“Negro Students Club” from the “1938 Franciscan” yearbook (page 83) (Updated over a year ago)
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San Francisco State Teacher’s College achieved status as a liberal arts college in 1935, and its name was changed to San Francisco State College. African-American students from various Bay Area campuses organized the Utopian Club in 1935 to promote greater understanding of African-American issues. San Francisco State Utopian Club, led by Wesley Johnson, organized a public debate with students at Wiley College in Texas as an ambitious first-of-its-kind event in the West. They announced the forum in the Golden Gater student newspaper on March 13, 1935, stating, “This inter-racial debate, which is sponsored by our organization, will do much in altering the existing attitude which many Caucasians have toward Negroes.” The following year the club reorganized as a purely social club called the Negro Students Club (1936-1938) established by Mel Johnson. The first president of the Negro Students Club was Vivian Swannigan, followed by Helen Louise Cox.
Tags: african-american students , forensics , mel johnson , multiculturalism , negro students club , san francisco state college , utopian club , vivian swannigan , wesley johnson
Added to SFSU Photographic Timeline Project on May 18, 2018.
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Information
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Creator:
Associated Students, San Francisco State College
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Date:
1937-1938
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Title:
“Negro Students Club” from the “1938 Franciscan” yearbook (page 83)
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Description:
San Francisco State Teacher’s College achieved status as a liberal arts college in 1935, and its name was changed to San Francisco State College. African-American students from various Bay Area campuses organized the Utopian Club in 1935 to promote greater understanding of African-American issues. San Francisco State Utopian Club, led by Wesley Johnson, organized a public debate with students at Wiley College in Texas as an ambitious first-of-its-kind event in the West. They announced the forum in the Golden Gater student newspaper on March 13, 1935, stating, “This inter-racial debate, which is sponsored by our organization, will do much in altering the existing attitude which many Caucasians have toward Negroes.” The following year the club reorganized as a purely social club called the Negro Students Club (1936-1938) established by Mel Johnson. The first president of the Negro Students Club was Vivian Swannigan, followed by Helen Louise Cox.
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Type:
Photograph
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Format:
TIFF
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Source:
University Archives
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Temporal Coverage:
1937-1938
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Rights:
Public
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Publisher:
San Francisco: San Francisco State College Associated Students
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Contributor:
Meredith Eliassen
Content
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Version history
- Import from CMS.
- Update by DIVA Digitization Team over a year ago