The 1968-1969 San Francisco State strike was the longest campus strike in United States history. In November 1968, student groups led by the Black Student Union and the Third World Liberation Front went on strike with a list of fifteen demands, most requesting more minority representation in the curricula and the faculty. On November 13, after a week of conflict, police arrived in riot gear and the campus was shut down. On December 2nd, major confrontations occured between students and acting University President, Dr. S. I. Hayakawa. Days later, the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1352 joined the students and set up picket lines. On March 20, 1969 an agreement was signed ending the five-month long strike. The negotiations laid the foundation for the establishment of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State and let to the formation of numerous other ethnic studies programs at universities around the country.

Gerald Grow taught in the English Department of San Francisco State College from 1968-1971. Grow recalls of the strike: "The leaders of the AFT asked for volunteers to circulate through campus and take pictures, as a way of signaling to all participants that their actions were being observed and recorded, with the explicit hope that this would reduce the chance of violence." (See case file)