Browse Exhibits

The Fight for Equal Education

This exhibit explores Queens College student involvement in education activism in the 1960s. The Student Help Project tutored students in South Jamaica, Queens and Prince Edward County Virginia. The Mississippi Freedom Project of 1964 sent students down South to run Freedom Schools. Queens College students also participated in and promoted school boycotts in New York City to raise awareness of unofficial segregation by neighborhood. The SEEK (Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge) Program was initiated at Queens College in 1966, helping African-Americans gain access to higher education.

Meridian (Miss.), Mississippi Freedom Project, Prince Edward County, School Boycott, Student Help Project

Three Who Died for Civil Rights

This exhibit contains items relating to the murder of three civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman. These brave young men sacrificed thier lives helping underserved communities in Mississippi during the Summer of 1964. Following thier deaths there were a number of events that commemorated thier sacrifice. The clock tower attached to the Rosenthal Library on the campus of Queens College was dedicated in thier names on May 10, 1989. The Chaney Goodman Schwerner Memorial Coalition sponsored memorial events, some of which are included in this exhibit and the Freedom Caravan (1989) made a historic trip to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the tragic deaths. In addition, when Fred Zollo produced a Hollywood version of the events surrounding the investigation of the murders, "Mississippi Burning," there was an uproar on and around the Queens College campus, items relating to the criticism the movie received are included in this exhibit.

Andrew Goodman, Mississippi, Mississippi Freedom Project, Queens College (New York N.Y.)

LGBT Issues and Activism

This exhibit showcases materials in the Queens College Archives that document LGBT issues and activism, both at the college and beyond. The efforts and experiences of two New York City area activists, Robert Rygor and Joan Nestle, a graduate of Queens College, are represented.

AIDS, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, International Conference on AIDS, LGBT, LGBT in Military Service, Robert Rygor, SEEK

1963 Student Help Project Timeline

Many of our collections were donated by activists who participated in the Student Help Project in Jamaica, Queens, and Prince Edward County, Virginia, in 1963. This timeline visually displays date-stamped materials and is the result of our "50 Years Ago Today" social media project, launched on May 1st, 2013. The project Tweeted items daily to provide greater access to materials while also highlighting the daily work of civil rights activists at Queens College. The items displayed are just highlights; the collections hold much more on the Student Help Project and other student activism.

Student Help Project Art Book

This art book was created by Queens College Art & Design students to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Student Help Project's Prince Edward County involvement. The students worked with archival materials to reinterpret the materials and to show case them in new ways.

Archiving Occupy Project

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a movement based around a rejection of the inequalities inherent in capitalism. Influenced by the mass uprisings in the Middle East, Europe, and other parts of the world, and sparked by a call to action in the July 2011 issue of Adbusters magazine, a group of activists established OWS in New York City in late summer 2011. OWS grew into the largest series of mass protests in the United States since the 1960s through the use of occupied public spaces, direct actions, and publications.

McCarthyism at Queens College

This site is a digital reproduction of the exhibit McCarthyism at Queens College, 1947-1955. The exhibit was originally installed in the Rotunda of the Benjamin Rosenthal Library at Queens College from September 2 through October 18, 2003.