Missed the opening of the San Diego Free Speech Centennial Exhibition in the Centro Cultural de la Raza on January 6th?
Not to worry. The celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the San Diego Free Speech Fight continues this Thursday, January 26th at the Saville Theatre (where 14th Street meets C in downtown) on the City College campus from 7:00-9:00 PM.
This event will feature music by Gregory Page and the Proles; a reading from my IWW novel Flash; a special Voices of Peoples’ History presentation focused on the free speech fight by City College students; and the premiere of a short documentary on this important piece of local history. Before and after the performances you can view Golden Lands/Working Hands, the California Federation of Teachers’ mobile labor history exhibit. This event is free and open to the public.
Thursday’s event is sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers Local 1931 in concert with the City College BEAT Club, the City College Labor Studies Program, the San Diego Imperial Counties Labor Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice and others. For more information.
For a quick summary of what happened during the San Diego Free Speech Fight in 1912 see my previous columns on that history.
You can listen to the KPBS coverage of the Free Speech Fight Centennial here .
For the TV coverage go here (forward to minutes 20:45-25:00):
For a report on the opening of the exhibition at the Centro complete with footage go here:
After this week the upcoming events include:
- The Lemon Grove Incident, a film screening and discussion on the importance of the freedom of speech with filmmaker Paul Espinosa at 7 PM on February 3, 2012, at Centro Cultural De La Raza (2004 Park Blvd. Balboa Park).
- There will be a San Diego Free Speech Fight Commemoration at the original site of the struggle, 5th and E, in downtown San Diego at 6 PM on Wednesday, February 8th. There will be music, performances, and special guests.
- Finally, there will be a forum on the San Diego Free Speech Fight in the auditorium of the School of Leadership & Education Sciences building at the University of San Diego, Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, on Monday, February 20th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.
I’ll be back with my regular column next Monday. Happy Lunar New Year, San Diego!
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It should be noted that the anti-union San Diego Restaurant Association is kinda upset with the very idea of a “free speech” commemoration in the Gaslamp district on Weds., Feb 8th. These folks are some of the bloodsuckers funding Carl DeMaio and his ilk. Which should be even more of a motivation for “free speechers” to “Occupy” the Gaslamp. Let’s make them squirm a little!