Speakers:
Waldo Martin, Professor, UC Berkeley Department of History,
author "Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party"
David S., Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity, Bay Area
Others to be announced
Editors’ note: The following is the text of an invitation to an upcoming program at Revolution Books in Berkeley, California to mark the 60th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement.
Arresting Mario Savio, October 1964, at Free Speech Movement demonstration.
The Free Speech Movement (FSM) shook Berkeley, college campuses across the country, and impacted the broader society, sixty years ago in the fall of 1964. We call for people to join with Revolution Books, Berkeley, in a program to commemorate the FSM. We need to uphold key lessons from what students at Berkeley did to change history then, so that students—and everyone—can step to the fore to make meaningful and positive change in this crazy and dangerous world.
Mario Savio, Sproul Hall Sit-in Address, December 2, 1964 Photo: Chronicle/Duke Downey
In his famous speech, Mario Savio said:
"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"
Here is an irony which stands out on the Berkeley campus: what Mario actually said and fought for is right now under attack in a wave of repressive measures on campuses all over the country, including the UC system and Berkeley itself. And among those driving that attack are people who claim to uphold (but actually distort) the legacy of the FSM and Mario Savio.
In a further twist, Bob Avakian, one of the students brought forward through participating in that historic movement, has become the foremost revolutionary communist in the world today, developing a new communism. In stark contrast to anti-communist slanders and the "common wisdom" in academia that communism and socialist society led by communists could only be based on brutal suppression and lack of rights, Avakian has developed a scientifically grounded vision of communism and socialist society that fosters dissent, critical thinking, and creativity in all of society. How ironic that the FSM, and the principles and spirit of that movement, are incorporated into the guiding principles of the new communism more fully than in the political views of any of his "democratic" critics. Here Avakian speaks forcefully in his social media to key principles from the FSM:
“…the bedrock stand of refusing to go along with injustice and putting yourself on the line to oppose it, without being derailed by the hypocritical maneuvers, or shrinking in the face of the repressive measures, of those wielding unjust power; the largeness of mind and generosity of spirit that leads to uniting all who can be united in the fight against injustice, with the orientation of valuing and encouraging critical thinking, with open-minded debate over the road forward and the biggest questions related to changing the world.”
We live in a society that is tearing apart and in which things that may have once seemed unthinkable are today the stock in trade of mainstream political parties. Never has the possibility of emancipating change been greater—and never has the danger of terrible horrors loomed larger. Will there be more powerful rebellion against injustice and oppression on the campuses resonating throughout society? There are high stakes over whether there will be an atmosphere of valuing and encouraging critical thinking and open-minded debate over the road forward.
Join with us to commemorate the FSM. We will bring out Bob Avakian's messages and his unique views on the FSM and on revolution in these times, and feature other voices and perspectives on the FSM and its great significance for today.
There will be time for discussion after the presentations.
This video shows UC Berkeley calling the cops on a skit which “changed the name” of the Free Speech Movement Café at UC Berkeley to the “Shut the Fuck Up and Stay in Your Lane Café,” and the revolutionary agitation by the REVCOM CORPS For the Emancipation of Humanity, Bay Area, which followed.
Agitation about the 60th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement at the Free Speech Movement café? Time to call the police!
Come to Revolution Books, Berkeley on Friday, October 18 at 6 p.m. to commemorate this anniversary and to dig into key principles Bob Avakian draws from the experience of the Free Speech Movement—principles crucial for campuses, and beyond, today.
For Bob Avakian speaking and writing on the Free Speech Movement, see:
Social media message @BobAvakianOfficial, REVOLUTION #27, “The Fight For Free Speech, As a Crucial Part of Fighting To Put An End To Terrible Injustice and Atrocity—And To The System That is the Source Of These Outrages”
Social media message @BobAvakianOfficial, REVOLUTION #80, “Shout Out to the Revcoms in the Bay Area—Brilliant Ridicule Exposing Repressive Hypocrisy!”
“The Free Speech Movement,” excerpt from Bob Avakian’s memoir, From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist, A Memoir by Bob Avakian. Also available as audio of Bob Avakian reading from the book. "The Free Speech Movement" starts at minute 23:20.