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Jack Weinberg, a UC Berkeley graduate, is held in a police car after
being arrested for political activity on campus. Weinberg returned to the
campus to the promote CORE. |
It was on a typical Thursday afternoon of the 1964 fall semester when University of California, Berkeley graduate Jack Weinberg sat at a table in Sproul Plaza promoting CORE. CORE, short for Commission of Racial Equality, was an organization created to ensure equality among people of all backgrounds. Unfortunately, UC Berkeley had implemented policies which stated that student political activities are not permitted on the school campus. and Weinberg clearly violated that policy. Weinberg failed to cooperate with the police and was arrested. The student bystanders watching the arrest happen decided to surround the car contain Weinberg to prevent from moving and thus started to protest. The events occurring in Sproul Plaza drew the attention of nearly three thousand students and was the start to a 32 hour sit-in until Weinberg’s charges were dropped.
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At Sproul Plaza, nearly three thousand students gather
around the police car containing Jack Weinberg preventing
it from moving. |
From atop the car, students made speeches expressing how they felt regarding the administration's attempts to restrict their freedom of speech. A significant number of students from frat houses looked to participate in the protest only to start chaos. They began to antagonize the student protesters but were stopped when a Catholic priest who, from atop the car like the other students looking to give speeches, began to preach for peace. Some of the more notable student speakers and rally leaders were siblings Art and Jackie Goldberg and junior Mario Savio who had just transferred to Berkeley from New York. Later in December, Savio would give his most important speech, at Sproul Plaza once again, and it was known as the “bodies upon the gears” speech.
At the end of the 32 hour sit-in, a couple of students (representatives from the various political groups on the campus) met up with university’s administration to negotiate for more political freedom. UC Berkeley President Clark Kerr, ordered by Governor Pat Brown, sought to put an end to the protest, peacefully. In the meantime, the students and the President agreed on a pact to discuss the issues further, and Savio returned atop the police car and told the protesting students to go home.
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| Student protesters give speeches from on top the police car. |
After the protest, a few students (and alumni) including Jack Weinberg, Jackie Goldberg, Brian Turner and Mario Savio met up to discuss what had just occurred — this was the start of the Free Speech Movement which would last from 1964-65 on the campus of UC Berkeley. The students themselves were especially driven by anti-Vietnam war ideals and inspired by the current Civil Rights Movement and the events in the South. Essentially, the purpose of the FSM was to fight for students’ freedom of speech and overall academic freedom — the members what to challenge the administration's ban of on-campus political activities. The group attracted members of already established organizations such as CORE and SLATE. As a result of FSM, the school eventually did reevaluate their policies regarding students rights and, in the end, did uplift the ban of political activities on the school campus.
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Mario Savio, then a junior at UC Berkley, stands atop
a police car during the 32 hour sit-in. |
The rallying and protesting did not stop at the Jack Weinberg arrest sit-in. During the two years of when FSM was active, Sproul Hall saw many protests and it became the most popular place to rally. Many of the members, during their fight, faced neverending setbacks including arrest and failure to compromise on part of the administration. Today, the steps leading up to the administration building were officially declared the “Mario Savio” steps, and as a result of a large monetary donation from UC Berkeley alumni, the Free Speech Movement Café was created to conserve and remember all of the achievements and struggles of the FSM during the 1960s.
Works Cited
"Art and Jackie Goldberg // Transcripts // Free Speech Movement History Project." Art and Jackie Goldberg // Transcripts // Free Speech Movement History Project. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
"'Berkeley in the Sixties' Aims to Affect the Present." The Daily Californian. 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
"Free Speech Movement ArchivesThe Only FSM Website Created & Maintained by FSM Vetssource of Original FSM Documents and Scholarship." Free Speech Movement Archives. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
"The Berkeley Free Speech Movement." The Berkeley Free Speech Movement. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
"The Free Speech Movement." Calisphere. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
This was a really cool story to read! This specific Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley was not mentioned in the documentary yet so it was helpful to read about detailed examples of student movements. Your post really reveals the change in the power of student voice during the 1960s. When we think of UC Berkeley today, we instantly think liberal and free. But it's really fascinating to see how it was also a school that once struggled to realize the significance of free speech.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This was so interesting to read because I did not know that schools like Berkeley had rules limiting the free speech of their students and their rights to participate in political activities on campus. This is yet another movement that took the nonviolent approach of the Civil Rights movement and achieved success through their sit-ins and protests. Even this early in the sixties, the Civil Rights movement was inspiring many young people who wanted to fix problems with America and the success of the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley shows the power that protesting peacefully had at this time. I wonder if Jack Weinberg had been arrested before the Civil Rights movement if the students would have protested in the same way. For more information on successful protests inspired by the Civil Rights Movement that are still happening today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/martin-luther-kings-nonviolent-civil-rights-efforts-still-inspire-across-globe/2011/07/27/gIQA3Nj9YJ_story.html?utm_term=.4fd19f3679e4
ReplyDeleteThis was a super interesting post! It was really great to be able to read more into the Free Speech Movement as we didn't go much into detail about it in class. I didn't realize how many rules Berkeley had--especially with it being one of the most liberal universities in the country--that limited free speech and denied students the right to be politically active on campus. Your post reveals the power that students can have and the potential for success in nonviolent campaigns (as inspired by the Civil Rights Movement).
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