The Free Speech Movement (FSM) at the University of California at Berkeley started during the fall

In the chilly morning of April 5, 1976, many white American teenagers boycotted their classes to go with their parents to protest against the desegregation ruling at the City Hall (Desmond). The White Americans, predominantly teenagers, wanted to forcibly segregate students of a different race on a separate bus. As the protesters walked around the plaza, an African American lawyer, Ted Landsmark, who works in the City Hall at the Contracts Association happens to be going towards the direction of the protest to attend a meeting as part of his daily routine. This time would be different. When the protesters see Landsmark coming towards them, hell would break loose. Stanley Forman arrives.

In this text, the case hinges on whether the students created a disturbance. There was a fear that they might create one, but since they never did, the court held that their self-expression was protected.

Despite their opinions, free speech was a great way in this situation for students to rally together and publically inform the rest of campus of their beliefs. In the school newspaper, The Daily Emerald, CJ Ciaramelle wrote “About 300 students from across the campus community — student unions, Greek Life, the ASUO, the Survival Center, the Women’s Center — showed up at the meeting to protest the Forum” (1). Although the majority of people protested against the forum the right to free speech, it is important because it allows students to make decisions on their own and invite students to do the same.

The movement spread fast around the Nation some parts of the world. These activists comprised mostly of college students who were named “The New Leftists”, these intellectuals criticized capitalism, authoritarianism, racism and the Vietnam War. These liberal youths were against injustice in society while supporting the Civil rights movement, feminist movements, anti-war movement, free speech movement and other movements based on inequality in the sixties (Levitt 2017). This movement took place in Berkeley University in 1964 – 1965 where students protested for free speech and academic freedom in the university but also contributed to the other social movements in that era.

Thesis Statement: In this paper, I’m going to explore how the Civil Rights Movement first started, and the brutal events and forms of protest during this monumental moment in history. Looking at first-hand accounts from pivotal figures such as the leaders of the social movement organizations, I can properly recount the conditions and struggles in the fight for equality for African Americans. Covering these topics, I can properly describe the effects that came from each movement and the change that subsequently followed. Brown v. Board:

The Civil Rights Movement was a pivotal time in American history, leading us toward the acceptance and advancement of African Americans in society, and eventually the same for other minority groups. The movement as a whole spanned from around the beginning of the 1950’s to around the beginning of the 1970’s. All across the nation, African American people fought for their rights through numerous protests and boycotts. Some notable events are the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins. Many forms of legislation and many judiciary decisions were made during this era, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Brown v. Board of Education (“A Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement FOOTSTEPS OF COURAGE”).

The civil rights movement of the sixties is one of the most controversial times of the last century. Many, if not all, who lived through that time, and the generations following were enormously impacted. At the time passions ran so high that violence at peaceful

In the first presentation, I noticed an event called the Greensboro Sit-ins. This was a single event that sparked a nationwide movement and flood of support for the civil rights movement and the issue of business owners withholding service from those who were not white. On February 1st, 1960, 4 students of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat at a whites-only lunch table, requested service, and were then denied and asked to leave. When they left, they went to tell campus leaders what had happened and as a result gained people that wanted to participate in the sit-in. It is said that “the next morning twenty-nine neatly dressed male and female [NCATSU] students sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter,” the same counter where those first four students sat (NorthCarolinaHistory.org). After this happened, protests occurred each week and hundreds of students were showing up at Woolworth’s. Following this, more and more students from around the US were staging sit ins at segregated lunch counters as a form of non-violent protest against discrimination.

How did the response of the Black community change, especially after students began being arrested? How did this response reinforce the action of the students?

Court Decision(s): The Court ruled in favor of the students. In accordance with the First Amendment, their actions were constitutional. It was not disruptive, nor did it invade other’s rights. However, this did not give unlimited freedom of speech to the students. As long as they continued the “peaceful” protesting without causing distractions, they could continue.

The nation's leftists, whether in academia or the news media tout themselves as advocates of free speech. Back in 1964, it was Mario Savio a campus leftist who led the Free Speech Movement at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, a movement that without question played a vital role in placing American universities center stage in the flow of political ideas no matter how controversial, unpatriotic and vulgar.

The final movement took place at San Francisco State College and was organized by the college’s Black Student Union in 1966. They demanded that Black Studies become a department offered at their school and they were dedicated to achieving it. After two years of strikes, demands, and negotiations the movement was successful and San Francisco State College became the first to offer a Black Studies Program and Department. (Karenga)

The second precept of the amendment states: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech” (Jordan, 1999). The Free Speech Movement (FSM) of the University of California, Berkeley protest broke loose during the fall semester of 1964, becoming was the first of the 1960’s campus student movement to make headlines all over the world. It ended with approximately 773 people arrested for occupying the Administration building. In September 1964, Dean of students, Katherine Towle, wrote a letter to the student political groups forcefully notifying them that they could not use the plaza because “off campus political and social action.” The very next day, tables were placed in front of the Administration building. On October 1, Jack Weinberg, who was running the CORE (Congress on Racial Equality) table, was arrested by campus police after he refused to state his name and hand over his student card. As they brought a car to the plaza to take the limp Jack Weinberg, the students spontaneously surrounded the cop car and deflated the tires to keep the car from leaving campus. For 32 hours,

Another significant transformation took place in the Civil Rights Movement in terms of its strategies. In analyzing this facet of the movement, we notice a great shift from nonviolent demonstration to forward, forceful action. Specifically, at the start of the Civil Rights Movement, lunch counter sit-ins were evident throughout the nation, as were Freedom Riders. Starting in Greensboro, North Carolina at a luncheonette called Woolworths, young black citizens would seat

During this decade, the Civil Rights movement continued to gain momentum. The black community was continually persecuted and discriminated against by prejudice white individuals and figures of authority. Blacks everywhere struggled to end discrimination. They demanded the right to vote, to receive quality education, and to become respected individuals in the community which shunned them. (Sitkoff 35) Students, in particular, played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's. Many college students were outraged by