May 24, 1965: 58 years ago, May 23 1965, the first Vietnam Day, a 35-hour teach-in on [...]

58 years ago, May 23 1965, the first Vietnam Day, a 35-hour teach-in on the Vietnam War, ended in Berkeley. The event was organized by the Vietnam Day Committee, a direct outgrowth of the Free Speech Movement led by activist Jerry Rubin

Some 35,000 people attended the teach-in; many camped out on campus. Anti-war speakers included Staughton Lynd, Bob Scheer, Dr. Benjamin Spock, and Mario Savio. Despite the event’s anti-war stance, it featured some speakers who supported the war, such as professor Aaron Wildavsky

Vietnam Day was made possible by the gains won by the Free Speech Movement, which opened space for free radical speech on campus that would have previously been barred. VDC drew links between the civil rights movement, campus struggles, and the war

Radicals, such as self-described Castroist Jerry Rubin, played leading roles in VDC. Also involved were the Communist Party’s Du Bois Clubs, the Independent Socialist League, Students for a Democratic Society, Young Socialist Alliance, and Maoist group the Progressive Labor Party

The event also featured music by folk singer Phil Ochs and jazz musician Philly Joe Jones, as well as a performance of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Exception and the Rule” by the San Francisco Mime Troupe
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Vietnam Day inspired similar teach-ins and protests at campuses across the country, leading to a dramatic expansion in the youth anti-war movement. It also signaled a growing militancy on the part of Berkeley activists, who would soon engage in violent confrontations over the war

Prophetically, Staughton Lynd’s speech ended: “The natives here at home are restless, too. And maybe there should be a contingency plan to keep some of the Marines here to deal with us.” Four years later, Berkeley would be under National Guard occupation
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