Re: [sixties-l] student activism & NSA

From: Marty Jezer (mjez@sover.net)
Date: 12/10/00

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    I don't recall thw NSA event that Roz describes, but does anyone (Roz?)
    remember the Grand Central Station
    peace happening (not the Yip-in). It was put on by a collective of artists who
    lived (and I 
    believe still live) around Stony Point (near Bear Mt.) NewYork.
    
    During rush hour, the artists, dressed as commuters, came into the station from
    all entrances 
    with huge cardboard boxes. (This was winter, I recall, so they could easily
    pass for Xmas shoppers).
    Someone on the mezzanine had a tape player which he or she turned on and then
    hid so that where 
    the sound was coming from was not conspicuous. Sounds of bombs, people
    screaming, etc. That was 
    the signal for the folks with the boxes, who were standing around throughout
    the central concourse, 
    to open the boxes. Helium balloons rose slowly to the ceiling each holding a
    huge
    hanging banner/sign painted "Peace" "Vietnam" "Resist" and stuff like that.
    
    At the sound of the taped bombings everything came to a stop. The police in the
    station ran around
    looking for the tape.  This caught people's attention and then the balloons
    went up. There was quiet as 
    people tried to figure out what was going on and then much cheering (and some
    booing) when the banners unfurled.
    The balloons stayed for days with their banners flying  The media had been
    tipped off in advance to come to a
    peace happening in Grand Central so it was well documented. I wonder if anyone
    filmed it. It was
    great agit-prop, the kind of theatrical stuff that creative people were doing
    around the country. This must
    have been 67 or  68. 
    
    Marty
    
    At 02:07 PM 12/10/2000 -0500, you wrote:
    >Who remembers an event for a large national gathering of the NSA is 
    >Washington DC  Maybe , at GWashington U, where in the middle of the event the 
    >lights  went out and sirens went off and a loud speaker told folks not to 
    >move and something about the war in Vietnam, perhaps Newsreel film went on 
    >with bombings, killings in Vietnam.   It was an action put on by a group 
    >called The American Playground one of the leaders was Dennis...............?  
    > Can anyone fill in the info about this event and group.  I was there and it 
    >is a distant memory  almost gone.   
    >
    >>student activism & NSA>
    
    Marty Jezer * 22 Prospect Street * Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
    
    Website <http://www.sover.net/~mjez
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