Central Park Be-In
Encyclopedia
Between 1967 and 1968 several "be-ins" were held in Central Park
to protest against various issues such as US involvement in the Vietnam War
and racism
. This park was a place where all of the different types of people that New York
contained could mingle.
. This war was a controversial one because many people were against the United State’s involvement in South Vietnam
. Adding to the tension of the Americans against the war was the emergence of a generation of people who were a part of the counter-culture
and believed that they should do anything possible to go against the establishment. When Central Park was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1965, this counter-culture generation decided that the park would be the perfect host for their demonstrations.
1967, a group of one thousand people accompanied by music and geese burned down a Christmas tree
in Central Park. The Parks Commissioner, Thomas P.F. Hoving, was present at the event. About this demonstration, he stated, “We're going to do this again… you know, It's old hat to go to Times Square when we can have such a wonderful happening in Central Park”.
magazine, Susan Hartnett head of a the Experiments in Art and Technology organization and Chilean poet and playwright Claudio Badal. With a budget of $250 they printed 3,000 posters and 40,000 small notices designed by Peter Max
and distributed them around the city. . The Police and Parks Departments quietly and unofficially cooperated with the organizers.
An estimated 10,000 people participated in the event at the Sheep Meadow
in Central Park. The majority of participants were hippies. They were joined by families who had attended the Easter Parade
and members of the Spanish community who were notified of the event by Spanish language posters. . The New York Times described them as “poets from the Bronx, dropouts from the East Village, interior decorators from the East Side, teachers from the West Side and teeny boppers from Long Island” and said that “they wore carnation petals and paper stars and tiny mirrors on foreheads, paint around the mouth and cheeks, flowering bedsheets, buttons and tights”.
The event was guarded by small number of police. At 6:45 a.m. the first police car arrived. The car was covered flowers with while the crowd chanted of “daffodil power” at which point the police quickly retreated. While police held their distance most of the day, 5 officers did approach two nude participants, at which point the officers were surrounded while the crowd chanted “We love cops/"Turn on cops”. The situation was defused when the crowd at the urging of other participants backed off. At 7:30 at night the police beamed lights on the group and used bullhorns to tell participants to disperse. Again the police were rushed by participants. Following a brief period of tension the police decided to let the event continue.
rally took place as a part of “the Spring Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam”. Once again the number of demonstrators grew drastically to an estimated 100–400 thousand attendees. This peace rally, which assembled and started off in Central Park, was said to be the largest of its kind at its time. The demonstrators ranged from Sioux Indians from South Dakota
to members of the African American community all fighting for one cause, peace. There was a peace fair, which featured performances by folk singers and rock groups. People held signs that read “Don’t Make Vietnam an American Reservation” “Make Love not War” and “No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger”. This group of people who were against the Vietnam War made their way from Central Park to the United Nations. There, speeches were given by several leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. who declared that the war in Vietnam was a “conflict against a coloured people” and that “white Americans are not going to deal in the problems of coloured people when they’re exterminating a whole nation of coloured people”. Although there were five arrests made during this demonstration, they were of counter-demonstrators who staged an Anti-Communist rally. Around 75 protesters burned their draft cards.
Later that spring the counter-culture revolution continued in Central Park but this time “Armed with electric guitars”. About 450 people attended the concert. Various bands such as The Grateful Dead performed for the gatherers who originally were scheduled to gather in Tompkins Square Park but was forced to move to Central Park. The New York Times described the attendees as “young people, some with bare feet and others wearing sandals or socks who did some moderately contortionate dancing at first. But then the pace quickly changed and soon they were jumping around like rag dolls being jerked by wires”.
who spoke in place of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. who had been assassinated earlier on April 4. In her speech she said “The inter-relatedness of domestic and foreign affairs is no longer questioned”. The Village Voice described the crowd as apathetic and said there was a feeling that this had all been done before.
s erupted. One person described Sheep Meadow as having “the aura of a bombed out battlefield”. Things became even worse when one person leapt into one of the bonfires. When he was finally pulled from the bonfires by other demonstrators, word came out that an ambulance would not arrive until Sheep Meadow was cleared. Because the crowd would not disperse, the man had to be carried through the crowd to be transported to the hospital. In addition to this tragedy, three police officers were injured when the demonstrators hit them with rocks.
.
as Commissioner, Newbold Morris, refused to give them a permit that they would need in order to use a section of the park for anti-war speeches. Opponents of the ban called it a form of discrimination. In 1967, Parks Commissioner August Hecksher said that Central Park would no longer be allowed to serve as a venue for mass demonstrations because they were disruptive and caused damages to the park which were costly. After Hecksher was met with great opposition by protestors who held up unauthorized banners and burned draft cards in the park anyway, he decided to set up designated areas just for these types of demonstrations such as Randalls Island. As a part of the compromise made by the New York Civil Liberties
Union, a separate area in Central Park was set aside for big demonstrations.
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
to protest against various issues such as US involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. This park was a place where all of the different types of people that New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
contained could mingle.
Protest against the War
During the 1960s America was involved in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. This war was a controversial one because many people were against the United State’s involvement in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. Adding to the tension of the Americans against the war was the emergence of a generation of people who were a part of the counter-culture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
and believed that they should do anything possible to go against the establishment. When Central Park was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1965, this counter-culture generation decided that the park would be the perfect host for their demonstrations.
New Year's Eve 1967
On New Year's EveNew Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
1967, a group of one thousand people accompanied by music and geese burned down a Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
in Central Park. The Parks Commissioner, Thomas P.F. Hoving, was present at the event. About this demonstration, he stated, “We're going to do this again… you know, It's old hat to go to Times Square when we can have such a wonderful happening in Central Park”.
