David Mead
The 1960s were quite a turbulent time for many Americans. Groups of people with differing political ideologies were clashing over a number of issues, most prominent the war in Vietnam. In addition to the raging debates and protests that accompanied our country’s fight against Communism was the ever-growing Civil Rights movement. Leaders of the movement, namely Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., obtained a substantial amount of political clout through nonviolent protests and demonstrations. King not only affected our society during his lifetime. His legacy and nonviolent philosophy lived on after his death and his influence was far-reaching. This proved to be true on the campus of Highline Community College.
On October 31, 1968, approximately thirty Highline students, mainly African-American, participated in a sit-in on the Thunderword newspaper office. Their cause was to try to get an apology or the removal of the newspaper editor over an article that they found offensive. Said article was a horoscope column, which read, “Sagitarius – A terrible fate will befall you this week. You will walk through the Central District. Need I say more?”[i]
Harrison Allen, one of the participants in the sit-in, said that John Nelson, author of the article and editor of the newspaper, “created an attitude of alienation toward students from the central area.” [ii] The Central District was composed of a predominantly African-American population and was considered to be a ghetto.[iii]
During the sit-in, students barricaded the office door by piling chairs in front of it. Publication of the bi-weekly newspaper was held up. The thirty students who made up the group were told to leave and all but eight students left when given a warning. The remaining eight were arrested on the charge of unlawful assembly. They were taken peacefully by fifteen sheriff’s deputies.[iv]
The eight students who were arrested were all officers of the Afro-American Union of Highline.[v] Between October 4 and 30, the Afro-American Union had made multiple attempts to obtain an apology from Nelson, including three meetings and an open forum. They also requested that the president of Highline, M.A. Allan, remove Nelson from the newspaper staff. Nelson adamantly refused to issue an apology to anyone. At the open forum, he displayed his steadfast adherence to his statements in the Thunderword and received “overwhelming applause from the white students.”[vi]
The Afro-American Union eventually did get the apology it originally sought, albeit after the sit-in had generated significant local press. In the formal written apology, issued on November 4,1968, M.A. Allan stated that any injury caused by the article, “ was not the intent of the author.” Nelson, as well as Allan, signed the formal apology.[vii]
In the end, all eight students who were arrested for the sit-in were convicted of unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor. Seven were convicted in December 1968[viii], and the last one was convicted in February 1969[ix]. The same sentence was given to all eight students: sentencing would be delayed for six months. If the students were able to “avoid trouble” for that period of time, the cases would be dismissed. Judge Robert E. Stead, who presided over the case, praised the students for “restraint in keeping it from getting out of hand.”[x]
The students who were arrested at the sit-in eventually triumphed. Of course, they had to undergo the ordeal of a court trial, but they got the apology they wanted. In addition, they accomplished their goal in the best way possible. They exhausted all traditional means available to them to try to get the editor to apologize. When that failed, they staged a completely nonviolent sit-in, and were taken into police custody without any struggle. The spirit and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. truly was present in the Afro-American Union’s efforts. Had Dr. King still been around at the time to witness them, he would have been proud.
Works Cited
[i] “8 Students Arrested At Sit-in.” Seattle, Wash. Post-Intelligencer 1 Nov. 1968.
[ii] “8 Arrested at Highline Sit-In.” Seattle, Wash. Times 31 Oct. 1968.
[iii] “‘Sneering at Another’s Pain.’” Seattle, Wash. Post-Intelligencer 23 Nov. 1968)
[iv] “8 Arrested at Highline Sit-In.” Seattle, Wash. Times 31 Oct. 1968
[v] “8 Arrested at Highline Sit-In.” Seattle, Wash. Times 31 Oct. 1968
[vi] Allen, Harrison III. “Sit In Incident.” The Facts 7 Nov. 1968
[vii] “Apology Is Extended For College Article.” Kent News Journal 6 Nov. 1968
[viii] “7 Students Convicted For Conducting Sit-In.” Tri-City Herald 11 Dec. 1968
[ix] “Judge Finds Sit-In Defendant Guilty.” Auburn, Wash. Globe News 12 Feb. 1969
[x] “7 Students Convicted For Conducting Sit-In.” Tri-City Herald 11 Dec. 1968