The Buffalo Nine

The Buffalo Nine was a group of nine Vietnam War protesters arrested together on August 19, 1968 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Buffalo, New York.

Background

During the Vietnam War there was a rise in draft resistance as a political statement. A group of students, primarily associated with the University of Buffalo, had been active against the draft and the war. When they and supporters sought sanctuary in the Unitarian church on Elmwood Avenue, U.S. Marshals, FBI agents, and Buffalo Police surrounded the church. The minister attempted mediation for several days. Eventually, the lawmen "stormed" the church.cite book
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=vgSwl86-ND4C&pg=PA257&dq=the.buffalo.nine&ei=6BI0R8fiJJLcpwKchf3FDw&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=0qz-2qqjFQ_UrDRj1Y1QaaZYLvc
title=High Hopes: The Rise and Decline of Buffalo, New York
author=Mark Goldman
year=1984
publisher=SUNY Press
isbn=0873957342] When the group of lawmen entered the church, they used blackjacks to "clear the aisle". Beyer was arrested, as were seven others, on charges including draft evasion and assaulting an officer. Eight youths were arrested for draft evasion and/or assaulting federal agents. Among those arrested were prominent campus radicals such as Carl Kroneberg and Jerry Gross. A later investigation led them to arrest Students for a Democratic Society organizer Bill Yates.cite book
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=h2Tp9VBvq68C&pg=PA303&dq=the.buffalo.nine&ei=6BI0R8fiJJLcpwKchf3FDw&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=s250sXDvHKFuSOI3BlQLrtXJpcU#PPA211,M1
title=Campus Wars: The Peace Movement at American State Universities in the Vietnam Era
author=Kenneth J. Heineman
year=1993
publisher=NYU Press
isbn=0814735126]

Trials

The first federal trial began in February, 1969. Around 150 University of Buffalo students and faculty picketed the U.S. Courthouse, chanting "Free the Nine -- The Trial's a Crime." The defendants and their lawyers used the trial as an organizing tool. Beyer, Gross, and Kronberg and the other defendants informed the court that it was necessary to resist an "immoral, illegal, racist, politically insane war on the Vietnamese people." The jury was unable to reach a verdict on several of the defendants but Bruce Beyer was convicted and received a three-year sentence.

At the second trial, Malak, Yates, and Berry angered the judge and others by raising their fists in power salutes when introduced to the court, guaranteeing a contentious atmosphere. Malak and Yates drew contempt of court citations for refusing to stand as the judge left for a recess. In the end, Berry and Kronberg were acquitted, but Malak and Yates were convicted. The jury was unable to arrive at a verdict on Jerry Gross and the government decided to drop his case. Malak and Yates were sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

Reaction

The series of trials occupied the attention of the university and city. The Buffalo Nine Defense Committee was formed, publishing its own newsletter, "Liberated Community News", out of the Urban Action offices. This office was raided by Buffalo Police in an action that drew protest from the Buffalo ACLU over police use of violence.

A symposium in September drew New York City intellectuals such as Susan Sontag.

When Beyer was convicted, the UB campus erupted into protests of as many as 2500 students.

The nine

* Bruce Cline, organizer, Buffalo Draft Resistance Union
* Ray Malak, Chairman of the Research Action Committee of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Vietnam veteran
* Thomas O'Connell, Vietnam veteran
* Bruce Beyer, organizer, Buffalo Draft Resistance Union
* James McGlynn, Vietnam veteran
* William Berry, organizer, Buffalo Draft Resistance Union
* Carl Kroneberg, organizer, Peace and Freedom Party
* Jerry Gross, Chairman of Youth Against War and Fascism (YAWF) and Martin Sostre Defense Committee
* William Yates, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

"What started out as a peaceful, non-violent demonstration against the war and the Selective Service System, ended in a violent fist-swinging melee. I maintain to this day that this was precisely what the government had in mind when it sent thirty-two police officers to arrest two draft resisters..." (Bruce Beyer)

source: The Spectrum, vol 28 No. 18 State University of New York at Buffalo 5 October, 1977

An article appeared in the Magazine Section of the Buffalo Evening News, December 18, 1988 with extensive detail about the case and also covering the 20-year reunion, in Buffalo, of some of the defendants.

References

External links

* Buffalo Nine Images [http://users.rio.com/ross/TheBuffaloNine.htm]