Easter 1967
The Easter be-in was organized by Jim Fouratt an actor, Paul Williams editor of Crawdaddy!Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...
magazine, Susan Hartnett head of a the Experiments in Art and Technology organization and Chilean poet and playwright Claudio Badal. With a budget of $250 they printed 3,000 posters and 40,000 small notices designed by Peter Max
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
and distributed them around the city. . The Police and Parks Departments quietly and unofficially cooperated with the organizers.
An estimated 10,000 people participated in the event at the Sheep Meadow
Sheep Meadow, Central Park
The preserve known as Sheep Meadow has a long history as a gathering place for large scale demonstrations and political movements. It is currently a favorite spot for families, sunbathers, picnickers, kite flyers, and other visitors to come relax and admire the New York City skyline...
in Central Park. The majority of participants were hippies. They were joined by families who had attended the Easter Parade
Easter Parade
Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland's best-known songs, such as "Steppin' Out With My Baby" and "We're a Couple of Swells."...
and members of the Spanish community who were notified of the event by Spanish language posters. . The New York Times described them as “poets from the Bronx, dropouts from the East Village, interior decorators from the East Side, teachers from the West Side and teeny boppers from Long Island” and said that “they wore carnation petals and paper stars and tiny mirrors on foreheads, paint around the mouth and cheeks, flowering bedsheets, buttons and tights”.
The event was guarded by small number of police. At 6:45 a.m. the first police car arrived. The car was covered flowers with while the crowd chanted of “daffodil power” at which point the police quickly retreated. While police held their distance most of the day, 5 officers did approach two nude participants, at which point the officers were surrounded while the crowd chanted “We love cops/"Turn on cops”. The situation was defused when the crowd at the urging of other participants backed off. At 7:30 at night the police beamed lights on the group and used bullhorns to tell participants to disperse. Again the police were rushed by participants. Following a brief period of tension the police decided to let the event continue.
April 15
Less than a month later another anti-warAnti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
rally took place as a part of “the Spring Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam”. Once again the number of demonstrators grew drastically to an estimated 100–400 thousand attendees. This peace rally, which assembled and started off in Central Park, was said to be the largest of its kind at its time. The demonstrators ranged from Sioux Indians from South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
to members of the African American community all fighting for one cause, peace. There was a peace fair, which featured performances by folk singers and rock groups. People held signs that read “Don’t Make Vietnam an American Reservation” “Make Love not War” and “No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger”. This group of people who were against the Vietnam War made their way from Central Park to the United Nations. There, speeches were given by several leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. who declared that the war in Vietnam was a “conflict against a coloured people” and that “white Americans are not going to deal in the problems of coloured people when they’re exterminating a whole nation of coloured people”. Although there were five arrests made during this demonstration, they were of counter-demonstrators who staged an Anti-Communist rally. Around 75 protesters burned their draft cards.
Later that spring the counter-culture revolution continued in Central Park but this time “Armed with electric guitars”. About 450 people attended the concert. Various bands such as The Grateful Dead performed for the gatherers who originally were scheduled to gather in Tompkins Square Park but was forced to move to Central Park. The New York Times described the attendees as “young people, some with bare feet and others wearing sandals or socks who did some moderately contortionate dancing at first. But then the pace quickly changed and soon they were jumping around like rag dolls being jerked by wires”.
1968
During this year, the Peace Rally and the Easter Be-In were combined into a single event. About 90,000 people ranging from veterans to religious groups to African Americans to Puerto Ricans to Women groups to labor groups to students gathered at Sheep Meadow. Amongst the speakers at this particular demonstration was Coretta Scott KingCoretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.Mrs...
who spoke in place of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. who had been assassinated earlier on April 4. In her speech she said “The inter-relatedness of domestic and foreign affairs is no longer questioned”. The Village Voice described the crowd as apathetic and said there was a feeling that this had all been done before.
Early 1969
During this Be-In/Peace Rally, the Village Voice reported that there was said to be between 15–20,000 people in attendance. This be-in became more radical than the other be-ins that previously took place in Central Park as bonfireBonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...
s erupted. One person described Sheep Meadow as having “the aura of a bombed out battlefield”. Things became even worse when one person leapt into one of the bonfires. When he was finally pulled from the bonfires by other demonstrators, word came out that an ambulance would not arrive until Sheep Meadow was cleared. Because the crowd would not disperse, the man had to be carried through the crowd to be transported to the hospital. In addition to this tragedy, three police officers were injured when the demonstrators hit them with rocks.
November 1969
In November 1969, protesters took a different approach and organized a lie-in at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. About three thousand protesters laid out blankets on Sheep meadow and held white and black balloons used to symbolize those killed and those potentially killed in the war in Vietnam. This lie-in was met with opposition from some city officials and some members of the general public. The demonstrators were met with this opposition because of the message that they were trying to get across and because of the usage of the city’s public spacePublic space
A public space is a social space such as a town square that is open and accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, nor are the entrants...
.
Censorship of the Be-Ins
In 1965, citizens of New York experienced their first blow against their freedom of speechFreedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
as Commissioner, Newbold Morris, refused to give them a permit that they would need in order to use a section of the park for anti-war speeches. Opponents of the ban called it a form of discrimination. In 1967, Parks Commissioner August Hecksher said that Central Park would no longer be allowed to serve as a venue for mass demonstrations because they were disruptive and caused damages to the park which were costly. After Hecksher was met with great opposition by protestors who held up unauthorized banners and burned draft cards in the park anyway, he decided to set up designated areas just for these types of demonstrations such as Randalls Island. As a part of the compromise made by the New York Civil Liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
Union, a separate area in Central Park was set aside for big demonstrations.
