Document Type
Article
Abstract
They sit on a sofa, anger, and defiance clear in their faces and body language. Seven young men, who, unknowingly, through their beliefs and actions, will impact Indiana State University for 50 years. They (Jesse Burr, Alex Dunnigan, John Wesley Gunn, Jr., Eugene “Gene” Hardaway, William T. Powell, Chuckie Robinson, and Michael Shane Wright) started out as seven students seeking an education to help change their world and became known as “The Magnificent Seven." In an April 23, 2019 interview, Michael Shane Wright maintains that the origin of the name “Magnificent Seven” was coined by the underground 1960s Indiana State University student newspaper The Grinding Stone. In 1969, the United States was changing rapidly and was confronted with a movement for equality that had been percolating for over 100 years. This "movement," which had been building across America throughout society in general and especially at colleges and universities as far apart as Columbia in New York and Berkeley in California. It was soon to have a major impact on Indiana State University. Led by students, including these seven young men, six African American and one white, their actions in May 1969 remain a part of the fabric of the University. As recently as November 2015, a new social movement for change, FREEISU, felt the impact of the photo taken May of 1969. At that town hall meeting, members of FREEISU and the audience stared at the enlarged photograph of those young men sitting on that sofa and wondered what had made that photo such an icon at ISU. Who were these young men; where did they come from; what did they want; and how did they change the social and political history of the University are all questions that this researcher seeks to answer. To answer those questions is the purpose of this essay. By interviewing three of those seven young men, John Gunn, William Powell, and Michael Shane Wright, the beliefs that lead to the events of May 1969 can partially be explained. (The other four members were either deceased or unable to be located at the time of this essay.)
Publication Date
2019
Recommended Citation
Reynolds, Crystal Mikell, "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: The Story Behind the Iconic Photo, 50 Years Later" (2019). Student Diversity Histories. 13.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/diversity/13