What's a Beatnik??

On the surface you might imagine a “beatnik” and a “hippie” to be the
same. Both rejecting societal norms and experimenting with
unconventional lifestyles, but with further investigation you can see
that they are different. It some instances even, disliking one another.
The terms “beatnik” and “hippie” are defined by the Merriam Webster
online dictionary as:
Beatnik: A person who participated in a social involvement of the 1950’s
early 1960’s which stressed artistic self-expression and the rejection
of the mores of conventional society; broadly: a usually young and
artistic person who rejects the mores of conventional society.
Hippie: a usually young person who rejects the mores of established
society (as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living)
and advocates a  nonviolent ethic; broadly: a long haired
unconventionally dressed young person.
The recurring theme is rejecting the mores of a conventional society,
however, the mindset and the follow through differs.

Beatniks are of the post World War II era, late 1950’s early 1960’s.
Typically youthful writers and artists, searching for spontaneity and
romance. They were heavily inspired by jazz music and French literature.
Beatniks were categorized as outside of mainstream society, loners,
possibly pro-communist, but mostly apolitical. Their experimentation of
drug use was typically in hopes of inspiring creativity, and was often
limited to benzodiazepines, opiates, and cannabis.
Of those who may have called themselves beatniks, Jack Kerouac stands
forefront. The phrase Beat Generation was termed in 1948, introduced by
Kerouac it describes a social circle of underground nonconformists and
early writers who met in New York City, namely Columbia University.
Jack Kerouac came to stand at the forefront of this reform due to his
book On the Road, written in 1951 but not published until 1957,
ironically due to editing, the book introduces many well known writers
and fellow beatniks. It was described as encouraging delinquency.”
Beatniks were compared to Hugh Hefners ideals “as a vision of male
rebellion against conformity and responsibility” (J.Jones, 2008, p.588).
The New York Times Magazine November 16, 1952 introduced the “Beat
Generation” to the world; “beat-implies the feeling of having been used,
of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and ultimately of
soul; a feeling of being reduced to the bedrock of consciousness” The
generation was also termed “lost”. The article also quoted “ …their
excursions into drugs or promiscuity come out of curiosity, not
disillusionment.” As time went on and the underground society became
better known through writings and art more media was drawn and the “Beat
Generation” was finally named. Beatnik was coined by Herb Caen of the
San Francisco Chronicle on April 2,1958. It is a linguistic blend of the
Beat Generation (Jack Kerouac) and the Russian space capsule Sputnik.
As time progressed many Beatniks underwent what looked like a makeover.
By trading their low profile “playing it cool” dark attire for colorful
“being cool” expressive attire the world was introduced to the “hippie”.
“ 1960’s hippie culture evolved from beat culture, and greatly
influenced by changing music and style, and creation of rock and roll
from jazz” (www. cystalinks.com/hippies)
About 1960 the term “hippie” was introduced, stemming from hipster, or
as stated above previous beatnik. Hippies were categorized as more of an
outward expressive type. Their expression focused more on music than
writing and obvious experimentation of drug use, mostly but not limited
to psychedelics and marijuana.  Harvard professor Timothy Leary
advocated hallucinogen use as a way to expand your mind. In lieu of
curiosity, hippies used drugs to achieve a euphoric state of mind,
almost as one would use alcohol to drown their sorrows. They politically
involved and were involved in many anti-war rallies, with some resulting
in violence With the invention of the birth control pill in 1960 sexual
freedoms and women’s liberalization persisted, and a sexual revolution
had also taken place.  By 1972 the hippie was accepted by modern society
and it was the end of an era.

References:
Merriam Webster online dictionary

New York Times magazine, November 16, 1952 ‘This is the Beat Generation’
by John Clellon Holmes

www.crystalinks.com/hippies

www.wikipedia.com

Jones, J., Wood,P.H., Borstelmann, T., May,E.T., & Ruiz, V.L., P.
(2008). Created Equal A Social and Political History of the United States.

Information contributed by Brieana Burton

Wasn't Woodstock Grand

Contributor Wendi De Leon

Research on the History of Woodstock

At five pm on August 15, 1969 on a hog farm in Bethel, New York, the legendary Woodstock Music Festival became a reality. Richie Havens was the opening act with thirty-one others to follow. Those acts included the talents of the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Santana and many more performers who supported a culture of Vietnam War opposition, sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

The thought of having a “hippie” music festival first originated with four young men in their twenties determined to profit financially by building a recording studio type retreat for rock musicians to flock to. It quickly morphed into a three day rock concert for about 50,000 people. The thought was that these 50,000 would provide the monies needed to build the studio. The tickets were seven dollars for one day, thirteen dollars for two days, and eighteen dollars for three days (Rosenberg).

The original location for the Woodstock Music Festival was in Wallkill, New York. The town quickly realized that they did not want a bunch of “drugged out hippies” invading their town so they refused to sell tickets, etc., in an effort to ban the concert. They were successful in their efforts and panic soon set in. Luckily in mid-July, the boys in charge of setting up the concert, were able to lock in a hog farm in Bethel and the concert was a go (Rosenberg).

As the date grew closer, it was estimated that at least 200, 000 people were expected to attend Woodstock. Many people, approximately 50,000 began arriving as early as two days in advance. People walked through make-shift gates without a ticket. In some instances there weren’t any gates to control entrance into the concert area. The word soon spread that Woodstock had become a “free concert”. At five pm on August 15^th, approximately 400, 000 people were in the Bethel, New York vicinity for the concert. It is estimated that 500,000 people made it to Woodstock (Rosenberg).

