The 1968 San Francisco State Strike & Black Panther Party With Clarence Thomas & Judy Juanita

In 1968, there was an historic four month long strike at San Francisco State led by the Black Student Union, Third World Liberation Front and supported by SDS, all campus unions the ILWU and San Francisco Labor Council. It led to the formation of the first Ethnic Studies Department in the United States. The Black Panther Party members were an important part of the leadership of the strike on the campus. Strikers and Black Panther Party members Judy Juanita and Clarence Thomas talk about the history of the strike and how the BPP played a key part in the strike. Judy Juanita was born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, Judy Juanita (Judy Hart) joined the nation’s first Black Student Union at San Francisco State and subsequently the Black Panther Party (BPP). She edited the BPP newspaper and worked in the Breakfast for Children program while finishing her BA at SF State. Five days after graduating, she became the youngest professor of the nation’s first black studies program and is a noted poet and author of many books including on the Black Panther Party. Clarence Thomas, was from a family of longshore workers and joined the BPP while at San Francisco State strike. He became the Secretary Treasurer of ILWU Local 10 and is publishing works on the ILWU and workers lives. This interview was done on July 11, 2026 as part of LaborFest which commemorates the 1934 San Francisco general strike. Additional Media: Then & Now On The 50th Anniversary Of The SF State Strike    • Then & Now On The 50th Anniversary Of The ...   The '68 SF State Strike, Labor & The Lessons For Today On The 50th Anniversary    • The '68 SF State Strike, Labor & The  Less...   Labor And The 1968 San Francisco State Strike    • 50th Anniversary Commemoration Of SF State...   The Lessons Of The 68’ SF State Strike And Relevance Today, 50 Years After The Strike    • The Lessons Of The 68’ SF State Strike And...   "The Turning Point" The San Francisco State '68 Strike    • "The Turning Point" The San Francisco Stat...   The Worker Student Alliance SDS and PL: A Reading In SF    • The Worker Student Alliance SDS and PL: A ...   SF State 1968 Strikers Read From Their Works On 50th Anniversary Of Strike    • SF State 1968 Strikers Read From Their Wor...   For more info: LaborFest.net Production of Labor Video Project www.labormedia.net