Description
Los Angeles in the sixties was a hot bed of political and social upheaval. The core book is entitled Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the 60's by Mike Davis and Jon Wiener which tells the compelling story of this important decade in Los Angeles history. The city was a launchpad for the Freedom Rides and the struggle for fair housing. The city's history includes the 1965 Watts rebellion and its repercussions, the development of the Black Muslims, Black Power, the Black Panther Party, US and the political competition and repression that followed. It is time to look at the Eldridge Cleaver for President campaign, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the struggle to "Free Angela Davis!" Let us not forget Tom Bradley's campaign for Mayor and the changes it brought to the political landscape. A movement to Ban the Bomb became a struggle to Stop the War, draft resistance and the war coming home. Chicano power arose and asserted itself in many forms including the Chicano Moratorium. Asian-Americans organized and made their presence known. L.A. was also a focus of the struggle by women in many forms and for gay liberation. It was a capital of California counterculture. What is a discussion of L.A. in the sixties without talking about KPFK , the L.A. Free Press, and the Free Clinic? It is time to look at this tumultuous decade as it played out in Los Angeles.
Weekly Topics
Introduction and Chapters 1-3. A Movement History; 1960 Setting the Agenda; A New Breed; Police Chief William Parker; L.A. to Mississippi-The Freedom Rides.
Chapters 4-7. The Black Muslims (1963); The United Civil Rights Movement (1963); The Beginning of the Backlash; The Repeal of Fair Housing (1968).
Chapters 8-11. Alternative Culture; Ban the Bomb-Stop the War-Women Strike for Peace; From Bach to "Tanya" KPFK Radio (1959-1974); L.A. Free Press (1964-70); Gay L.A. (1964-70).
Chapters 12-15. Catholic Power and Protest (1964-73); The Explosion; The Watts Uprising (August 1965); The McCone Commission (1965-66); The Watts Renaissance (1965-67).
Chapters 16-19. Black Power (1966); The Panthers and US (1967-68); Vietnam Comes Home; The Century City Police Riot (1967); Eldridge Cleaver for President (1967-68).
Chapters 20-22.. Draft Resistance (1967-69); The Great High School Rebellion; Riot Nights on the Sunset Strip (1966-68); The Blowouts (1966-68).
Chapters 23-25. Black High School Activists (1968-1969); There is Only the Gun; Bradley for Mayor (1969); The UCLA Murders (1968-69).
Chapters 26-28. Killing the Panthers (1969-70); Free Angela! (1969-72); Reigns of Repression; The Ash Grove and the Gusanos (1968-73).
Chapters 29-32. Valley State (1968-70); The Battle for the Last Poor Beach: Venice (1969); Generation Chicano (1969); The Chicano Moratorium (1970).
Chapters 33-36 and Epilogue. Other Liberations; The Many Faces of Women's Liberation (1967-74); The Free Clinic (1967-70); Asian American Radicalism (1969-74); L.A.'s Black Woodstock: Wattstax (1972); Sowing the Future.
Bibliography
Mike Davis and Jon Wiener, Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties, New York and London, Verso. 2020.
