Portland and Portland State share a rich history of activism and protest. For decades, students and faculty have stood up against local, regional and global injustices, advocated for better campus services and clamored for environmentally friendly practices.
The day after police and strikers clashed in May 1970, 3,500 people marched through Portland to protest police tactics, as seen in this image from the documentary “The Seventh Day.”
This culture of protest and advocacy is often traced to one particularly tumultuous year — 1970, just one year after PSU earned its status as Oregon’s newest full-fledged four-year university. It was the year the Black Studies Department was established at PSU, the modern environmental movement started with the first Earth Day, and student parents staged a “Baby-In” at PSU administrative offices advocating for on-campus childcare. That same year The Gay Liberation Front was established and a women’s union was formed — the forerunner to the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and the Women’s Resource Center.
Perhaps most notable was the student strike on May 11, 1970 — one of hundreds across the country — after the Ohio National Guard shot to death four unarmed protesters at Kent State. Students protested in the South Park Blocks, eventually drawing a violent police response and garnering the support of thousands of Portlanders who marched to City Hall.