Our team of archivists, librarians, and researchers is hard at work (from home) during the Covid-19 crisis, helping you with all your research needs. As the current pandemic continues to affect the world, we have been working to document our institutional response, as well as the ways that current events reflect our collections and past history. If you have a research query, please contact us at special.collections@sjsu.edu.
Lately i’ve been thinking about issues of racism during the pandemic and the way in which politicians are responding, and how those responses are similar to actions taken in regard to past events. For example, on April 10th, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, and Mazie Hirono wrote a letter asking the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to “issue guidance to federal agencies on preventing and addressing anti-Asian racism and xenophobia related to the coronavirus pandemic.” A similar call for guidance and action was issued after the events of September 11, 2001, when Congressman Mike Honda worked to stop racial discrimination against Muslim-Americans. We have documented Congressman Honda’s responses in the Mike Honda Papers, with a fully-searchable Finding Aid available here. Our collections provide a wealth of information on how the local, state, and federal government responds to emergencies and any related issues like discrimination that spring up when we face urgent crises.
Recognizing that we are all in this together, and that Covid-19 affects all people, regardless of skin color or religious affiliation, is a key step in creating a robust and inclusive plan for our community’s future as we all work toward ending this crisis.
Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Earth Day was created by peace activist John McConnell, and was meant to celebrate environmentalism, peace, and the Earth as a whole. The first Earth Day took place in 1970, and in the time since, San José State University's contribution, the Survival Faire, has become well-known for its originality and ingenuity.
During the week of February 16-20, 1970, SJSU organized the first ever Survival Faire. The event’s purpose was to engage and alert the campus community to environmental issues- specifically the survival of humanity when facing environmental destruction. Special Collections houses flyers that came from the personal collection of one of the Faire’s organizers, Anna Koster, as well as photographs and materials donated by other participants of the Faire. You can visit our Digital Collections to view photographs, flyers, and other ephemera related to the Faire and Earth Day here. The below photograph of masked students is especially timely, as we celebrate Earth Day from the confines of our homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. These students were protesting the effects of smog, and the lack of action taken by local and nationwide governments to clear the air for the public. 50 years later, we are thankful to these early protestors for their attention to environmental causes like the eradication of smog-causing pollutants, which happened through a series of actions that included banning CFC's, emissions restrictions, and 1970's Clean Air Act. As we plan for the future well-being of our planet, using historical archival resources can assist us in our understanding of past activism and how it has affected our present. It's never too late to create positive change for humanity!
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