Supreme Court Oral Argument April 3, 2024 – Session One – Make UC A Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California, S279242
“What’s Going On?” A Teach-In on People’s Park
7-9 p.m., Monday, February 26, 2024
Maud Fife Room – 315 Wheeler Hall, UCB
People’s Park is currently barricaded by stacked shipping containers topped with razor wire and guarded round-the-clock, following a midnight raid in early January by combined police forces from UC, CSU, Alameda County, San Francisco City and County and the California State Highway Patrol, organized by the UC Berkeley administration. Why? “The existing legal issues will inevitably be resolved, so we are taking this necessary step now to minimize the possibilities of conflict and confrontation, and of disruption for the public and our students, when we are cleared to resume construction,” said Chancellor Carol Christ (The Berkeleyan, January 16, 2024). Like others in the flood of official campus public relations communications with which students, faculty and staff have been inundated since the Chancellor’s 2017 announcement of plans to build student housing on the park, this response falls short of explaining why there is such fear of “conflict and confrontation” and such strong opposition to these plans, even from students whose interests the plans are supposed to serve.
For a broader range of perspectives on what was and is going on at People’s Park, Teach-Ins have been organized by UC Berkeley students (January 24) and by community groups (February 4). This (February 26, 2024) Teach-In is the first one on campus involving students, faculty, and community activists.
Presenter times:
00:25 — Kristin Hanson, Professor of English
4:15 — Harvey Smith, organizer of the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group
12:22 — Steve Wasserman, publisher of Heyday Books and park activist since 1969
24:36 — Tony Platt, author of The Scandal of Cal
42:53 — Sylvia T, UCB graduate, independent archival researcher and People’s Park defender
49:34 — Sara Peach, Historic Preservation Club, UC Berkeley student group
53:50 — Rohan Shinkre, UCB, Suitcase Clinic
57:46 — Kacie Cosgrove, UCB, Suitcase Clinic
1:02:15 — Margaux Bauerlein, UCB, Suitcase Clinic
1:03:51 — Ren Fitzgerald, UCB, Telegraph for People
1:37:23 — Moderator (closing remarks): Kristin Hanson, Professor of English, UC Berkeley
For questions or more information, email peoplesparkhxdist@gmail.com
People’s Park Barricaded In Berkeley As UC, Newsom, Berkeley Pols and Police Use Shipping Containers — laborvideo
UC’s War On People’s Park, The Defense & Destruction Of People’s Park
With Harvey Smith — laborvideo
People’s Park — September 2, 2022
So we went by the Park, September 2. I was a bit surprised. I had been planting trees there in 1969. — Tom Coroneos
March to Reclaim People’s Park – July 6, 2022
Speak Out: Save People’s Park, June 6, 2022 at California Hall, UC Berkeley
YouTube Playlist (15 videos played in sequence)
The UC Regents are preparing to invade and destroy People’s Park by mid-June and we call on our community to RESIST! We call on all people who value Open Space, Free Speech, User Development and the right of our community to exist to tell Chancellor Christ that we will defend People’s Park against this corporate University takeover!
JOIN US! Now is the time to challenge the Regents for their part in creating the current housing crisis in Berkeley! Now is the time to fight for our history and our future!
Speakers included in the above YouTube Playlist (15 videos played in sequence):
- Andrea Prichett, musician, middle school teacher, organizer with Berkeley Copwatch, founding member national Copwatch
- James Chanin, nationally prominent attorney, specializing in civil rights, police misconduct, personal injury and business litigation
- Rosey Stephens, illustrator, artist, author, musician, People’s Park advocate
- Aidan Hill, candidate for Berkeley City Council District 7, community activist
- Harvey Smith, public historian, educator, People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group
- Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor Tikkun magazine, Ph.D. in Philosophy, UC Berkeley, 1972, rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue
- Ira X Armstrong, Artist. Folk Singer. Witch Doctor. Finding portals to get all of us free.
- Moni T. Law, Activist, Berkeley Resident, Cal Alum, Mom, Tree Hugger, Chair of Berkeley Community Services Coalition
- Joe Liesner, lifelong activist, peace and social justice, People’s Park advocate
- Cheryl Davila, former Berkeley city councilperson, community activist, business economics
- Enrique Marisol, student, Defend People’s Park
- Hali Hammer, community activist, songwriter, musician, educator
- Hannah, student, founder of They community service group
- Paul Lee, Visiting Scholar, Department of African American Studies, UC Berkeley
- Sabina – Telegraph Avenue artist, storyteller, Fairy Tales of Telegraph Avenue
Video of the People’s Park Nomination for National Historic Landmark, CSHRC, October 29, 2021
Hearing of the People’s Park nomination for the National Register of Historic Places, by the California State Historical Resources Commission, October 29, 2021
Hearing of the People’s Park nomination for the National Register of Historic Places, by the California State Historical Resources Commission, October 29, 2021
Short introductions of Commissioners:
Lee Adams III, Chair (Public Member)
Adam Sriro, Vice Chair (Historical Archeology)
Bryan K. Brandes (Public Member)
Alan Hess (Architecture)
Luis Hoyos (Architectural History)
René Vellanoweth (Prehistoric Archeology)
and State Historic Preservation Officer: Julianne Polanco
Followed by public comment, discussion and unanimous affirmative vote. The Keeper of the Register is expected to issue final approval of the nomination within 45 days. The original request for the nomination, with extensive historical context, was submitted to the commission by the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group, and can be read here:
https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1067/files/CA_Alameda_Peoples%20Park_DRAFT.pdf
Ed Monroe: Berkeley, California street artist. Film by Abdul Guidoum
Ed Monroe: Documentary
…on the wonderful artist, Ed Monroe, of Berkeley, California. — UC Berkeley 2014, Alicia Perkins, Fernando Ramos
People’s Park Newsreels 1969
from vxa.
