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Ten Years That Shook the City: San Francisco 1968-1978
A collection of essays spans the tumultuous decade from 1968, the year of the San Francisco State University strike, to 1978 and the twin traumas of the Jonestown massacre and the assassinations of mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk. This volume provides a broad look at the diverse ways these ten years shook the city of San Francisco and shaped the world we live in today. From community gardening to environmental justice, gay rights and other identity-based social movements, anti-gentrification efforts, neighborhood arts programs and more, many of the initiatives whose origins are described here have taken root and spread far beyond San Francisco.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionEssays
344 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
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About the author
Chris Carlsson
14 books15 followersChris Carlsson, executive director of the multimedia history project "Shaping San Francisco" (foundsf.org), is a writer, publisher, editor and community organizer. He was a founder of the ground-breaking magazine Processed World, and helped launch the monthly bike-ins known as Critical Mass that have spread to five continents and over 300 cities. Carlsson has edited and authored numerous books, including Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 1, 2016
"What did happen in the years following the storied 1960’s? Did political and social activism die away, move to the country, or get co-opted by the mainstream? Clearly not, as detailed in this new book of essays, edited by local community activist and historian, Chris Carlsson. Primarily first-person accounts, each chapter is chock full of stories from the front lines, written by participants who organized, agitated, and created social change in the city well into the 1970s and beyond. Currents run together from the anti-war and labor movements, gay and women’s liberation, struggles against redevelopment and racism and towards the building of cooperatives, ecological awareness, and political art and culture. Gathered together, these snapshots of activism tell a powerful story, showing how the groundwork was laid for much of the progressive movement that still exists today in San Francisco. The lessons of continuity are strong, with the foundations of many of today’s institutions and organizations rooted in the radical political and cultural movements from this time period." --Susan Goldstein, City Archivist, San Francisco Public Library
"For anyone who lived through San Francisco's greatest years, the 1960s and 1970s, this book is a treasure-house of reminders, information and perspectives on what happens when a community really AWAKENS politically, ecologically and socially. No-one has ever done a better job of capturing this than Chris Carlsson in this book. For those who were not here, settle down and learn what the 60s-70s cultural revolution in the city may teach us about how we should deal with a difficult future. This is great reading for anyone." --Jerry Mander, author of Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
"Ten Years that Shook the City examines the early history of many of San Francisco’s cultural treasures that provide the bedrock for today's social change efforts. Written by people who were active in building the everyday institutions we now take for granted, the collection examines the radical democratic ethos that still permeates the city’s politics and cultural life. This is a vital resource, which provides the backstory for all of us who came to San Francisco because of its radical culture and politics."--Dorothy Kidd, Professor of Media Studies at the University of San Francisco
"Ten Years That Shook the City is a brilliant palimpsest of a time and a place: San Francisco in a revolutionary decade that changed just about every part of the city and everything about how we live today. This magnificent collection brings together voices from the cutting edges of feminism, gay liberation, Latino and Asian mobilizations, environmentalism, community housing and more, and proves once again what an extraordinary city we have the good fortune to inherit." --Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, University of California, and author of The Country in the City and The Conquest of Bread
"These bottom-up histories, written both by movement veterans and younger historians, provide a fascinating look at the ways people in a pivotal city shaped a pivotal decade. From hotel workers to cultural workers, college campuses to city streets, collective living to urban gardening, this book captures the sights, sounds and desires of a city in revolt. Its pages reveal the roots of our current struggles." --Dan Berger, editor of The Hidden 1970s: Histories of Radicalism
"What a vivid, well-written tour through the wide range of community struggles and movements in this most political of American cities." --Chester Hartman, City for Sale: The Transformation of San Francisco
