Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
The Free Speech Collection is primarily comprised of audio recordings produced by independent journalistColin Edwards from 1964-1967. Edwards was a journalist working with Canadian Broadcasting, the BBC and Pacifica Radio among others. His work represents a comprehensive account of the major perspectives, ideas, events and figures of the Free Speech Movement, the Sproul hall sit-in and the subsequent changesconcerning the rights of students to engage in political activity on the UC-Berkeley campus. These changes, best known as the December 8th Resolutions, were put to the test in 1966 during the “Little Free Speech Movement” in which students’ political rights were again brought into question.This part of the collection focuses on the November 30th, 1966 confrontation between anti-war demonstrators and a Navy recruiting table that was set up in the student union building. Many students and non-students were arrested and disciplined, and students responded with a strike that disrupted campus activities. Ultimately, UC president Clark Kerr was dismissed by newly-elected Governor Reagan and the Board of Regents for being “too soft” onprotesters.
One of the strongest aspects of thiscollection is Colin’s ability to speak with all the major players: students,professors, administrators, local political and police representatives as wellas members of the corporate media. This provides a vibrant context with whichto understand the movement and its lasting effects on the political culture ofthe UC Berkeley campus. It also shifts the focus of the movement fromwell-known figures to people whose names that we might not know but played anequally important role in the success of the movement. In addition to hisinterviews, the collection also features speeches and rallies held by the FSM,Student Senate Debates in which major FSM issues were decided and even audiofrom Mario Savio's birthday party.
This is one of the definitive audiocollections of the Free Speech Movement and represents an important addition tothe dominant narrative that limits the free speech movement and itsaccomplishments to the work of a couple of dedicated students. The audioprovides evidence of the significant linkages between the civil rightsstruggles being waged by African-Americans and the Free Speech Movement, themass nature of the protests and the true politically diversity of student andfaculty participants.
The FSM is equally as relevant todayas it was in the 1960s. Check out two of our interns' blogs about thecontemporary relevance of this collection:
Documents
Gerda Fulder, Sidney Rogers: Sproul Hall Sit-in
Date: 12/1/1964Call Number: CE 673Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Interview with Gerda Fulder, a Berkeley resident and mother of two daughters attending UC Berkeley. She attended several FSM rallies in late 1964 and describes being impressed by the discipline and moral seriousness of the students. She was present at Sproul Hall on the evening of December 2 and describes her experiences. She and her daughters ultimately made the decision, with some uncertainty, not to stay and risk arrest. Interview with Sidney Roger at his home in Berkeley. He covered the events for the ILWU’s Dispatcher newspaper as well as being a UC Berkeley alumnus, former instructor, and parent of students. He describes experiences at the December 2-3 sit-in in detail, including the different police forces present and their actions, the diversity of sit-in participants and perspectives, the “remarkable behavior” and activities organized by students in Sproul Hall, and the ad hoc faculty meeting.
Dr. Roger Stanier, Brian Mulloney, December 3 Rally
Date: 12/3/1964Call Number: CE 674Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Interviews with biology professor Roger Stanier and graduate student organizer Brian Mulloney. Stanier reads from and discusses a faculty telegram to Governor Brown condemning the presence of the California Highway Patrol on campus and demanding the prompt release of arrested students and amnesty for students threatened with suspension or dismissal. Brian Mulloney, a member of the Graduate Coordinating Council and FSM Steering Committee, discusses the history of restrictions on student political activity particularly in relation to civil rights group Campus CORE. He discusses the graduate student walkout and philosophy and mathematics professors striking, as well as a planned solidarity action by Sacramento State students. Following the interviews (around 30:00) is several minutes of recording from a campus rally protesting the previous night’s arrests. Students sing “Can’t Turn Me Round” and “We Shall Overcome”
Clark Kerr, John Ligett, Howard Jetter, Hal Draper
Date: 12/3/1964Call Number: CE 675Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
President Clark Kerr’s press statement following the Sproul Hall sit-in, denouncing the FSM as “anarchy” (partial recording). UC Berkeley Sociology professor John Leggett discusses the FSM in relationship to the civil rights movement, and reads from a letter written by national CORE leader James Farmer. Leggett also discusses right wing presence in Northern California, specifically Oakland Tribune owner William Knowland. Howard Jetter, president, 7th Congressional Democratic Club, San Francisco science teacher and member of the American Federation of Teachers, discusses what he expects to be the devastating effects of campus events on Governor Pat Brown’s career. He also reflects on acting as a legal observer for student protests and witnessing police violence. Hal Draper, university librarian and socialist activist, disagrees with Jetter about Pat Brown, asking “what alterative do they have?” He also discusses right wing presence on campus.
