Logo Historical Accountability Student Research Program

Explore Historical Materials

Use advanced search

Browse Items

Description is exactly "Members of Dartmouth’s Black Judicial Advisory Committee (JAC) recommend that no penalty be incurred against the 17 Black students who participated in a clapping demonstration during a presentation by Dr. William Shockley. They conclude that Shockley’s speech was “group libel,” attacking and defaming the Black community on the basis of its race, and therefore determined that his speech was neither protected under the U.S. Constitution nor the College’s “equal opportunity” principle. Committee members call for Dartmouth to clarify rules governing campus behavior, including what kind of speech should not be interfered with at the College. The authors also call upon the Dean of the College and alumni to reconsider their view that the student protesters undermined their fight for equality by violating principles of free speech, as JAC members contend that the student demonstrators merely acted in self-defense."
Go to top of page