People's Park, Berkeley
People's Park in Berkeley, California, is a notable site rooted in the social activism of the late 1960s. Initially, the University of California acquired the land under the guise of urban renewal, intending to create student facilities, which many perceived as a strategy to displace local counterculture communities. In 1969, local activists transformed the vacant lot into a community park, planting gardens and fostering a sense of ownership. This grassroots effort led to a significant confrontation when the university attempted to reclaim the land, culminating in violent clashes with law enforcement and the National Guard.
The events surrounding People's Park became emblematic of broader societal issues, including property rights and the anti-war movement. Over the years, the park has been a focal point of conflict, with both university plans and community activism clashing repeatedly. In 1991, a compromise was reached for joint management of the park, though attempts to develop it continued to face resistance. The ongoing struggle over People's Park reflects the complexities of urban space and community identity, making it a significant historical and cultural landmark in Berkeley.
People's Park, Berkeley
A one-block park in Berkeley, California, created April, 1969, by residents seeking to create a community commons.
Origins and History
Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue neighborhood, near the University of California, Berkeley, was a center of activism in the late 1960’s. Under the banner of “urban renewal,” the university began buying up property in the neighborhood. Although the university’s stated purpose was to build additional student facilities, the underlying agenda was to displace the hippies and radicals who had collected in the area. In July, 1967, with funding from conservative state politicians, the university bought a block bounded by the streets of Telegraph, Haste, Dwight, and Bowditch and demolished the old houses on the property.
The university announced plans for a playing field at the site in April, 1969. Activists responded by claiming the land for a public park and called for a gathering there on April 20. Hundreds of people arrived with shovels and wheelbarrows to transform the razed block into a community commons, lay sod, and plant a vegetable garden. In the early hours of May 15, the University of California evicted the gardeners, bulldozed the plantings, and fenced off the area. That afternoon, following a rally at Sproul Plaza on the Berkeley campus, thousands marched to the site. Police responded with tear gas, and sheriff’s deputies fired live ammunition. At least 50 (and by some accounts as many as 110) people were shot; one man, James Rector, was killed. Governor Ronald Reagan sent in the National Guard, who occupied Berkeley for seventeen days. Although it was illegal for more than three people to congregate, several marches drawing thousands took place in the ensuing days. On May 30, more than twenty-five thousand people peacefully marched to People’s Park; shortly thereafter, the Guard was withdrawn.
Impact
The occupation of the streets of Berkeley by the National Guard, coming as it did at the height of the Vietnam War, led to analogies about the “war at home.” People’s Park challenged the sanctity of property rights and heralded the environmental movement and neighborhood-based organizing in the 1970’s.
Subsequent Events
Frequent and sometimes violent conflicts over the park continued between the University of California and Berkeley residents. In 1972, antiwar protesters tore down the fence; attempts by the university to build on the site were met with protests, sit-ins, or sabotage. In 1991, the University of California and the city of Berkeley agreed to jointly manage the site. The university succeeded in building a volleyball court at the park in 1991 over strenuous opposition, but because of disuse, it was demolished in 1997. On June 20, 1997, the university turned the site into a soccer field and parking lot, kept under round-the-clock guard.
Additional Information
W. J. Rorabaugh’s Berkeley at War (1989) describes the evolution of the conflict and includes photographs of demonstrators and National Guard troops. Todd Gitlin’s The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage (1987) provides a look at the motivations of protesters.