FSM Victory Party and Mario Savio Birthday Party; Charles Artman interview
Date: 12/8/1964Call Number: CE 677Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Recording of an FSM victory party that doubled as Mario Savio’s 22nd birthday party. The beginning of the tape contains party attendees singing several satirical songs composed for the occasion, as well as “Happy Birthday,” with some explanatory commentary by Edwards. The latter half is an interview conducted at the party with Charles Artman (also known as Charlie Brown), a former Cal student who was arrested at Sproul Hall. He describes his experiences with the sit-in and how he became involved. He describes how he and others had fasted for the preceding five days, waiting for the demands of the FSM to be met, and his intent to fast again if the regents of the university do not honor decisions made by the academic senate. He was drawn by what he calls the movement's "orderliness" and its "Gandhian direction."
Victory Rally: 12/9/64
Date: 12/9/1964Call Number: CE 678Format: 1/4 3 3/4 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
A victory rally on the UC Berkeley campus following the Academic Senate vote to support freedom of political expression on campus. Speakers include Mario Savio (who is greeted with a serenade of “Happy Birthday”), Jack Weinberg, philosophy professor John Searle, Bettina Aptheker, Ron Anastasi (reading a message from Joan Baez as well as an op-ed by Ralph Gleason), and Art Goldberg. Lots of gratitude expressed, thanking movement supporters including Harvard students and Bay Area labor unions, and lots of self-effacing humor. Aptheker’s speech, which touches on experiences in Santa Rita and gratitude for faculty support, is especially well-crafted. Goldberg discusses the role of humor in the movement. There is also talk of organizing for the upcoming Regents meeting at UCLA, and soliciting donations for legal defense. Notes on the tape box indicate that parts of this recording were used for the program “Mario Savio: A Study in Charisma.”
Regents Meeting rally, student dialogue, Interview with Assemblyman William Stanton
Date: 12/18/1964Call Number: CE 682Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
FSM rally and vigil at UCLA during Regents meeting. There is interruption by unrelated choral group. Dialogue with two UCLA students: one supporting the Free Speech Movement and one opposed. Interview with 25th District Assemblyman William Stanton about political implications of UC Berkeley campus events. He disapproves of the use of state troopers in suppressing student protests and the lack of clarity around police authorization at the December 2-3rd sit-in.
Suzanne Goldberg: Graduate student organizing and Sproul Hall sit-ins (part 1 of 2)
Call Number: CE 683Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsProgram: KPFACollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Interview with Suzanne Goldberg, a UC Berkeley Ph.D. candidate and teaching assistant in the philosophy department who came to Berkeley from New York in 1963, about her experiences as a member of the Graduate Coordinating Council and the steering committee of the Free Speech Movement. Goldberg discusses politics between student organizations on campus, including the Graduate Coordinating Committee’s decision to secede from the larger student government (ASUC), and events leading up to the December 2, 1964 sit-in at Sproul Hall. She goes on to describe police violence against protesters and her experience of arrest and being held in solitary confinement for 19 hours at Santa Rita Jail due to being targeted as a student leader.
Suzanne Goldberg (part 2 of 2)
Call Number: CE 684Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsProgram: KPFACollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Continuation of part 1 of Colin Edwards’ interview with Suzanne Goldberg. Goldberg further discusses conditions in Santa Rita Jail, including being denied contact with a lawyer while held in solitary confinement, as well as the situation of Carol Nusinow, who was also held in solitary. She relates the charges levied against sit-in participants and her refusal to enter a plea, and describes preparations for an upcoming court appearance with attorney Alex Hoffman. She discusses positive changes in campus climate following the sit-in, describing more open communication, satisfaction with newly appointed chancellor Martin Meyerson and a current lack of restriction regarding political activity on campus. She describes her participation in organizing as decreasing her feelings of alienation and building a sense of community on campus. She locates the movement within a context of civil rights organizing and academic freedom.
Student experiences with sit-ins: Michael Marcus, Art Goldberg, Stephanie Coontz
Call Number: CE 685Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Interviews with three students who were arrested at the sit-in at Sproul Hall on the 2nd and 3rd of December 1964. Students discuss the atmosphere of the sit-in, the arrival of the police, police brutality, and attempts to alienate the students from other prisoners in the Santa Rita Jail. Further discussed are President Clark Kerr’s changes to education and the campus, their parents’ reactions to their arrests and general perspectives on the FSM.
Student experiences with sit-ins: Stephanie Coontz, Andy Wells, Lynn Wollander, Ron Anastasi
Call Number: CE 686Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Interviews with students who were arrested during the December 2nd and 3rd Sproul Hall sit-in. Four students recount their experiences during the sit-in, the mass arrest, being detained in the basement of Sproul Hall, experiences in Santa Rita jail, students being thrown in solitary confinement and the denial of legal assistance to the students.
