About the Books
Wawona Brotherhood: The San Jose State Campus Revolt
The quiet Eisenhower years followed by the radical anti-war years of the 1960s brought the formation of numerous activist groups across the nation’s college campuses. Surrounded by a town dominated by machine politics, red-necked bigotry and segregated off-campus housing, San Jose State University was no exception. The conservative, almost all-white campus was then home campus to Olympic boycotter Tommie Smith – and it had its share of black activists and white anti-war protesters.
As students became inexorably drawn into the common cause of campus radicals, a new society fueled by hope for the future became a rallying point for thousands of Bay area youths and their dreams. Author Timothy K. Fitzgerald records this surprising ‘coming of age’ story set in San Francisco’s Bay Area, and his experiences and those of other key figures during this pivotal time in history when color barriers were finally broken and the formation of a new brotherhood of comrades was underway. This is their story.
“The story of the civil rights and anti-war activism that engulfed San Jose State University during the 1960s is still relevant in today’s world. Tim K. Fitzgerald’s
work reminds all of us that the basic issues which divided our nation then –
a questionable war in a foreign land and the fight for equality at home – continue
to haunt our society.’’ — Jim Beall, Jr., California State Assembly, District 24
Diamond in the Rough
Timothy K. Fitzgerald has been a community activist in San Jose for over 30 years. In his insightful new book A Diamond in the Rough, he reflects on America’s worst recession, which began in July 1981. Unemployment skyrocketed to 10.8 percent by November 1982 under the Reagan administration. Over 100,000 Americans lost their homes in 1982 and homelessness skyrocketed.
“Thirty years ago, I experienced America’s worst recession while recovering from a disabling illness,” Fitzgerald says. “As a young man in my 30s, I remember its dire effects. Today, in America’s Great Recession, almost 14 million Americans are jobless. We must avoid the failed policies of the Reagan administration and find new and innovative ways to lift Americans from our recurring slumps.”
A Diamond in the Rough is the second volume in Fitzgerald’s trilogy relating how he and others fought for much-desired urban renewal in San Jose during the 1970s and 1980s. His next volume will be about his “Green Years.”
“Fitzgerald is able to ‘bring to life’ the hidden forces that create economic inequality in big cities in this volume … how a rapidly growing city’s ambitious urban planning policy creates ‘economic apartheid.’ ” – Scott Wagers, founder, Student Homeless Alliance, Senior Pastor, CHAM Deliverance Ministry
View the Press Release for the e-book
About the Author
Timothy K. Fitzgerald has taught social science at community colleges in California. He graduated from SJSU in the 1970s, majoring in U.S. history and economics. He is now completing a third master’s degree in philosophy.