April 22, 1972: 52 years ago, April 22 1972, a coalition of over 50 Bay Area organizations [...]

52 years ago, April 22 1972, a coalition of over 50 Bay Area organizations mobilized a 25,000 person demonstration, leading a march from Baker and Fell through the Panhandle to Kezar Stadium, where a rally and “peace festival” were held, calling for an end to the war in Vietnam

The march, rally, and peace festival were planned by the Bay Area April 22 Coalition, which formed in response to Nixon’s escalation of the war, the April 16 bombing of Hanoi, and a call to action from the National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC)

The programming at the rally included a music by Country Joe MacDonald, a recorded message from Nguyen Thi Binh, foreign minister of the PRG, speeches from Jane Fonda and Dick Gregory, and a solidarity statement from Angela Davis read by her sister Fania Jordan

Massive demonstrations were simultaneously held in New York, where 100,000 rallied, and Los Angeles, where 30,000 people gathered. Protests were also held in dozens of other cities, including Middleton, N.J., where an attempt was made to block the sailing of a Navy munitions ship

After the rally and festival in San Francisco, events continued into the evening including film screenings, and a play by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), among other skits and speeches at the Kezar Pavilion