Fifty-three years after the infamous Computer Centre Incident at Sir George Williams University (SGWU), I sit down with my dad, Leon Jacobs, as he remembers his time as a university student.
Leon is now 80, but back in the winter of 1969 he was a 27-year-old student pursuing his Bachelor of Arts at Sir George Williams in Montreal. He, along with many others, showed his solidarity with six West Indian students who had made allegations of racism against a professor.
Leon attended several of the meetings and consultations held between students and university representatives, eventually joining other classmates after they organized a sit-in in protest of the university’s response to the allegations.
As I listen to my dad speak, I realize that the events of 1969 stayed with him all these years; it shadowed his student experience as a young Black man. This is why, with the global rise of the anti-racism movement, it is so deeply meaningful that Concordia is finally acknowledging what happened.
‘We, Black students, were blamed and vilified. So yes, it’s about time’
Candace Jacobs: What are your memories of what happened in February 1969?
Leon Jacobs: I joined the sit-in at the Henry F. Hall Building 9th floor (the Computer Centre at the time). There was a feeling of comradery; it felt democratic. I remained there for roughly five days. At some point, the university cafeteria had stopped selling food and students were getting hungry. So, my role after leaving the sit-in was to go into the community asking Montrealers if they would be willing to cook and bring food to the protestors. So many said yes. What stuck with me at the time was the kindness of those community members, and me thinking, “those people never got their pots back.”
After the mayhem and arrest of fellow students, several of us made our way to the police precinct where our friends and others were being detained; we demonstrated with signs and placards. We were angry. They were in jail and needed support. So, we organized to get them legal representation, get advocates, etc.