March 9, 1970: 51 years ago, Mar 9 1970, a “bespectacled, cowboy-hatted” man named Erik [...]
51 years ago, Mar 9 1970, a “bespectacled, cowboy-hatted” man named Erik Weil was arrested at a rally to free Bobby Seale in front of the San Francisco Hall of Justice. He shouted “Shut the bastards up!” as he lunged at the crowd of demonstrators, wielding a carpet knife Weil, …
Happy International Women’s Day! While there is some dispute about when [...]
Happy International Women’s Day! While there is some dispute about when “the first” IWD took place, the holiday was adopted and promoted by socialist movements around the world following the March 8, 1917 Women’s March for Bread & Peace in Russia The earliest IWD celebrations in the Bay Area were …
March 7, 1969: 52 years ago, Mar 7 1969, the Red Dragon Party announced its formation in [...]
52 years ago, Mar 7 1969, the Red Dragon Party announced its formation in the Berkeley Barb newspaper. The Red Dragons, who soon changed their name to the Red Guard, were a group of young working class Chinese-American revolutionaries from San Francisco’s Chinatown The Party was formed out of a …
March 6, 1952: 69 years ago, Mar 6 1952, supporters of a Black family called the Garys, [...]
69 years ago, Mar 6 1952, supporters of a Black family called the Garys, organized by the Communist Party’s East Bay Civil Rights Congress, faced off with a racist mob in Rollingwood, Contra Costa County Wilbur Gary, Vice-Commander of the local American Legion, had moved his family into a house …
The San Francisco Bay we know today was born from violent ruptures of the [...]
The San Francisco Bay we know today was born from violent ruptures of the earth, the decomposition of glacial sheets & catastrophic ecological change. Its social history is also one of rupture, decomposition, and catastrophic change. From that struggle, beautiful things emerged. That history is also filled with continuities, recompositions, …