Author Description

On May 3, 1968, a group of Black students at Northwestern University made headlines when they occupied the university's main financial building and announced that they would not leave until their demands were met. Their demands, submitted to university officials in April 1968, focused on a range of issues, from campus conditions to the racism they faced at Northwestern. Over the course of two momentous days, the whole world watched as events on the campus unfolded. Drawing from archival sources and interviews with some of the takeover's key players, the book pieces together the events of May 1968 as they unfolded; it also takes a broader view, stepping back from those two crucial days to examine what led to the takeover and what transpired in its aftermath.