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[Identification of item], Allen Building Takeover Collection, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Allen Building Takeover Collection was received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1973-2002.
Processed by University Archives staff and Jill Katte, completed January 2004.
Historical note written by Valerie Gillispie as part of the web exhibit,
Encoded by Jill Katte, January 2004
Updated by Molly Bragg, July 2011
Updated to include digital content by Noah Huffman, April 2013
On the morning of February 13, 1969, between 50 and 75 black students entered the Allen Building and proceeded to barricade and occupy it. They renamed the building the Malcolm X Liberation School. The students issued a list of demands to the administration, [which included an accredited African-American Studies Department, a black dorm, a black student union, an increase in enrollment and financial support for black students, protection from police harassment, and better working conditions for non-academic staff of the University]. Provost Marcus Hobbs read a statement to the students at about 3:30 PM, urging them to leave the building within one hour to begin a peaceful discussion of the issues. Sometime after 5 o'clock, after a warning from Provost Hobbs that they would face legal ramifications for staying, the students decided to exit. Although the exit was peaceful, a large crowd of mostly white students had gathered outside the building during the day, and this crowd and the police became entangled. The police fired tear gas on the students.
Immediately following the police action, students met to discuss how to proceed. Many students and faculty were upset by the administration's support of the police action; other students and faculty felt that the takeover of the Allen Building was lawless and disruptive. Those who supported the Takeover called for a three day strike on campus and offered alternative classes. Students opposed to the Takeover urged fellow students to attend classes as normal. The administration attempted to calm the campus and address some of the demands posed by the Takeover participants. President Knight addressed Duke on the campus radio station, WDBS.
Afro-American Society and administration members met several times to begin forming an African-American Studies program. The two parties could not reach an agreement on what type of committee should oversee the program. On March 10, a group of students marched to downtown Durham along with students from other colleges to protest the situation. The next day, March 11, 1969, students again went to downtown Durham and marched with other students and Durham residents. The march turned violent, with store windows smashed and other damage to property. The mayor put a curfew on the city for several days.
Dozens of Duke's black students threatened to leave campus following the lack of agreement on the African-American Studies program. They instead planned to attend the Malcolm X Liberation University, a newly-developed school led by community activist Howard Fuller. However, the students soon reversed their decision and decided to remain at Duke University. On March 19, a University Hearing Committee found the students who had occupied the building guilty of violating university regulations. All defendants were sentenced to one year of probation.
[Written by Valerie Gillispie as part of the web exhibit,
The collection features a variety of materials documenting the Allen Building Takeover at Duke University. The first series,Subject files, includes announcements, flyers, publications, correspondence, handouts, reports, transcripts, and ephemera relating to Black Culture Week (Feb. 4-12, 1969), the Allen Building Takeover (Feb. 13, 1969) and student demands, statements by Provost Marcus Hobbs and by Duke President Douglas Knight, student convocations and demonstrations both in support of and against the Takeover, and later events on the Duke campus and in Durham, N.C. Also included are clippings of newspaper and magazine coverage of the Takeover from the campus paper
In addition, the collection contains clippings and artwork related to anniversaries and remembrance of the Takeover. Students created artwork in this collection while participating in the 2002 Allen Building lock-in, an event commemorating 1960s activism at Duke and an opportunity for students and administrators to discuss the racial climate on campus.
ThreeRelated collectionsdescribed with the Allen Building Takeover Collection consist of sound recordings and photographs. The first collection, WDBS Records, contains recordings of broadcast reports which aired on the campus radio station. These reports (Feb. 13-16, 1969) covered the Takeover, President Knight's response, and subsequent meetings, rallies, demonstrations, and speakers. The next related collection, Allen Building Takeover Oral History Collection, features oral history interviews conducted by Don Yannella for his 1985 senior honors thesis,
These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
The Subject files series contains a variety of resources relating to the Allen Building Takeover that have been collected by the University Archives staff for teaching and research. These materials are organized into three subseries: Primary documents, Media coverage, and Remembrance. Primary documents include flyers, publications, handouts, correspondence, reports, transcripts, and ephemera. The media coverage subseries features clippings and photocopied clippings from campus, local, state, and national newspapers and magazines. Both of these subseries contain materials from 1969, both during and after the Allen Building Takeover. The third subseries, Remembrance, features clippings relating to the anniversaries of the Takeover in 1989 and 1999, as well as artwork made by participants in the Allen Building Lock-in on April 5-6, 2002.
Ordered by date.
Documents include
Documents include
Two letters describing the Allen Building Takeover and subsequent events. The letters were written by Oliver Ferguson and Jane Philpott, colleagues of Carl Anderson (1919-2003), a Duke English professor and administrator, who was in Sweden during the Takeover. At the time, Oliver Ferguson was a member of the Duke English department, and Jane Philpott was Acting Dean of the Woman's College.
Documents include
Documents include
The trial was open to the Duke community, and the names of the students charged were made publicly available. These notes describe these open hearings, but not the private committee deliberations on punishment.
Note: One poster and one collage from 2002 Allen Building Lock-in stored in MC 8.
Two collections of sound recordings, the WDBS broadcast recordings and the Allen Building Takeover Oral History Collection, are directly related to the 1969 Allen Building Takeover. Both offer first-hand accounts of the events surrounding the Takeover and varied perspectives on these demonstrations within the Duke community. In addition, the University Archives Photograph Collection includes ten black and white photographs taken during and after the Takeover.
Several other collections also contain information on the Allen Building Takeover. For a complete subject guide and bibliography of resources, please see theSubject filesseries.
WDBS was founded at Duke University in 1950 as a student-run AM station sponsored by the student government. The station received an FM license in 1971. Due to financial difficulties, WDBS ended in 1983.
This group of broadcast recordings features reports about the Allen Building Takeover and subsequent events. While the cassette reference copies of these broadcasts are stored with the Allen Building Takeover Collection, the original reel to reel tapes of the broadcasts remain in the WDBS records.
This collection contains oral history interviews conducted by Don Yannella for his 1985 senior honors thesis,
[A85-101]
RESTRICTED: Use of the original audio cassettes requires that listening copies be made first. Interviews without release forms are restricted; they may be consulted for information only. Copying, citation, quotation, or publication of the restricted interviews is prohibited without the written permission of the interview subject.
RESTRICTED: Transcript, no release form
Open: Transcript with release form; No cassette
Open: Transcript with release form; Reference copy of cassette
Open: Transcript with release form
RESTRICTED: Transcript, no release form
RESTRICTED: Transcript, no release form
Open: Transcript, no release form (subject deceased)
RESTRICTED: Transcript, no release form; Reference copy of cassette
RESTRICTED: Transcript, no release form
Open: Transcript with release form
RESTRICTED: No transcript or release form
Open: No transcript, no release form (subject deceased)
RESTRICTED: No transcript, no release form
RESTRICTED: No transcript, no release form
RESTRICTED: No transcript, no release form; Reference copy of cassette
RESTRICTED: No transcript, no release form; Reference copy of cassette
RESTRICTED: No transcript, no release form; Reference copy of cassette
The University Archives Photograph Collection consists of a variety of images of Duke University people, places, and activities. This collection features a folder of ten black and white photographs and one contact print from the Allen Building Takeover. Photographs depict students gathered outside the Allen Building, President Knight addressing the students, police using tear gas on the crowd, and the interior spaces of the Allen Building after the Takeover.