"This young man, UC Berkeley philosophy student Mario Savio, would be hauled away to jail with nearly 800 other people that day in December 1964 — but his words would shake up an emerging, politically charged generation and create a mainstream protest movement. Across the country, people of color were fighting against years of legalized oppression. But many people Savio’s age — especially white students — were unaware of many of the nation’s worst issues. Today we associate the ’60s with student protest, but for many, forming a picket line or taking to the streets was still a fringe activity in 1964...During one 36-hour stand-off with police, he clambered barefoot atop a police car and dispersed a whole angry crowd with a few words. “I ask you to rise quietly and with dignity, and go home,” Savio called out to the sit-in protesters — and they did just that. Four thousand of Savio’s fellow students came out to see him speak on Berkeley’s steps in opposition to UC President Clark Kerr. With his incandescent “bodies upon the gears” speech, Savio’s righteous anger and a willing audience gave birth to what would become known as the Free Speech Movement — and prompted the largest mass arrest in California’s history."
http://www.ozy.com/flashback/mario-savio-the-first-free-speaker/37581
No comments:
Post a Comment