Oct. 29, 1966: 57 years ago, October 29 1966, Students for a Democratic Society hosted [...]

57 years ago, October 29 1966, Students for a Democratic Society hosted the “Black Power and its Challenges” conference at UC Berkeley. Governor Brown and then-candidate Ronald Reagan unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Stokely Carmichael from speaking at the conference

SDS had chosen to organize the Black Power conference after the police murder of Black San Francisco teenager Matthew Johnson led to the Hunters Point Uprising in September. After much heated debate, the university reluctantly allowed it to take place https://t.co/dH9vYodpIQ

The conference also took place on the heels of several days of rioting in Oakland, where anti-racist activists had organized a school boycott. A week before the conference, about 800 Black Oaklanders disrupted events at UCB chanting Black Power” https://t.co/mtSckCcvth

Promotional materials for the event featured a stylized panther image designed by Independent Socialist Club member Lisa Lyons, which was soon adopted as the logo of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense

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