Oct. 2, 1964: 57 years ago, Oct 1 1964, 3000 UC Berkeley students swarmed a police car [...]

57 years ago, Oct 1 1964, 3000 UC Berkeley students swarmed a police car that was attempting to arrest Campus CORE leader Jack Weinberg, making speeches and preventing the vehicle from moving for 32 hours. The incident dramatically escalated the nascent Free Speech Movement

Weinberg, a recent graduate, was arrested as part of a UC crackdown on political speech. A “no politics” rule (banning political flyering and fundraising) had been implemented in late September in response to increasing student involvement in the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights groups such as CORE, SNCC, and the Ad Hoc Committee to End Discrimination had been leading campaigns against racist hiring practices at local businesses. By recruiting participants on campus, they created problems for the university with the business community

The day before the ban was announced, the Ad Hocs held a rally on campus to raise support for their ongoing sit-in at the Oakland Tribune. Many participants felt that the “no politics” rule was a direct result of pressure on the UC from Tribune ownership
https://t.co/j353cuV4p5

The Free Speech Movement was ultimately successful in its fight to remove the ban on political speech, creating space for the rapid and open development of student radicalism in Berkeley