"For anyone who lived through San Francisco's greatest years, the 1960s and 1970s, this book is a treasure-house of reminders, information and perspectives on what happens when a community really AWAKENS politically, ecologically and socially. No-one has ever done a better job of capturing this than Chris Carlsson in this book. For those who were not here, settle down and learn what the 60s-70s cultural revolution in the city may teach us about how we should deal with a difficult future. This is great reading for anyone." --Jerry Mander, author of Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
"Ten Years that Shook the City examines the early history of many of San Francisco’s cultural treasures that provide the bedrock for today's social change efforts. Written by people who were active in building the everyday institutions we now take for granted, the collection examines the radical democratic ethos that still permeates the city’s politics and cultural life. This is a vital resource, which provides the backstory for all of us who came to San Francisco because of its radical culture and politics."--Dorothy Kidd, Professor of Media Studies at the University of San Francisco
"Ten Years That Shook the City is a brilliant palimpsest of a time and a place: San Francisco in a revolutionary decade that changed just about every part of the city and everything about how we live today. This magnificent collection brings together voices from the cutting edges of feminism, gay liberation, Latino and Asian mobilizations, environmentalism, community housing and more, and proves once again what an extraordinary city we have the good fortune to inherit." --Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, University of California, and author of The Country in the City and The Conquest of Bread
"These bottom-up histories, written both by movement veterans and younger historians, provide a fascinating look at the ways people in a pivotal city shaped a pivotal decade. From hotel workers to cultural workers, college campuses to city streets, collective living to urban gardening, this book captures the sights, sounds and desires of a city in revolt. Its pages reveal the roots of our current struggles." --Dan Berger, editor of The Hidden 1970s: Histories of Radicalism
"What a vivid, well-written tour through the wide range of community struggles and movements in this most political of American cities." --Chester Hartman, City for Sale: The Transformation of San Francisco
May 25, 2014
An amazing, must-read book for newcomers to San Francisco. My favorite essays: "Mujeres Muralistas," "Filipino Americans in the Decade of the International Hotel," and "San Bruno Mountain."
"Asian-American identity was meant to be a means to an end rather than an end in itself. It was created as an organizing tool to mobilize Asians to participate in the progressive movements of the times. It was as much a mechanism to identify with one another as to identify with the struggles of others, whether it is as African-Americans or Asians overseas, and [significantly] it was less a marker of what one was and more a marker of what one believed. That it has now become synonymous with 'pride in one's ethnic heritage' is a complete evisceration of what it was originally, and what it was meant to be." - Chris Iijima, as quoted in "Third Worldism in San Francisco," p. 40
"Overcoming poverty is not simply a matter of political will; it is and has become even more one of political structure." - Thomas F. Jackson, as quoted in "The Mission Coalition Organization," p. 53
"As contacts with Philippine activists deepened, Filipino-American political and ethnic identity grew away from its pan-Asian American political origins. While maintaining ties with other Asian-American groups, Fil Am activists transformed their political and ethnic identity from what was a romantic cultural connection, even quaint and nostalgic, to be a self-aware, anti-imperialist political consciousness. The revival of pre-colonial values was part of the decolonization efforts to liberate themselves from a colonial mentality...Filipino-American activists had found a way to combine an anti-colonial past in the Philippines with traditions of class resistance in the United States." - from "Filipino Americans in the Decade of the International Hotel," p. 134
"The American Indian Movement sent representatives to stand in front of the International Hotel to prevent the evictions of Pilipino elders. Teveia Clarke and her son were near the corner of the I-Hotel when a Sheriff on horseback tried to ride into the protesters. Teveia was a Nez Perce woman; her people developed the Appaloosa horses and bred them...She blew into the horse's nose and chanted. The horse backed away, reared, and when the sheriff fell off, the horse stepped on his foot. 'You shouldn't mess with a Nez Pearce woman if you are on a horse,' she said." - From "Reflections from Occupied Ohlone Territory
"Asian-American identity was meant to be a means to an end rather than an end in itself. It was created as an organizing tool to mobilize Asians to participate in the progressive movements of the times. It was as much a mechanism to identify with one another as to identify with the struggles of others, whether it is as African-Americans or Asians overseas, and [significantly] it was less a marker of what one was and more a marker of what one believed. That it has now become synonymous with 'pride in one's ethnic heritage' is a complete evisceration of what it was originally, and what it was meant to be." - Chris Iijima, as quoted in "Third Worldism in San Francisco," p. 40
