Introduction: Reinvigorating the Spirit of ’64

Abstract

These lyrics, written by Malvina Reynolds, were performed by a student from atop a blockaded police car in Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964.² They encapsulate the steely, optimistic atmosphere of the Free Speech Movement (FSM), Berkeley’s student rebellion against the university bureaucrats who severely limited students’ ability to speak freely and organise politically on campus.

It isn’t nice to block the doorway,

It isn’t nice to go to jail,

There are nicer ways to do it,

But the nice ways always fail.

It isn’t nice, it isn’t nice,

You told us once, you told us twice,

But if that is freedom’s price,

We don’t mind.¹