Archival Post – 2 – Ellie

^ABLE’S 10 Demands

Dean Salter’s Different Responses to the Demands.

I found the communications between administrators, specifically Dean Salter, to be interesting. He seems to change his opinion on the demands depending on who he is talking to. Within the school itself, he calls them absurd and blatantly states that he doesn’t “give a damn” about some of the issues ABLE brings up. However, when being interviewed by The Peoria Journal, he seems to defend his image by stating that their demands were valid and already in progress of being integrated. These two documents are dated less than a month apart. I find it hard to believe that someone with the strong belief in the absurdity of Black students needing a black counselor could change their mind within weeks. It’s obvious that Dean Salter doesn’t actually believe that ABLE’s demands are needed or important. Yet, he finds it important to make it seem like he cares and is working towards change.

It’s interesting to see the communications between faculty and administration about issues going on at Knox. You can piece together how the inner workings of campus come together about issues and how they communicate. You can also get contextual data from the administration and how Knox operated back in 1969.