January 14, 1968: 56 years ago, Jan 14 1968, Martin Luther King Jr spoke against the Vietnam [...]
56 years ago, Jan 14 1968, Martin Luther King Jr spoke against the Vietnam War outside Santa Rita Prison Farm in Pleasanton, where he had been visiting anti-draft demonstrators (including Joan Baez) who had been arrested in Oakland in December. He was murdered seven weeks later You can listen to …
February 6, 1968: 56 years ago, Feb 5 1968, OPD officer Walter Gibbons murdered 23-year-old [...]
56 years ago, Feb 5 1968, OPD officer Walter Gibbons murdered 23-year-old Charles “Pinky” Dominic De Baca while he fled on foot from a traffic stop. His death was a focal point in the radical Chicano movement in Oakland and led to the formation of United Latins for Justice (ULJ) …
February 15, 1968: 56 years ago, Feb 15 1968, inmates at San Quentin State Prison went on [...]
56 years ago, Feb 15 1968, inmates at San Quentin State Prison went on strike, declaring a “Convict Unity Holiday.” Outside, 500 demonstrators held a solidarity festival at which the Grateful Dead played. The strike escalated throughout the week, soon leading to a total lockdown In Jan 1967, a “race …
February 17, 1968: 56 years ago, Feb 17 1968, thousands rallied at the Oakland Auditorium on [...]
56 years ago, Feb 17 1968, thousands rallied at the Oakland Auditorium on Huey Newton’s birthday to call for his freedom. It widely covered across the county and internationally, drastically raising the profile of the Black Panther Party and popularizing the slogan “Free Huey” The rally featured three of SNCC’s …
February 19, 1968: 56 years ago, Feb 18 1968, San Francisco police attacked an impromptu [...]
56 years ago, Feb 18 1968, San Francisco police attacked an impromptu street festival in the Haight-Ashbury for “impeding traffic,” bearing down on the crowd with batons and teargas. The crowd, 146 of whom were arrested, responded with bottles, eggs, and two molotov cocktails The Peace and Freedom Party held …