KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
AND THE BEAT GOES ON....
"There comes a time when the operation of the machine
becomes so odious, it makes you so sick at heart....
you can't even passively take part...."
---Mario Savio, Berkeley Free Speech Movement
MARIO SAVIO
A
TRIBUTE
FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT
Mario Savio became the most eloquent leader of the Free Speech Movement at
The University of California, Berkeley, just across San Francisco Bay from
the
Haight. The revolution against the War, for the right of protest and free
speech
and for social justice valued most vocally by young people was underway at
college campuses and on city streets all across America.
Abbie Hoffman was one of the first Yippies, in their early stages perhaps
little
more than loud, politics-spouting Hippies. But a year after the Summer of
Love,
Abbie, Jerry Rubin, Dave Dellinger and others would spearhead a massive protest
at the 1968 Democratic Convention, a protest against the War in Vietnam,
racism
and other social inequities. That protest, seen around the world, made clear
that
many young people would no longer tolerate the "system," as it existed, or
a war
that was splitting America in half.
Not all that was brewing during the Summer of 1967 was loud, emotional
protest Much was music, from guitar riffs to sitars.. and nowhere was that
more in evidence than at the wonderful, star-studded mid-June Monterey
Pop Festival, just 2 hours south of San Francisco. Ravi Shankar, Jimi
Hendrix, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, The Mama and Papas, The Who
and many others performed in a truly peace and love-filled
atmosphere, captured in DA Pennebaker's film.
Although more a part of the sound of Southern California than SanFrancisco,
The Byrds mix of country and rock permeated all that was associated with
the counterculture--flower power, love and politics.Roger McGuinn, David
Crosby and the rest of The Byrds, "Eight Miles High", brought ear-candy
to the evolving revolution. This great site captures The Byrds beautifully.
R. Crumb's rebellious, sometimes just plain weird comix became really
popular with the counter-culture. Zap featured an unforgettable image of
this bearded character who looked a little like Father Time........
Ever since the early '60's, Noel Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow and Mary
Travers were there....performing at rallies and benefits whenever,
wherever the cause was peace and freedom and justice. Their recording
of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" became, perhaps, the foremost
anthem of the Civil Rights and Anti-War movements (the generosity
of Noel Paul's Public Domain Foundation made this web site,
our Sixties site and the Youth and Children Net possible)
Hear our '60s ON BLEECKER STREET Podcasts!