The Sir George Williams affair (also referred to as "The Sir George Williams Computer Centre Incident") was a 1969 event at Sir George Williams University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, now a part of Concordia University. It was the largest student occupation in Canadian history, and resulted in $2 million of property damage.
Background
In May 1968, six West Indian students of Sir George Williams University accused biology professor Perry Anderson of discrimination because of alleged unfair grading. No meetings were held to discuss the incident and to find a solution. Eight months later, students took matters into their own hands by organizing meetings, sit-ins and peaceful protests. Other events, at the university and in Montreal, contributed to the simmering crisis and its destructive conclusion.
In October 1968, a few months before the riot, Montreal had hosted two conferences on the position of black people in society. The first, at Sir George Williams, was organized by black alumni, several professors, and other members of the university. It engaged black organizations across Canada, who were represented by black leaders from Halifax to Vancouver. According to Expression, a quarterly publication of the Negro Citizenship Association Inc. (Conference Issue, Winter 1968), its purpose was to examine the "problems in the Canadian society with reference to black people." The second, the Black Writers Conference, was hosted at McGill University. Its focus was "the ideology of Black Power and Black Nationalism." These conferences, held weeks apart and at the two different venues, reflected formal agreements to disagree on priorities and span of action: domestic versus international.<!-- --> Both conferences contributed to the tensions at Sir George Williams University.
Other contributing factors included a series of miscommunications between the students and the university administration, and the nature of the university itself, which encouraged a non-traditional educational philosophy, openness, and accessible higher education to a wide range of students from different backgrounds and different social strata.
Overview
In Montreal, the estimated population of black people was 7,000 in 1961, which increased to 50,000 by 1968. McGill University was the first choice of university for many students but, since they had a strict admission policy, they could not be easily accepted. Sir George Williams University had a more lenient admissions policy and accepted students from various backgrounds. Classes were offered during the day and night (evening), which was convenient for many students. Sir George Williams University was very popular among international students.
The occupation was sparked by the university's mishandling of racism allegations against assistant professor of biology Perry Anderson, who was accused of being biased in his grading of black students. In spring 1968, six black students from the West Indies accused Anderson of racism, charging that he had given them lower grades than what their work merited. Additionally, it was charged that in the classroom Anderson would address black students as "mister" while he addressed White students by their first names, which was widely seen as evidence that he was prejudiced against his black students.
Aftermath
The riot was covered extensively by the Canadian media: all of the television networks filmed the event live from outside the university. The occupation became a key event illustrating the widespread disaffection and rebelliousness among the nation's youth during the 1960s.
One protestor, Coralee Hutchison, suffered head trauma during the confrontation with police. She was hospitalized and later died.
Assistant professor Perry Anderson was suspended for the duration of the crisis. He was reinstated on February 12, 1969, and, on June 30, the Hearing Committee appointed to the case found that "there was nothing in the evidence (before them) to substantiate a general charge of racism." He was found not guilty of racism towards the six complainants.
The computer centre incident forced a number of changes at Sir George Williams University:
Student representation on university decision-making bodies was established and university procedures and policies were revamped and modernized. In April 1971, Sir George Williams adopted the University Regulations on Rights and Responsibilities and established the Ombuds office.
In 2022, the university issued an apology, stating that the crackdown on the protests "had serious lasting consequences for many individuals [...] from jail sentences to deportation, psychological trauma, physical injury, social alienation, loss of employment and the disruption of – even to the point of not finishing – academic degrees."
Film
In February 2014, director Mina Shum and producer Selwyn Jacob began shooting in Montreal on a National Film Board of Canada feature documentary entitled Ninth Floor, about the Sir George Williams Affair. Filming coincided with the 45th anniversary of the incident. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, on September 12. The film focuses on individuals who were connected to the incident, and how it shaped their lives. The film shows the events at the time, and follows up on the lives of those involved decades later.
In 2025, Michèle Stephenson also released the documentary film True North.
See also
- List of incidents of civil unrest in Canada