April 20, 1969: 55 years ago, April 20 1969, hundreds of "straight and freaky people" in [...]
55 years ago, April 20 1969, hundreds of “straight and freaky people” in Berkeley showed up on Sunday afternoon to a vacant lot of university-owned land between Dwight and Haste to begin constructing People’s Park
Dirt was shoveled, sod was laid down, and trees were planted with flower and vegetable gardens surrounding them “like a small universe of beauty being created at the roots of a giant one”
Little preparation was made outside of $700.00 of panhandled money collected for construction materials during the prior week, leaflets handed out on Telegraph Avenue, and a call placed in the Berkeley Barb on April 18 https://t.co/STxac3VQ7f
Nursery swings and a sliding board were also built that day, a preliminary playground, and dozens of children joined the crowds to help work and play
Several Black Panther Party members showed up, including Bobby Seale, who “in total and happy amazement” told a group of organizers “we got to have some panthers working down here, this is really socialistic”
This was only the first joyous episode in a long series of struggles that have centered around and continue over the park. The university continues attempts to convert the land into student housing, which continues to be resisted by new generations of straight and freaky people
For a longer introduction to the history of struggle at People’s Park and some of the recent attempts to save it, you can read our piece “Who Owns the Park”
You can be a part of the struggle by joining the 55th anniversary celebration of People’s Park today
