San Jose State’s Human Rights Institute (HRI) released a booklet on Oct. 19, outlining multiple cases of injustice and community activism throughout the university’s history since 1872.
The HRI is a research and policy institute at SJSU that aims to create policy solutions to social problems, according to its SJSU webpage.
Titled “Racial and Social Justice at San Jose State University: Students Respond with Social Action,” the booklet was compiled by Scott Myers-Lipton, sociology professor and HRI advisory board member, after years of witnessing and participating in activism in San Jose.
Myers-Lipton stated in the booklet that its purpose is to educate the San Jose community on the legacy of racial and social activism on campus.
“My hope is that the administration reads it and looks at it and then they create ultimately anti-racist policies for our community,” he said in a Zoom call.
The booklet contains 11 chapters, 10 of which describe individual cases of injustice and activism including Japanese internment on campus during World War II, Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ olympic protest for racial justice and students’ 2010 battle to raise minimum wage.
Myers-Lipton said the booklet’s main message ties to Martin Luther King Jr.’s idea of the “Beloved Community.”
The “Beloved Community” is a global vision free of poverty, hunger, discrimination, bigotry and prejudice in which people of all backgrounds peacefully work together to achieve mutual success, according to The King Center website.
The King Center is a community resource center that serves as a traditional memorial and nonprofit organization, according to its website.
Emma Segura, justice studies senior and Stories for Solidarity club president, said the booklet strengthened her bond to other marginalized groups.
Stories for Solidarity is a club dedicated to creating solidarity in marginalized communities by providing educational, cultural and social resources, according to its Instagram account page.
“When reading the booklet, people can empathize and understand what it means and what it feels to be oppressed. Whether you’re Black, Mexican, Japanese, whatever you are, at the end of the day we’re all people,” Segura said in a phone call. “Just being human, we can understand that humans go through things and it’s important that we empower each other and stand together. That’s my biggest takeaway from the booklet.”
Segura said although she may not be able to identify with the exact perspective of each activist in the booklet, her experiences as a Mexican American woman help her relate to the struggle and pain that the booklet describes.
HRI founding director William Armaline said he anticipates the booklet being incorporated into classes and educating students about the local social justice history.
“[The booklet] really needs to be a part of our curriculum, a part of what we teach,” Armaline said. “It might help to create connections that students have to the campus and the way they think about where they’re going to school.”
He said he recommends reading the booklet to learn something new about SJSU’s past even if the content doesn’t apply to students’ area of study.
“I encourage people to check it out. I thought I knew what there is to know in terms of that history but I learned quite a few things myself,” Armaline said.
Myers-Lipton said the booklet was also compiled to inspire future students to advocate for social change.
The booklet’s final two sections urge readers to add chapters to the book and continue the legacy of activism on campus, according to the text.
“Which SJSU students will write the next chapter? Maybe it will be you!” Myers-Lipton stated in the booklet.
It also includes possible topics for other chapters including student relief committees during World War II and The Great Depression and the start of the women’s movement and women’s studies on campus that couldn’t be included in the current version.
Jahmal Williams, director of advocacy for racial justice, said although the campus community might not yet be close to King’s “Beloved Community,” it’s headed in that direction.
“We’re not there. Who knows how long it takes to get there?” Williams said. “We have a ton of work still to do, but I don’t remember these same conversations happening seven years ago. I am optimistic.”
He said he hopes the booklet will reach the greater community outside of the university and send the message that activists here are advocating for more than just issues on campus.
“We can inspire community members to know that San Jose State is having a positive impact locally. We’re not just educating students, but we’re helping to change the region,” Williams said. “I think we have to do a better job at telling these stories and framing them in a way that does allow people to know that we are working and fighting on behalf of them.”
The first step to achieving justice in the future is learning about the injustices of the past, Myers-Lipton said.
“This booklet is about uncovering the hidden history of San Jose State,” Myers-Lipton said. “If you read it, you’re going to learn a lot that the students probably don’t know, the faculty don’t know and the staff don’t know.”
