Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.). University of Texas Chapter.

The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) formed in 1960 out of the Student League for Industrial Democracy. The New Left organization championed civil rights for African Americans, Mexicans, and other minority groups as well as social-political reforms, including public welfare programs and workers’ rights. It protested the war in Vietnam, racial discrimination, and anti-communism. In 1962, the SDS held its first national convention and drafted the Port Huron Statement, which outlined their motivation and goals, advocating nonviolent civil disobedience and uniting forces with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The next year, six official university chapters and several unofficial chapters, including University of Texas at Austin, had formed.

The Austin chapter focused on local Texas political and social issues. These included the Board of Regents’ controversial policies against the SDS and similar organizations under Frank Erwin’s chairmanship, labor strikes and newspapers to represent workers’ rights and opinions, and protests against discriminatory sentencing practices and restrictions on people’s First Amendment rights.

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