October 20th, 1967

Today I got up at 6:45 & went to Oakland. Another demonstration.

10,000 people there today. 2,000 police. 10 square blocks shut down.

We walk up Broadway to 14th. Cops come running down Broadway to chase kids blocking the intersection. Cops start swinging, we retreat. People throwing bottles & chunks of concrete. Cops catch a few, beat them, put one girl in car.

We block traffic at intersections with bodies, then set up barricades of trashcans, benches, overturned cars.

Leaders at intersections with monitors, yelling "Walk!" when the police start chasing us. But we know the cops won’t be too violent with all the bad publicity they've been getting.

Gradually people get tired, sit in middle of street. Anywhere from 100 to 500 people at each intersection. At less populated intersections, people just walk slowly back & forth across the street to block traffic.

Guy screaming defiantly at cop once he gets in the crosswalk. Cop can’t do anything, because crosswalk is legal.

Information confused at the intersections as to whether the National Guard is coming in.

Stupid secretaries hollering out windows: "Look at the big babies! You cowards! They wanna be girls instead of boys!"

At one corner 10 cops come walking at us & we walk right back at them. Cops retreat.

Vandalism: people tearing out parking meters, guy burning huge draft card, people lighting more fires from its flame.

Spades shouting, "Military Revolution, the only solution!”

Che killed in Bolivia. Draft call for 18,000 in November. Mother immolates herself on steps of L.A. Federal Building to protest war.

» October 26th, 1967 : Rachel & The Doors