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
Suzanne Goldberg: Graduate student organizing and Sproul Hall sit-ins (part 1 of 2)
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)
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.
Rick Davis: Covering the FSM (part 1 of 2)
Interview with prominent television reporter, writer and producer Rick Davis about his experiences reporting on the FSM. His coverage began with the car top rally in October 1964 and continued through the Sproul Hall sit-in in December. He is critical of some student viewpoints and tactics, with an especially harsh assessment of Mario Savio, but describes himself as being strongly invested in free speech and accurate reporting, and exposes many of the distortions and fabrications that were present in his colleagues’ reporting, such as invented reports of break-ins and vandalism. He describes police violence, and their attempts to discourage press coverage. He discusses the various political factions on campus and the role that right-wing students held within the FSM.
Student experiences with sit-ins: Michael Marcus, Art Goldberg, Stephanie Coontz
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.
Professor John R. Searle
Interview with Professor John R. Searle, one of the earliest UC Berkeley faculty members to join the FSM; he discusses his experience with the FSM and his reasons and motivations for doing so.
Student experiences with sit-ins: Stephanie Coontz, Andy Wells, Lynn Wollander, Ron Anastasi
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.
Mona Hutchin: conservative student involvement in the FSM
Interview with Mona Hutchin, a conservative student activist who participated in the Free Speech Movement. She discusses how she became involved and her experiences with the Sproul Hall sit-in, police violence and subsequent arrest. She describes harassment of student organizers by fraternity members. She discusses with Colin the distorted media coverage of the sit-in, describing some coverage as “out and out lies.”
Professor Joseph Tussman: faculty reflections on the FSM (part 1 of 2)
Interview with Professor Joseph Tussman, chair of the UC Berkeley philosophy department and experimental education advocate. He reflects on the events of the fall and winter of 1964 as a supportive yet critical faculty member with a strong interest in democratic engagement and education reform.
Professor Joseph Tussman: faculty reflections on the FSM (part 2 of 2)
Interview with Professor Joseph Tussman, chair of the UC Berkeley philosophy department and experimental education advocate. He reflects on the events of the fall and winter of 1964 as a supportive yet critical faculty member with a strong interest in democratic engagement and education reform.
Rick Davis: Covering the FSM (part 2 of 2)
Continuation of interview with television reporter Rick Davis. Davis discusses his admiration for the discipline displayed by student organizers. He discusses the role of the FSM in overall campus party politics, and the responses to the FSM and campus events by state politicians and public figures.