Cultural Week: US Protest Culture; Free Speech Movement

Berkeley Free Speech Movement, Fall 1964

Setting: UC Berkeley school year of Fall 1964

Many students upset

• legally they could not protest on Sproul Plaza, because it was now recognized as private property of univerisity

• During communist hysteria in the US
• During Elections
• 1962  CA Gubernatorial election with Pat Brown (D)
• 1964 Presidential election with Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
• Many students had been involved or inspired by Civil Rights movement
• The university thought that making it illegal to protest at the square would decrease possible protest
• anything from that

Dec 2nd,1964 Mass Sit In

• Mass sit in at Sproul Hall
• Administration building
• Thousands sit in for protest
• Violent arrests of about 800 around midnight

 

Results of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement

More involvement of college students in political movements:

• Now that students were able to freely protest on campus, they would inspire other movements during the 1960s
• 1967 - San Jose State College has own protest following Berkeley Free Speech Movement

 

• November 20, 1967 - students gathered at the plaza outside San Jose State to protest the Dow Chemical Company who was a major manufacturer of napalm in the Vietnam War