WOODSTOCK WEST EXHIBIT

by Aaliyah Jones WRIT 1733: Honors Writing | Professor Robert Gilmor

CURATOR’S NOTE: MY PIECE IS A DIGITAL EXHIBIT CREATED for “WRIT 1733: Stories from the Archives” in the Spring 2020 quarter. Our class was instructed to conduct research in DU’s archive to create an online exhibit that illustrated a particular story in DU’s history. We were given a tremendous amount of freedom during topic selection, ranging from the history of DU’s swim team to the progression of student-led clubs on campus. The primary restraints of this assignment existed because the Covid-19 pandemic began just a few weeks prior. Normally, research would be conducted in the physical archive located in DU’s library. For this quarter, all research had to be done online and was limited to the archival documents that had been scanned for use.

I initially expressed interest in researching the history of student clubs for minorities on DU’s campus from the 1960s to the 2000s. Since I have started my undergraduate education at DU, I have been very much involved with groups such as the Latinx Student Alliance and the Access and Transitions community. Therefore, this topic of research felt familiar, which was comforting as my experience with archival research was quite the opposite. However, I was disappointed to discover that the documents detailing the history of minority-led groups on campus were quite minimal compared to resources for other topics. The lack of documents for my topic can also be attributed to our lack of access to the physical archive.

Despite these challenges, I eventually found a statement made by the Black Student Alliance (BSA) at DU in response to the organization of protests after the Kent State shooting in 1970. I was aware that the Kent State shooting was the cause of the infamous Woodstock West, but I did not initially express interest in Woodstock West because I felt it was a topic that had been discussed a plethora of times. However, the BSA statement left me with a curious feeling that there was more to be unraveled and remaining stories that have not yet been told. It was then that I decided to shift my topic of focus to discovering the various perspectives that existed during the time of Woodstock West.

My major intention while piecing together content was to ensure that every perspective on Woodstock West from 1970 was represented. This was often a challenge when conducting research because perspectives from different groups of people were not equally represented in sources from the 1970s. By reading through nearly every DU Clarion paper from the months preceding and following Woodstock West, it became clear that opinions from minority groups on campus would be far more difficult to find. The simple observation of unequal representation in news and media is telling of a pattern of injustice throughout the entirety of history: the people that “win” are typically the ones that get to tell the story. It is too often that the “winners” and “storytellers” are the same people perpetuating the cycle of oppression. Therefore, I also intended for this exhibit to be a portrayal of the pattern of racial injustice that has occurred throughout the course of the United States history.

I feel that events such as Woodstock West are especially important to analyze and discuss because they are examples of a major cause of the continuation of inequality: unintended or ignorant racial oppression. I believe that most of the ideas represented within my exhibit are messages that have always been clear within racially minority communities. However, previous modern representations and displays on Woodstock West caused me to realize that these same ideas are not often discussed in white communities. The lack of knowledge on this topic may be attributed to the lack of experience with racial injustice in one’s personal life. I would therefore like to push the notion that although these may not be conflicts that you must think about in your day-to-day life, it is still essential to reflect on these issues because there are certainly members within your own community who are consistently thinking about and faced with them in their day-to-day lives. Although the exhibit places a large focus on differences in racial perspectives, I hope that the empathy necessary to understand opposing perspectives is displayed by all groups of people, as race is not the only issue presented in the exhibit nor is it the only issue contributing to patterns of injustice.

As you explore my exhibit, I hope that you can discover the role that intersectionality played through the course of Woodstock West events and find the importance in revisiting broadly accepted understandings. You will be able to explore the opinions maintained and actions taken by several groups of people on DU’s campus in 1970. While there are numerous “labels” that can be given to these groups, the main perspectives identified are those of the Woodstock West community, the Black Student Alliance, Chancellor Mitchell, and DU faculty. While the relationships of these groups may not be clear at first, I also hope that you have the opportunity to explore how each narrative is intertwined with the others and how these relationships are reflected in modern day society.

Digital Exhibit Link: http://portfolio.du.edu/writ1733montes/ page/100343

(requires logging into DU Portfolio)

Exhibit excerpts on pages 11 & 12. Content warning: exhibit material references violence and racism.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN MAY 18, 1970

The student flier, pictured here, details a funeral given for the Woodstock West community that was destroyed on May 15, 1970. The “death” of the community was partially due to the wishes of Chancellor Mitchell. The memorial service took place on the same date as the Black Student Alliance memorial service held for victims of the Jackson State Shooting (Foster, 1970). It is unclear whether the date chosen was coincidental or intentional, possibly contributing to the tension between the Woodstock West community and the Black Student Alliance.

Courtesy DU Special Collections and Archives

JOHN FOSTER, THE DENVER CLARION 1970 MAY 21

On May 14th in 1970, city and state police of Jackson, Mississippi opened fire on a crowd of black students during a protest at Jackson State University. Twelve students were injured and two were killed, an event nearly identical to the Kent State Shooting (Wyckoff, 2010). This Clarion article details the memorial held by the Black Student Alliance on May 18 for the victims and claims the event had only 50 attendees. The outcries and attention given to Jackson State did not equate to that of Kent State, and the event is often overlooked today.

Courtesy DU Special Collections and Archives

Aaliyah Jones is a second-year pre-med student pursuing a degree in Biology, with minors in Chemistry and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. While she maintains a strong desire to study and work in the medical field (inspired by her mother’s assiduous work as a medical assistant), the pride of her Mexican American heritage is driven by her research of historical and modern-day issues of race and intersectionality (inspired by her father’s immense dedication to the study of race and class based conflicts). Her decision to pursue both academic passions stems from her astonishing indecisiveness, likely due to her Librabased personality.

When she is not studying, Aaliyah loves to listen to 1990s-2000s R&B music and go on adventures in the heart of downtown Denver or in the mountains. It may be assumed that as a Denver native, she would be bored with constantly exploring her own city. However, she will likely be lost approximately 40% of the time because her academic ability did not come with a sense of direction.

image provided by author

image on page 9: Courtesy DU Special Collections and Archives