Of all the memorable moments during ASCD's 50 years, none is recalled by longtime members so frequently as ASCD's 1969 Annual Conference held in Chicago. That turbulent event—which included the disruption of the Conference by social activists from within and outside ASCD and the subsequent resignation of ASCD's president—is seen by many as a turning point for the Association. In its wake, ASCD made changes that increased its commitment to diversity in governance and in its program.
"For me, the Chicago Conference was a watershed moment for ASCD," not only for the dialogue it generated among participants but also because it helped to convince ASCD to make key changes in its constitution to foster greater inclusiveness, says Past President Delmo Della-Dora (1975–76). "ASCD began to come to terms with the fact that if it was going to represent all people, it would have to stand up to that," adds Neil Atkins, a former ASCD Executive Secretary.
Although ASCD had passed several resolutions supportive of minority rights prior to 1969, some felt the Association wasn't doing enough to address the needs of inner-city educators and students, or of minorities in general. ASCD at the time had never had a black president, and minorities were underrepresented in ASCD governance. Della-Dora is one who felt ASCD tilted toward "tea-party liberals": it expressed concern about minority issues but did not act strongly enough on those concerns. ASCD groups such as the Black Caucus, the Radical Caucus, and the Commission on Social Hangups—populated with younger and more activist members—were determined at that time to push ASCD to take stronger positions on such issues as civil rights and urban education. "There were people champing at the bit to get some new ideas" in ASCD, says Past President Glenys Unruh (1974–75), who was on the Commission. "They felt that social concerns were not being looked at enough."
Unruh recalls that a small band from the Commission on Social Hangups met in January 1969 "at a dude ranch outside Tucson" and discussed how the Chicago Conference might be a forum for raising ASCD's commitment to social issues. With the rioting and fires that swept many cities during the summer of 1968 and the confrontations that year at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a backdrop, such concerns were cresting as Conference-goers flocked to Chicago in March 1969 for ASCD's Annual Conference.
Plans Disrupted
The Conference, which was intended to highlight the topic of supervision, did have one new session designed specifically to address minority issues and race relations, a "Black and White Exchange," scheduled for the last day of the Conference. Fred Wilhelms, then ASCD's Executive Secretary, recalls trying to solicit black and white members to participate and having difficulty finding enough black members. So a Chicago-area civil rights group was contacted for assistance, Wilhelms says, and plans for the final-day session moved ahead.
Those plans were quickly overtaken by events, however, beginning on the first day of the Conference.
Longtime members disagree about whether advance organizing led to the incidents in Chicago. Perhaps, as some suggest, the Black Caucus and the Radical Caucus, with help from the Chicago civil rights group, set into motion the events that followed.
In any case, ASCD's regular Conference-goers were supplemented by anywhere from two dozen to a hundred or more (estimates vary) activists who were determined to make minority concerns a major part of the proceedings. They succeeded in altering the content and the schedule of the Conference in "minor and fascinating ways," says Della-Dora, who admits that others considered the disruptions "significant and obnoxious."
At some of the sessions, the activists vocally demanded that the agenda be more responsive to minority issues. "They wanted to start a dialogue," says Unruh. Some took a more disruptive tack. "They called out slogans and upset people, knocked papers off desks, and created a general disturbance," Unruh recalls.
Dick Foster, then superintendent of schools in Berkeley, Calif., was scheduled to speak at one of the Conference's general sessions. He recalls being awakened about midnight by one of his staff and being told that a group of local college students and ASCD radicals intended to "take over the Conference." In the early-morning hours that followed, says Foster, these protesters summarized their requests: that they be allowed time during a general session to explain their concerns, that they be given free passes to the Conference, and that they be given some money to cover their expenses during the duration of the meeting.
When these demands were presented to the Executive Committee the following day, the Committee saw fit to allow the protesters five minutes at a general session, the free passes, and $50. ASCD President Muriel Crosby, upset by the confrontation and dissatisfied with the Committee's resolution of the matter, resigned her office and retreated to her hotel room, from which she did not return to the Conference. "We were never able, after that traumatic experience, to get her back in," Past President John Greene (1970–71), a friend of Crosby's, recalls with regret. Ultimately, Dick Foster gave up five minutes of his speech so that buckets for donations could be passed among audience members (several thousand dollars were raised, he says).
Constructive Dialogue
While many found the events that interrupted the meeting disturbing, most say that the incidents sparked much-needed dialogue about minority issues in education in general, and in ASCD in particular. In the black-white exchange session and, less formally, in spontaneous "rap" sessions in conference hallways and hotel rooms, many participants found themselves talking and listening about racial concerns with honesty and, perhaps, newfound awareness.
Participants discussed racial issues, integration, and how the curriculum marginalized the contributions of minorities, recalls Past President Phil Robinson (1984–85). Robinson recalls the Conference as "a beautiful experience," and believes that most of the participants grew from the dialogue that resulted.
Moreover, ASCD emerged stronger because the issues were aired and discussed at the Chicago Conference, many longtime members say.
An ASCD-commissioned study carried out after the Conference found that women and minorities were underrepresented in governance positions, and changes were made to recruit them aggressively. ASCD to that point had prided itself on being color-blind, says Wilhelms. But the Chicago Conference helped the Association realize that stronger action was necessary. "We realized that being color-blind wasn't good enough," says Wilhelms.
In the wake of the conference, ASCD's constitution was altered. The six-member Executive Committee was renamed the Executive Council and expanded to 13 members to allow for more diversity. Nominating procedures were altered to foster greater representation of minorities. New efforts were made to recruit members from diverse backgrounds. And ASCD attempted to place more emphasis on social issues, especially those concerning civil rights. "We broke out of a long period of traditionalism beginning in 1969," Unruh believes.
The Chicago Conference represented a transition point in another sense as well. The Conference was to have highlighted a move to develop certification and accreditation for curriculum directors and supervisors, which could have helped to professionalize those roles. Crosby's speech, in fact, was to have emphasized this topic. But her resignation and the subsequent disarray thwarted the plan, and momentum was lost. "I would lament the loss of that opportunity," says Past President Gerald Firth (1986–87).
Still, many agree that the Conference marked a major turning point in ASCD's history—and that ASCD is better for the experience. "ASCD was never able to go back to where it was before the Conference," says Foster, "and I think that's all to the good."