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It was the spring of 1967. Pro and anti Vietnam war protest will be coming regular affairs. This incredible clip was produced by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, the prominent French New Wave filmmaker who made several films in the late 1960s that dealt with the Vietnam War, reflecting his increasing anti-war political radicalization during that time. The video present moments from an anti Vietnam war march called the Spring Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam. This was one of the largest anti-war protests in American history up to that point. I was one of the cameramen on this day in New York City, April 15, 1967. The protest was coordinated by the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, a coalition of anti-war activists. The march in New York City was one of two coordinated protests, with the other taking place in San Francisco. The New York City march began at Central Park, where demonstrators gathered for a rally. Prominent figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and Dr. Benjamin Spock addressed the crowd. After the rally, the protesters marched to the United Nations building, where another series of speeches were held. Estimates for the crowd size vary, but it is generally agreed that there were between 300,000 to 400,000 participants, making it one of the largest demonstrations in American history up to that point. This march marked a significant escalation in the anti-war movement. While there had been earlier protests, this was the first to draw such a large number of participants. The demonstration also attracted a broad range of participants, from pacifists and student activists to civil rights leaders and labor union members. Also attending as you can see in this video were a fairly large group of pro-war demonstrators. It's worth noting that New York City Mayor John Lindsay officially sanctioned the protest and ordered the police to act with restraint. His support for the march, which was highly controversial at the time, marked him as one of the most prominent political figures to oppose the Vietnam War. I was and am fascinated in part by the fact that people construct strongly diverse opinions which they stated, as you can see in the video, intensely and aggressively without actually physically fighting. Passions ran strong but fists were kept in their pockets.
