Hostos Community College: Battle of the Seventies

A personal historical account by the Coordinator of the Coalition to Save Hostos Community College during the 1975 76 New York City financial crisis. This 9-month, South Bronx-led community struggle began with traditional peaceful civic advocacy and then developed into a civil disobedience movement armed with aggressive militant tactics. The collective nucleus was composed of students, professors, professionals, community groups, constituency groups, and individuals supported by a citywide network. The campaign resulted in the longest takeover of an academic institution in the history of New York City, and emergency legislation that saved the first Spanish-English bilingual college in the history of the United States.