CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

A participatory project to collect and preserve the histories of the City University of New York

"Strike Against War!" Flier

This flier advertises an April 22, 1936 anti-war demonstration in the Great Hall at the City College of New York (CCNY). The event, attended by 3,500 students, featured addresses from student and faculty leaders as well as a vote that reaffirmed the students' fight against both the ROTC on campus and CCNY President Frederick Robinson. They further denounced perceived American war preparations and Japanese imperial aggression, and announced their refusal "to support the government of the United States in any war it may undertake."

Like several other rallies from the previous year, this demonstration was part of a larger coordinated nationwide effort of left-wing and liberal students that day led by the American Student Union, around 500,000 participated in all. At CCNY, day students left class at 11am to participate in the strike while evening students held a similar rally later that night.

Perhaps the most immediate consequence of the protest was the firing of Morris Schappes, a professor in the English Department who had spoken at the rally on behalf of the Anti-fascist Association. His firing, announced the day of the rally though attributed to other causes, would spark an outcry amongst many in the CCNY community. As a result of their efforts, he retained his job though it was not long before Schappes' political leanings would lead to his dismissal and imprisonment in 1941.

Source | CCNY Archives & Special Collections
Creator | Unknown
Date Created | April 1936
Rights | Obtain From CCNY Archives & Special Collections
Item Type | Text (Flier / Leaflet (1 or 2 page handout))
Cite This document | Unknown, “"Strike Against War!" Flier,” CUNY Digital History Archive, accessed March 19, 2024, https://cdha.cuny.edu/items/show/3652.

Print and Share