"Overcoming poverty is not simply a matter of political will; it is and has become even more one of political structure." - Thomas F. Jackson, as quoted in "The Mission Coalition Organization," p. 53
"As contacts with Philippine activists deepened, Filipino-American political and ethnic identity grew away from its pan-Asian American political origins. While maintaining ties with other Asian-American groups, Fil Am activists transformed their political and ethnic identity from what was a romantic cultural connection, even quaint and nostalgic, to be a self-aware, anti-imperialist political consciousness. The revival of pre-colonial values was part of the decolonization efforts to liberate themselves from a colonial mentality...Filipino-American activists had found a way to combine an anti-colonial past in the Philippines with traditions of class resistance in the United States." - from "Filipino Americans in the Decade of the International Hotel," p. 134
"The American Indian Movement sent representatives to stand in front of the International Hotel to prevent the evictions of Pilipino elders. Teveia Clarke and her son were near the corner of the I-Hotel when a Sheriff on horseback tried to ride into the protesters. Teveia was a Nez Perce woman; her people developed the Appaloosa horses and bred them...She blew into the horse's nose and chanted. The horse backed away, reared, and when the sheriff fell off, the horse stepped on his foot. 'You shouldn't mess with a Nez Pearce woman if you are on a horse,' she said." - From "Reflections from Occupied Ohlone Territory
August 24, 2012
Any new resident of San Francisco who is serious about staying in the City should read this book. These essays tell stories that were lived through at the time, but aren't part of the oral histories that San Franciscans often tell (unlike the 1989 earthquake, or trivia about 1906).
So much of what happened in the mid-60s to late-70s had a huge impact on what San Francisco has become in the early 21st century. The essays in this book explained a lot for me, especially the stories about the Fillmore and Mission districts.
Note that this book is in desperate need of an editor. The writing and formatting in many cases is sloppy. It's not so bad as to be entirely distracting, but this could have been a five-star rating if the editing had been a bit tighter.
So much of what happened in the mid-60s to late-70s had a huge impact on what San Francisco has become in the early 21st century. The essays in this book explained a lot for me, especially the stories about the Fillmore and Mission districts.
Note that this book is in desperate need of an editor. The writing and formatting in many cases is sloppy. It's not so bad as to be entirely distracting, but this could have been a five-star rating if the editing had been a bit tighter.
September 3, 2012
this book was ok. if you are from san francisco, have lived there or are thinking of moving there then check this book out. it will give you some vivid first hand accounts of some very important and often hidden history of the bay area. the known stories like the black panthers and harvey milk are there but do not dominate the book. instead you get to learn about the anti-eviction struggle at the international hotel, los siete de la raza and the jung sai garment workers. overall the stories are good and the entire collection is very well edited (one of the best editing of any collection in an think of). also the writers clearly know what they are talking about and how to express it well. all that said though, there is very little analysis of things. it's fine as it was not necessarily pitched in such a way that the analysis feels left out but rather it is something i was more interested in reading about. why things went they way they went. and though a lot of that is in there offhandedly, the telling of the story was clearly deemed the more important goal of this collection. that is why i say the book was just ok. that and the fact that there were some essays over topics that i didn't care anything about. :)
July 8, 2015
Some great history in the form of short essays on numerous discrete lenses through which to view SF. The SF State student strike, Women muralists & the backstory to Precita Eyes, the Farm, and my favorite - San Bruno Mtn., my long-time jogging escape. I can't recommend the book based on the quality of the writing, but can (wholeheartedly) based on the importance of the topics to any San Franciscan.
September 16, 2011
Overall, this is a very good book on urban displacement and social movements in San Francisco during the 1970s with some of the essays delving into some background of the 1950s and earlier. The book has some very strong essays (especially about the Filmore, the Mission, and the garment strikes in Chinatown) and some pretty weak essays that merely amount to personal reflection rather then deep analysis.
September 30, 2014
A collection of essays, some really, really good, others acronym soup. The essays about the art and the music, with the color reproductions and photographs, are great. If the other topics are especially interesting to you, you might like those essays more than I did. Lots of San Francisco history here.
July 25, 2011
More academic and dry than I would have liked.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews