May 1 1971

## Overview

* Richard Nixon was president in 1971.
* To get more specific, *All in the Family* debuted on CBS on January 12 1971.
* The May Day Protests of 1971 were large-scale civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C., in protest against the Vietnam War. The purpose of the May Day Protests was to shut down the government for one day to give the Nixon Administration a final proposition with the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.
* On May 1 1971, "Joy to the World" was on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
* The New York Times released the Pentagon Papers in early June. Daniel Ellsberg was the person who released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times because he believed that winning the Vietnam War was unreachable; he thought that Americans should know the decision-making process within the war.

## Legislation and the University of Wisconsin

### "Wisconsin State Assemblyman Lloyd Barbee Continues Fight for the People"

This article from the BP Newsletter stated that they would introduce a bill to make Malcolm X's birthday and the anniversary of Martin Luther King's death state holidays. They believed these dates should become holidays because Malcolm X was and still is today," a martyred hero to millions of Black people,” and King,"...symbolized the end of an era in which the forces of dynamic non-violence set the tempo for the movement for human dignity." Both Malcolm X and King inspired many and influenced the Black Panther Party heavily.

The Afro-American Culture Center chose Huey Newton, he was one of founders of the Black Panther Party, to be the speaker of Black liberation and talk about the Afro-American heritage. However, the University of Wisconsin did not cooperate with the Black Panther Party. This showed that the University did not have all of the student’s needs in their minds, and "...is choosing to bow before the White racist power structure."

Milwaukee law reform organizations called for minority communities to become "...more outspoken and aggressive.." so that all people of color can have power in our legal system besides white racist leaders.

### "Sterilize Welfare Mothers?"

This article first brings up the history of how women were constantly impregnated to,"..insure future generations of chattel slaves." A bill was introduced to the Tennessee legislatures,"..to 'offer' 'voluntary' sterilization to women on welfare who have more than on 'illegitimate' child. If the mother doesn't 'volunteer' to be sterilized, her welfare payments would be cut off and each 'illegitimate' child born after refusal would be declared 'dependent'.." The NAACP, welfare, student tenants, and others were against this bill. Soon after this bill was mentioned, many meetings and demonstrations were taking place. According to article, it states,"In a press statement, newly elected black Rep. Charles Pruitt compared the bill to 'Hitler's attempt to rid Germany of "undesirables" by sterilizing masses of women.'"

## Women March On The Pentagon

On April 10, more than 3,000 women from all over the country came to march at the Pentagon. This demonstration was to spread the anti-war offensive and their slogan, "Women have the right to life, Defend the right to live!" Tin Lu, Susan Saxe, and Kathy Powers all spoke at this demonstration. Saxe and Powers both talked about how they were there for the anti-war movement, but they were "...enemies of all forms of oppression and exploitation everywhere."

## Sam Bridges, Stanford University, and Police Brutality

Sam Bridges, a Black man, was hired as a janitor at Stanford University. During his time at Stanford, he noticed that the workers essentially had no rights, and we’re powerless against their supervisors. He frequently spoke about the atrocity, and he later found himself fired from the university on March 16th. Bridges were not the only employee that was fired after speaking out. Dr. Jose Aguilar, a neurosurgeon who worked at Stanford Medical Center, was fired after seeking out students who were minorities to become enrolled at Stanford.

Many Blacks were not pleased with this, and they took action into their own hands by joining together and creating a list of demands for the Stanford Medical Center. There were seven demands, and some of them were,"...Workers must have the right to criticize administrative policies from the date of hiring without intimidation...Sam Bridges must be rehired and paid for lost time...The Stanford Hospital must adopt an Affirmative Action Program." They had a meeting with Dr. Gonda and Dean Wilson; they agreed to all of the demands, except the reinstatement of Sam Bridges. According to other employees, Sam Bridges was found sleeping on the job and not doing his job. However, these claims were false, and Bridges was never told the job description when he first started at Stanford. The Black Advisory Council at Stanford heavily suggested they reinstate Bridges because the Council would have resigned otherwise.

The police arrived at the protest, and the people blocked the entrances so the police could not reach them. However, the police broke the barriers by force, and chaos started. Many people were involved in the protest, and the Medical Center employees were injured, beaten, clubbed, and some were arrested on seven charges. Dr. Gonda told the protestors that the police would not intervene, but President Miller contacted them before the protest. Later, more demands were made, and President Miller was encouraged to read them aloud at the rally.

## The Death of Samuel Napier

### Background

Samuel Napier was murdered in April of 1971. He was at the New York Black Panther Party office where he was tied up to a chair and was shot in the back of the head. The people who killed him were associated with COINTELPRO and had infiltrated the Black Panther Party.

### The Eulogy Given by Huey Newton

Huey Newton first begins the eulogy by saying how much Samuel Napier contributed to the Black Panther Party. According to the eulogy, it states, "He's always been attached by the distribution of our paper, the Black Panther paper, which is the life of the Party...He was an extremely hard worker. We won't be able to replace him." The article includes a song in tribute to Samuel Napier, named "For Sam a Brother/Friend of the People.” Newton continues to explain in the eulogy of Napier’s accomplishments and his influence on the Black Panther Party.

## References

Samuel Napier

Article about the Pentagon Papers