Protesters tear down fences at Berkeley rally to save People’s Park
With echoes of People’s Park’s legacy of resistance, protesters reacted Friday to UC Berkeley taking the first steps towards developing the land for student housing.
People’s Park co-founder Michael Delacour at a rally to stop UC Berkeley from building on People’s Park. Jan. 29, 2021. Photo: Pete Rosos
Fifty-two years after founding People’s Park, Michael Delacour stood in front of a crowd that had gathered Friday afternoon to protest UC Berkeley’s plan to develop housing on the park’s grounds.
Delacour, now 83 years old, told the crowd how he helped turn a vacant lot into a park during the heart of Berkeley’s anti-Vietnam war movement. Then, he eyed the fences erected by the university ten days earlier in preparation for the development of student housing on the site.