People’s Park Forever: Chapter 1: Beautification Crew Tackles the Bathrooms
People’s Park Forever: Chapter 2: Everybody Eats in the East Bay with Food Not Bombs
People’s Park Forever: Chapter 3: Battle For People’s Park U.C. Capital Investments Protest February 10, 2020
Bathroom faucets and public health needs an upgrade at People’s Park
Video: The History and Struggle for People’s Park, Panel and Q&A Discussion – Part 1
Video: The History and Struggle for People’s Park, Panel and Q&A Discussion – Part 2
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 – UC Berkeley, MLK Student Union. Panelists: Jim Chanin, Dan Siegel, Carol Denney, Joe Liesner, Andrea Pritchett. Musical Performance: Hali Hammer. (About 2 hours total, in two parts of video. The second part includes Q&A with audience).
The Volleyball Courts and the Resistance of 1990s:
Building the Town/Gown Relationship and Shared Governance: Berkeley and the UC make a deal
Speakers: Andrea Prichett, Carol Denney
Historical photos by Brenda Prager and others
Part of the: People’s Park and the Right to The Commons DeCal Class – Spring 2019
Rally and March for People’s Park – Sat. February 9, 2019 Berkeley, California
Hold drivers and police accountable for hit-and-run reckless driving! Preserve and protect People’s Park.
Dan Siegel – People’s Park History through 1969 and the Occupation of Berkeley – February 5, 2019
Dan Siegel presents a rich verbal history of the revolutionary formation of People’s Park in Berkeley in 1969. People’s Park and the Right to The Commons – DeCal Class – Spring 2019
STOP Police Brutality and Harassment in Berkeley
These two arrests by UC Berkeley Police were in December 2018 at People’s Park and show the disgusting harassment and police brutality in the treatment of people in the Berkeley community.
People’s Park East-side forest was attacked by UC Berkeley
Take Action Now – Protect People’s Park – More than 22 trees were killed by UC Berkeley in an early morning sneak attack, which they called “Deferred Maintenance”.
Rally to Save People’s Park – November 15, 2018
Mario Savio Steps, Sproul Plaza, University of California – Berkeley Thursday, November 15, 2018
Speakers and performers:
Ed Monroe – Master of Ceremonies
Hali Hammer – singer songwriter – “Forever Green (People’s Park)”
Carol Denney (appearing as Chancellor Carol T. Christ) – comedian, singer songwriter – “See You In Santa Rita”
Osha Neumann – activist, designer of the Telegraph / People’s Park mural
Lisa Teague – People’s Park community activist
Alex Li, member of Copwatch and co-facilitator of the Copwatch DeCal class
Rosey Stephens – People’s Park community, musician
A People’s History of People’s Park and Telegraph Avenue Mural Rededication Ceremony 2018
Sunday October 14, 2018
Speakers: Osha Neumann (muralist, Master of Ceremonies)
Jimbow the Hobo (James Bailey)
Michael Delacour (park founding community)
Carol Denny (social justice songwriter and writer)
Reggie Sykes (park founding community)
Jim Chanin (civil rights attorney)
Aunti Frances (Frances Moore) (social justice, Black Panthers)
O’Brien Thiele (muralist, park founding community)
Tammy Artis (muralist)
Charles Gary (park founding community) reads Who Owns The Park? a 1969 essay Angus Brown (park founding community)
Music: Funk Jam – Rosey Stephens (harmonica) and Greg Jalbert (guitar) from People‘s Park 2018
Video – Greg Jalbert
Bathroom faucets and public health needs an upgrade at People’s Park
The city didn’t even bring in porta potties until I believe it was July and never brought in Sharps containers and UC referrs back to there being a Sharps slot at the bathrooms, but during 2020 the bathrooms often were not opened until later in the day, and sometimes not at all, and no one was in the office so there was no way for the container to be checked ore replaced. Free Clinic people provided Sharps containers that were placed in the porta potties loose in spite of our calls for the city to strap them onto the outsides to increase the probability that more people would use them. Read the full article…
50th Anniversary Free Speech Movement UC Berkeley — Diane Dwyer, Diane Sharp
An NBC special from 2014, a great recounting of the FSM. (23 minutes)
People’s Park 1969
My father made this 16mm film of the People’s Park protests in April-May 1969 at the University of California in Berkeley. If you recognize yourself or someone else in the film, please post a comment! — Fred Fischer