The Burling Library Takeover of 1971

The Burling Library Takeover

Despite CBS’s efforts, there were many aspects of campus life that negatively affected Black students and that the administration was not actively addressing. In order to put pressure on the college to address their issues, the members of CBS staged a take over of Burling Library. At the time, the office of the president resided in Burling, and it was a main hub of campus activity. For this reason, CBS students chose the library as their protest location. On the morning of November 29th, 1971, over 50 students occupied Burling Library. The students chained the doors, prevented white patrons from entering, and distributed The Black Manifesto; a list of 10 demands designed to improve campus life for Black students and faculty.

The Black Manifesto

The Black Manifesto listed 10 demands that aimed at improving the black experience at Grinnell College. A second, edited Manifesto corrected or clarified some of the demands, but the core issues remained the same.

1. We demand that this administration establish a Black community with no less that 200 representatives taken from all walks of life of Black people, and that the responsibility of for the establishment of this community be co-shared by the present black community.
2. a Black student on every committee or council in the College, with minority veto power over all things that will influence the survival of Black people;
3. that no official meetings be held discussing the survival of Blacks on this campus, without the mandated Black spokesman;
4. that we, as Black students, have the final say on the residence of Black freshmen and sophomores;
5. because we feel that the SAGA food service does not serve the types of food that are necessary to the survival of Black people, we want the right to decide whether or not·we will take any of the board options;
6. that all financial aid be reorganized so that it does meet the needs of Blacks, including books and travel, and to insure that this is accomplished, we want Black students on the financial aid committee with veto power;
7. because of the enrollment and the programs of CBS,we feel that the present Cultural Center is insufficient, therefore we demand a house large enough to accommodate the programs of CBS;
8. the immediate institution of a Black studies major, which is supervised by Black students;
9. that Black students be given the full administration of all funds dealing with the survival of Blacks;
10. the institution of a Black library with all audio-visual equipment that will aid in the academic survival of all Black students.

Reactions

From the College Administration

The administration and faculty at Grinnell College quickly met to discuss the demands. The minutes from these discussions are featured below. Overall, there was little opposition voiced against the demands, but many had questions about how these demands would be met logistically and fairly.

From Fellow Students

Reactions from other students was mixed. Several students supported the CBS’s activism and saw this as an extension of broader social justice efforts that were going on at Grinnell College and around the country.

However, it is clear that many students did not support the Takeover. Soon after the Black Manifesto circulated on campus, a parody “NBC Manyfesto” appeared in students’ mailboxes. While copies of this document are not available, the Scarlet and Black printed the first line of the preamble: “When in the coarse of proto-homonids, it becomes necessary for an entire species who were stolen from times past, transported under the most ruthless and brutal circumcision over 20000 years and more than IIIII cubits to a dehumanized plasticity…”. The S&B also reported that the document was racist and “a clear example of why black students feel the way they do about white students here”.

In a December 7th, 1971 letter to the editor of the Scarlet and Black, one student stated that “ If some of the more important black demands are fully satisfied…the white community is definitely going to be hurt” and that “An increase in the allocation of resources to blacks which do not directly benefit the entire community means that white students have to suffer.” The writer ends the letter with “The black community and the Administration must remember that as white students depart so does white money, which, after all this institution runs on.”

From outside of Grinnell College

The Burling Takeover gained the attention of those outside of the Grinnell College Community. The FBI, who surveilled CBS and other activist on campus, wrote a memo on the events, which is heavily redacted, and included clippings of different newspapers that had reported on the Takeover.

The Des Moines Register’s November 30th, 1971 issue included an articled title “Blacks Win ‘Soul Food’ Protest at Grinnell”. The idea that students had staged this protest in an effort to gain “soul food” options was a racist misinterpretation of CBS’s demands for changes in the SGA food service options.