A?n't going to be no shitting around
By Sunday night, at a rally of about 2,000 whites and blacks. BAM leaders began stressing the need for-nonviolence. The negotiations were proceeding generally slowly but well, and BAM leaders, aware of the presence of several police agents among the crowd who had been identified in previous demonstrations, did not want any violent actions. BAM desperately wanted to avoid any pretext the university could use for calling in the National Guard to squelch the strike, and specifically warned "police provocateurs" to go home. Just as it appeared that the university was about to settle the issue rationally. Sunday evening's negotiation session ended-and returned the situation to crisis.
President Fleming emerged from the Sunday session and released a press statement, listing those demands to which the administration had agreed but ignoring those demands which weren't agreed upon, and implying that the strike was now over, since the crisis was resolved. The BAM leadership was furious, particularly since both sides in the negotiations had agreed not to make any public statements until the negotiations were over. BAM broke off negotiations with Fleming, reiterated its eleven demands, and issued a call for a renewed effort to continue the strike.
Monday provided a tense situation, with BAM fearful of police being called on campus. Selections from a BAM leaflet indicate their insistence on non-provocation:
-Picketers are NOT to have ANY OBJECTS (e.g., sticks, pipes, clubs, etc.) which could be defined as weapons. The law states that "a gathering of five or more people with weapons constitutes a MASS RIOT."
-Non-amplified chanting is permissible, EXCEPT during early morning picketing. (No megaphones, no bullhorns, etc., are permissible.)
Late Monday, March 30, Fleming apologized to BAM for his press statement. Negotiations resumed, another moratorium on picketing was announced, and tensions eased. Most students returned to class, although the strike was still officially in effect until Wednesday night, April 1.
Most of the BAM demands had been satisfactorily negotiated. The university had committed itself to the ten per cent black admissions requirement and had agreed to the other demands with the exception of some disagreement on the location of the black community center and on tuition waivers.
AT A news conference given for five radical publications, BAM spokesmen explained some of their thinking involved in the management of the strike:
Questioned about the timing which led to the successful gradual buildup of pressure through increasing disruptive tactics at the peak of the strike, a BAM representative attributed the decisions to close contact with the administration. Following the theory, "If you know a snake well enough then you will know when he is going to strike and you can get out of the way," BAM maintained skillful liaison with the administration. "We have been doing our homework."
BAM also consciously avoided adding ancillary demands to its original list of eleven. Although Michigan earlier this year had a large anti-ROTC demonstration leading to the loss of credit for ROTC courses. BAM did not add any anti-ROTC demands to its list. BAM spokesmen explained that they were careful to avoid an anarchist situation, such as happened at San Francisco State, where the administration did not know who to work with because of the profusion of student groups, demands, and voices.
Observers of the events at Michigan were intrigued by the fact that the
large numbers of white supporters were content to support the demands massively and submissively; that is, whites manned the picket lines at 4:30 a.m., they mimeographed daily announcements on the status of the strike, and they managed the news offices. They made no attempt to speak for the demands as official representatives of BAM or even to have a voice at any of the mass rallies. The BAM spokesmen explained that the white student help was essential and "greatly appreciated." "The Coalition has done a lot of busy work for us" with mimeographing and food supplies, BAM explained; the Coalition work "allowed us to function in planning and negotiation; we have been made more effective and functional." This strictly separate type of working arrangement between whites and blacks was maintained throughout the strike: its tactical success provided powerful and lasting support for the eleven BAM demands.