Signposts: L.A. Protests Since the Sixties

UCHRI regretfully announces the postponement of the event Signposts: LA Protests Since the Sixties.

Jon Wiener, on his and Mike Davis’s behalf, approached us to host a Zoom webinar, taking their newly published book as a jumping off point to discuss the history and contemporary importance of LA protests. We worked together to shape a terrific panel, and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium. Throughout our summer Boiling Point zoominar series we have expressed support for the ongoing student strike at UCSC for a living wage and decent work conditions, working with some of the student leaders to craft a statement of support read before each webinar. Once the students were reinstated by UCSC we understood that the strike and boycott would end. While we were unaware that Mike Davis had signed the boycott support letter, he was subsequently approached by one of strike organizers, apparently unilaterally, to be advised that the boycott had not yet been suspended. As a result, Professor Davis pulled out of the event we had scheduled with his willing participation. The pressure to honor the boycott has not been universally applied, either; we would note that at least one other prominent personality who has signed the boycott agreement last month participated in a widely circulated UC event and was not requested to withdraw from it. While we continue to support the commitment of the students to be treated fairly and with dignity, and for the UC to address the significant cost of living issues for graduate students across the state, UCHRI is concerned not to be used on the part of a faction to advance their own interests. We will reschedule the event once the issues at UCSC are resolved.