Despite long waits for water and bathroom facilities, lots of sex, nudity, and mud made Woodstock a success. There was one fatality and illnesses related to malnourishment/dehydration and drug overdose were reported, but those seemed to have been overlooked as the years have passed. What is remembered is that the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969 became the icon of the 1960s hippie culture.

Rosenberg, J.. The Woodstock Festival of 1969. About.com, 20^th Century History. Retrieved from http://history1900s.about.com

Fox, S.. An Event Paper: The 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu

Woodstock: The Legacy

On August 15, 1969, the arts fair that almost didn’t happen come to light in a small town called Bethel, New York. Originally planned for the town of Wallkill, New York, the citizens of the town protested against the event which gave the four young organizers less than two months to find another venue and get the word out. They submitted several permits, which were declined. Finally, a young 27 year old pig farmer offered up his 600 acre pig farm to hold the festival, and despite the protest of the citizens of Bethel the permit was granted and history was about to be made, although no one realized it at the time.

We have all heard stories about Woodstock and terms that were coined like, “Sex, Drugs and Rock-N- Roll” or “Make love, not War”. But what was Woodstock really about. The 1960’s were a very tumultuous time period. The Vietnam War was raging and America’s youth were being drafted and sent off to war, many of then never to return. The arts fair came to represent their emotional decry, more than their rebellion. One writer said,” Woodstock was as much a state of mind and a snapshot of history as it was a rock festival”. Hettley, Woodstock, 101

Woodstock was a far more success due to the massive turnout of nearly 500,000 young people of that time period, who came because the festival epitomized the youth rebellion. It symbolized breaking free from their parent’s traditional values and beliefs. The more the adults and parents protested, the more youths were determined to attend. It became a symbol of peace and free love to the thousands in attendance, but even more so a symbol of rebellion against the establishment almost to the point of anarchy.

Woodstock was the largest peaceful gathering of people in our history and it opened up the door to drastic changes to the American way of life. If you think about it, many of our present day lawmakers are from that time period and kept that same state of mind even to present day. They have made rules and laws that have fundamentally and drastically changed America. Their beliefs are becoming more prevalent here in our modern times, such as moral fabric that once held our country together prior to the 1960’s, has all but disappeared. Our leaders now embrace the Robin Hood Syndrome and continue to push for the legalization of marijuana and other drugs. The institute of marriage is no longer sacred and has led to basically the elimination of any traditional role models, as well as the decline for any type of authority.

Woodstock remains by far one of the greatest phenomenons in U.S. history. For the hippies, college students, and young people of that time it was a symbol of the changing of the tides. Although the actual festival did not change anything, the culture of Woodstock still lives on today.

Works cited Woodstock 101 by Tim Hettley Http://classicrock.about.com/od/history/awoodstock_101_2htm

Contributed by Deotta Edwards

"Coming of Age in Mississippi"

The book Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody gives us three examples of effective, nonviolent protest. The influence of dramatic rebellion done in the correct form can be quite a profound statement. The use of one's will to demonstrate disagreements with others by protest in a nonviolent way is often the only effective means of communication when other parties will not listen to words. The words "Beatnik" and "Hippie" bring to mind peace sign displaying, free love people, and these people were able to accomplish much through the means of primarily nonviolent action.

To best develop an understanding of nonviolent social protest and its background, it is important to understand the organizations and influence of those organizations on Essie Mae.

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) help students and people in need of fair treatment . "Founded Feb 12,1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in the communities, conduction voter mobilizations and monitoring of equal opportunity in the public and private sectors."2 The book does not explain any of this as background, which is unfortunate as Essie Mae was very involved and helpful in forming the foundation for this organization.

The SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) is an organization that helped establish a forum for students. The organization has grown and is still in practice today. This organization provided much needed support in times of hardships for Essie Mae.

The first protest in the book by Moody is when Essie Mae refuses to wash all the windows in the library. There is personal conflict between Essie Mae and Mrs. Adams the girls basketball coach. In the dorm room, Miss Adams "had posted her punishment list"2 and Essie Mae's name was the first one. Essie Mae and the Coach have issues that are not resolved and the Dean of the school is called in to smooth things out. The Dean, not able to resolve the conflict, calls in the President of the school. The attention of the school President is required to resolve the problem. This interaction plays an important part later in the book. By protesting the rules of the girls basketball team, the team relationship changed for all the girls. Essie Mae did suffer some set backs from the protest by being droped to second string on the team, but she also proved a point.

The second protest was when the grits given to the students were infested with maggots. Essie Mae refused to eat and President Buck was called to handle the situation. The students in the cafeteria all refused to eat, causing attention and getting publicity. The results were improved food preparation conditions and the fixing of a leaky pipe in the pantry. By standing her ground, Essie Mae's results created improvements enjoyed by all of the students.

During her senior year in school, Essie Mae protested in a Woolworth’s segregated lunch counter. This brought her fame but no fortune from the paparazzi. The protest was very peaceful and organized on the students behalf. The law enforcement was violent (something we see going on even today). Even when provoked by the law enforcement, the students did not succumb to violence and achieved effective results through the use of nonviolent protest.

The social movements of students and citizens throughout the years have helped to equalize a number of unfair laws in our government. The protesting by Essie Mae started in the early 1960’s was much like that of Woodstock. The age of free love and less war was the result of people wanting a change - a change without war or violence.

Cited Works

1. Moody,Anne, Coming of Age in Mississippi, New York,New York, P 240.
2.http.www.naacp.org/about/history
3.http.www.sncc50thanniversary.org//sncc.html