By 1967 the Vietnam War was starting to lose its support from the American people. The Student population had been protesting since 1964 (shortly after the Gulf Of Tonkin incident when troop strength and draft quotas increased and body bags started coming in) while the majority of Americans were in favor of our policy in Southeast Asia. But gradually, as the war escalated and as casualties mounted and as no clear-cut goal was either defined or achieved, questions began to arise as to what we were actually doing there and when was this thing going to end. We were all assured it was quick-in/quick-out at the start, but now timetables weren’t being discussed.
So the growing backlash against the war was now taking on a different demographic – it was no longer just students, but concerned Parents and working people who weren’t believing what was being told and who felt it was time to make voices heard.
On June 23rd 1967; gathering at Rancho Park in West Los Angeles, in the shadow of 20th Century Fox Studios and pretty much in the lap of a middle and upper-middle class neighborhood, people gathered to carry signs and march on the newly built Century Plaza Hotel where Lyndon Johnson was slated to appear at a fundraiser. It was a Friday and the last day of school before letting out for the Summer, so the park filled with Students from the local high schools as well as parents, children and pretty much a picnic-like atmosphere prevailed that afternoon. As the afternoon progressed the crowds swelled – office workers, retired people – activists along with doctors, attorneys and students, who were acting as crowd control, milled around a makeshift stage listening to speakers denounce the War – getting pep talks from the likes of Muhammed Ali and the usual cadré of folk singers and personalities as the crowd swelled to what was estimated at roughly 10,000 people – a slice of the usually complacent demographic who had just had enough and wanted to be heard. Placards were passed out and banners were unfolded to be carried during the march across Pico to Avenue of The Stars and the entrance to the Century Plaza Hotel.
The party atmosphere got somber when it was realized the streets around Pico were packed with Police cars, police busses, a command center and what seemed like several thousand LAPD and Sheriffs – getting ready; waiting.
As the march began, the grandparents and the kids stayed behind while a sea of faces and signs trudged down Pico, turned left on Avenue Of The Stars and headed to the Century Plaza. Rows of cops lined the street and TV cameras were poised and waiting.
In what later became the basis for a series of City Hall meetings on well-publicized reports of police brutality and unhinged attacks by members of the LAPD and Sheriffs on the otherwise peaceful crowds and onlookers – the demonstration that started off relatively sublime ended in chaos as crowds ran to get away from the charging police and flailing nightsticks.
So now it wasn’t kids protesting anymore – it was adults – it was adults who were not used to being shoved to the ground and handcuffed. It was that otherwise complacent middle class who lived in well-manicured neighborhoods who were now getting stitches and posting bail.
You could say 1967 was a turning point. Summer of Love, yes but with more than a few caveats.
Here is an excerpt of live coverage of the aftermath of the Century Plaza Demonstration as broadcast by KPFK-FM with phone-ins and eyewitness accounts as it happened on June 23, 1967.
