students and faculty convened for the Malcolm X Day and Memorial event at BC in 1969. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Pledge Recited at 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC), shows student organizers and event attendees reciting a pledge passed around by B.L.A.C. and P.R.A. members in the BC auditorium during the Malcolm X Day and Memorial event held on the campus in 1969. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Student Honor Guards Standing in Formation at the 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC). shows student honor guards standing in formation as they marched down the aisles of the auditorium during the Malcolm X Day and Memorial at the college in 1969. Honor guard members, were members of both B.L.A.C and P.R.A., wore red, black, and green arm bands symbolizing the Afro-African flag in celebration of Malcolm X and Black solidarity. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Black and Puerto Rican Solidarity during 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC), shows Askia Davis, member of the Black Panther Party (B.P.P.) and B.L.A.C., and Ray Aviles, also member of the B.P.P., B.L.A.C. and P.R.A seated side by side during the Malcolm X Day and Memorial at the college in 1969. Standing on stage, holding the Puerto Rican flag are members of B.L.A.C. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• 1969 Malcolm X Day and Memorial at Brooklyn College

  This photo, taken by pioneering student-activist Antonio "Tony" Nieves, member and liaison of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) and the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) at Brooklyn College (BC). shows Orlando Pile (deated on stage in the middle chair), former president of B.L.A.C at the Malcolm X Day and Memorial at the college in 1969. At the podium is Askia Davis, member of the Black Panther Party and student member of B.L.A.C. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Dr. Orlando Pile

  In this oral history with Dr. Orlando Pile, physician and former student-activist at Brooklyn College (BC) during the late 1960s, Pile discussed the ways his experiences growing up in Brooklyn influenced his activism at BC. He talked his role as former president of the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.) during a transformational period in the history of Brooklyn College. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Antonio "Tony" Nieves

  In this oral history with Antonio "Tony" Nieves, photographer, pharmacist, and former student-activist at Brooklyn College during the late 1960s, Nieves discussed his unique role as both liaison and photographer for both the Puerto Rican Alliance (P.R.A.) and the Brooklyn League of Afro-American Collegians (B.L.A.C.)l two student organizations central to the cultural, racial and curricular transformation of the Brooklyn College in the late 1960. Nieves was also one of the "BC19," a group of 19 students arrested for rioting, arson, conspiracy to conspire for their on-campus demonstrations, charges that were ultimately dismissed. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Esther Farmer

  In this oral history with Esther Farmer, a self-identified Palestinian-Jew, dancer, and a daughter of activist parents, she recalled details of growing up within a politically engaged household which later informed her activism as a student at CUNY. As a student-activist at Brooklyn College (BC) during the late 1960s she was Involved in the Open Admissions struggle at the college. Farmer shared her perspective and the tactics employed by student activists demanding the immediate implementation of CUNY's Open Admissions policy in Fall 1970. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Dr. Milga Morales Nadal

  Retiring as Vice President of Student Affairs at Brooklyn College, an office she occupied as a student activist in the late 1960s, Dr. Milga Morales Nadal, shares details about the Puerto Rican student movement at the college. She described the strategies students used to demand new Institutes and Departments at the campus, including the takeover of the Presidents' and Registrar's offices. Pioneering student activist, Morales Nadal co-founded the Puerto Rican Alliance at the college, a student club celebrating its 51rst anniversary at the time of this interview. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Crecensio "Joey" Morales

  Crecensio "Joey" Morales entered Brooklyn College during the late 1960s as a student in the SEEK program, a relatively new program then, established to support marginalized students be more successful in college. Morales was drafted into the Vietnam War while a student-activist at Brooklyn College. He returned to a campus actively engaged in the struggle for equitable rights influencing his participation in office takeovers and other forms of protest in the struggle that was led mostly by Puerto Rican and African-American students. Morales recalled detailed of his undergraduate tenure during a racially, economically, and linguistically transformational period for Brooklyn College including his role as of the Brooklyn College 44. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Carlos "Indio" Alejandro

  In this oral history interview with Reverend Carlos "Indio" Alejandro, chaplain and former student-activist at Brooklyn College during the early 1970s, Alejandro emphasized the importance of a collective racial, linguistic, and national unity that was central to student activism within the university in these years. He also shared details about his experience with police brutality as a student on campus at Brooklyn College on January 12, 1978. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• Oral History Interview with Antonio "Tony" Nadal

  This oral history with Antonio "Tony" Nadal, musician and co-founder of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (BC), is filled with personal stories, anecdotes, and singing about his work within the field of Puerto Rican Studies. Professor Nadal shared his experiences as first, a student-activist in the late 1960s at BC, and then as a faculty member in the department for over four decades eventually retiring as Professor Emeritus. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
• October 25, 1974 Student Flyer Announcing Rally in Support of the BC 44

  In response to the arrest of 41 Brooklyn College (BC) students and three faculty members, known as the Brooklyn College 44, student activists created and distributed this flyer on October 25, 1974, requesting support of a campus strike. Puerto Rican and African American students took over the Registrar's office at the campus for several days in protest of BC President John Kneller's decision not to hire María Sánchez as the chairperson of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies. This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.