Sharon Martinas was a San Francisco State College lecturer during the strike. She was actively involved in supporting the strike. She helped to develop the SF State Strike Legal Support Committee and the Experimental College. She went by the name Sharon Gold during the strike.

The San Francisco State College student strike, lasting from November 1968 to March 1969, was the longest running academic strike in U.S. history. It began after a series of events, starting in May 1967, increased political organizing and tension on campus. [For more detail see Helene Whitson’s “Strike! A Chronology, Bibliography, and List of Archival Materials Concerning the 1968-1969 Strike at San Francisco State College”]

The strike was led by the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF), a coalition of Black, Latinx, Filipino and Asian student groups. The strike also had support from progressive white students, community groups, the Parents Strike Support Committee, and faculty members who joined the picket line.

The strike was waged under the tenure of three college presidents. The first two, Presidents John Summerskill and Robert Smith, resigned. It ended under the tenure of President S.I. Hawakaya, who became known for ripping the wires out of the audio system during a student rally.

The major outcomes of the demands were the establishment of the School of Ethnic Studies, which was the first in the nation, and faculty positions, funding and staffing for an Economic Opportunity Program (EOP), increased enrollment of students of color, and protection of students involved in strike activities.