[NEW LEFT] [BERKELEY] Group of 21 leaflets/handbills relating to the police shootings and protests in People's Park in Berkeley, CA in 1969

[Berkeley]: [People's Park Negotiating Committee and others], 1969. Very good +. 21 leaflets or handbills, mimeographed or offset printed on variously-colored stocks, and all measuring 8.5" x 11". Condition varies, with occasional toning or flattened folds, but mostly very good or better. Two examples printed on yellow paper show more wear, having obviously spent some time on a telephone pole, with some insect damage and corner tears, but still generally complete. A rich collection of hastily produced leaflets, most of which date to May and June, 1969 (a few are as late as September). The area in question, People's Park, had been just recently opened, and was owned by UC-Berkeley. The university quickly developed plans to convert the land into a sports facility, though the space had already become a haven for campus radicals and free speech activists, following the tradition of Mario Savio and the Free Speech Movement just half a decade earlier on the same campus.

As the students began to dig their heels in, occupying the park, various local police units began to attack the protestors, using riot weapons and ultimately firing on the students; over 100 were admitted to local hospitals to treat their wounds. James Rector, who was visiting friends in Berkeley and simply a bystander, was shot and killed. In response, Governor Ronald Reagan sent in the National Guard and maintained a "law-and-order" attitude, underscoring the right of police to defend the university's rights to the land, and expressing little sympathy for the besieged students.

The leaflets themselves paint a picture of the fraught situation. One of these is addressed to National Guardsmen: "

"Dear brothers, Take a look behind you. Were is the enemy you must fight? You are defending a plot of grass, a few trees and some flowers. Against whom and for what? [...] It is yours as well as ours. The man who holds the title to that land has probably never seen it. He cannot possibly love it. We love it. We love you. [...]"

Another leaflet is entitled "Care and Treatment of Lacrimination (Tear Gas) Effects," and describes in detail what to do when attacked with tear gas.

A favorite of this cataloguer depicts an exaggerated group of wealthy people (including the Monopoly Man) and military types (the "Establishment") holding up a banner reading "Reagan for Shah," a deliberate comparison of the governor to Iran's tyrannical ruler

Other leaflets show various military insignia so that other protestors can know who their enemies are, while other, more verbose ones summarize the ongoing events and serve as a call to action. One of these makes these demands: "WITHDRAW ALL TROOPS, JAIL KILLER COPS, AMNESTY FOR THE PEOPLE, NO CURFEW." While some of the leaflets contain specific dates (May 24th, May 28th, June 4th, etc.), many other simply announce "today" or "tonight," giving a sense of the speed at which the materials were produced and distributed. Naturally, the discussions sometimes go far beyond the local situation, and there are numerous references to the Vietnam War, racism, and the wider student movement.

Though it's hard to declare a "winner" in this heated conflict, per the students' wishes the park has remained a park since 1969. However, there have been dozens of less violent clashes over its purpose, design, and facilities, such as the 1991 replacement of the "Free Speech Stage" with a volleyball court. As of this writing, in 2022, there are advanced plans to develop dense housing units on the property, which is hotly contested by locals, many of whom were at the original protests.

Just two of these leaflets are recorded in OCLC, and both are held at Brown University. Yale retains a collection of People's Park protest material, though none of the referenced items in the finding aid seem to match any of these documents.

A highly ephemeral group of original material, offering broad and deep insight into this significant event in the history of the student movement. The clashes were somewhat overshadowed by the more deadly Kent State shootings almost exactly a year later, though the legacy of the conflict is very much alive in Berkeley.