Creating and Defending Spaces: Victor Gordon
In April 1970, Victor Gordon, a Black activist, attended an anti-Vietnam War protest in the student union. The event was hosted by Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Brothers Organizational Society. Gordon led a chant with the word "motherfucker" and got charged with breaking an obscenity law.[i]
Gordon knowingly broke the law.[ii] The white Utah community viewed the word as an “earthy phrase that is a blunt description of a form of incest.”[iii] Gordon “never even thought anything about that” and viewed word as a description of “raping” Black culture.[iv] More than a free speech claim, his protest questioned who defined obscenity. His charges proved that white rather than Black interpretation of indecency won.
Over the summer, the English department investigated hiring Gordon to teach a Black literature course in the fall. Since the charges remained, he underwent extra review. A committee interviewed Gordon and approved his appointment.[v]
Two days after classes started, President Fletcher asked Gordon to quit citing “new evidence.” Refusal guaranteed suspension.
“Not knowing the nature or supposed significance of these negative aspects,” Gordon gave a simple response.[vi]
“Resignation is an unacceptable solution.”
Officially, the U tried firing Gordon for not telling the committee reviewing his employment that he had children despite being unmarried. This was unprecedented. Reed Brinton, one of the members reviewing Gordon’s standing, stated that “personal affairs such as these would not normally be of concern to us…but because of the circumstances under which Mr. Gordon was hired we felt we should take special measures to ascertain his character and moral stability.” [i]
It is more likely that Fletcher tried removing Gordon due to community backlash. State representative Leon Savage made a news release on September 27th denouncing the U for hiring Gordon.[ii] After, several people wrote Fletcher requesting Gordon’s removal. Many feared Gordon would incite more protests on campus and become "the Angela Davis of Utah.”[iii]
In late October, the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee allowed Gordon to teach the class.[i] Although allowing Gordon to teach challenged Fletcher and the public’s attempt to remove Black activists from the U, the report falls short of explicitly challenging the racist reasonings that suspended Gordon. The committee never recognized that the accusations made against Gordon were racially charged.
Gordon never should have faced a resignation request and suspension. His story highlights how Black protest and activism faced uniquely harsh consequences, elevating the risk for Black community members who raised concerns about racism on campus. Yet, Gordon resisted the U’s discrimination, helping create precedented protections for Black campus activists.
[i] Sheila Wolf, “Radicals Want Immediate End to War, Demand Removal of ROTC,” The Daily Utah Chronicle, April 16, 1970; “Two Rally Speakers Charged with Obscenity,” The Daily Utah Chronicle, April 17, 1970; “The Law: Surprise, Surprise: A Dirty Speech Is Illegal,” Time Magazine, September 28, 1970, https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,909649,00.html.
[ii] Edward Clyde, Meeting Memorandum Draft, September 30, 1970. James Chipman Fletcher presidential records, Acc. 199, Box 64. University Archives and Records Management. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott. Salt Lake City, Utah.
[iii] 1st quote: “The Law: Surprise, Surprise: A Dirty Speech Is Illegal.” Second quote: Clyde, Meeting Memorandum Draft, . James Chipman Fletcher presidential records, Acc. 199, Box 64..
[iv] Gordon, Interviews with African Americans in Utah, Victor Gordon, Interview 2, 24.
[v] Clyde, Meeting Memorandum Draft; Leon Savage, “News Release,” news release, October 5, 1970, James Chipman Fletcher presidential records, Acc. 199, Box 64. University Archives and Records Management. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott. Salt Lake City, Utah.
[vi] Victor Gordon, as quoted in Sylvia Kronstadt, “Committee to Hear Gordon Appeal,” The Daily Utah Chronicle, October 7, 1970.
[vii] Brinton as quoted in Sylvia Kronstadt, “Fletcher Suspends Instructor,” The Daily Utah Chronicle, October 6, 1970, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6bs18m9.
[viii] Leon Savage, “News Release,” news release, September 27, 1970. Acc 199 folder 6; Harold W. Simpson to James H. Fletcher, October 2, 1970.
[ix] Simpson to President James H. Fletcher, October 2, 1970, Acc. 199, Box 64. University Archives and Records Management. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott. Salt Lake City, Utah. For more letters see folders 5-7.
[x] John Cummins, “Instructor’s Ouster Voided; New U. Policies Adopted,” Salt Lake Tribune, November 7, 1970, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=26557513.