My Life as a Protester in the Sixties

It was the late 1960’s--the height of the protest era.The major outcry opposed the Viet Nam War.

The civil rights movement had gained momentum with every protester who sat in, sat up front and marched and protested for justice.

Hippies advocated for drugs and free love.

The Third World Liberation Front helped propel Black Panthers, La Raza, Asian American Movement and other ethnic groups into prominence and influence.

Students demanded free speech.

Women called for equal rights.Christians were not to be outdone.  The Jesus People Movement flourished.  Calvary Chapel multiplied. The Christian World Liberation Front began at Berkeley.  Across the nation believers were taking advantage of Free Speech Platforms to proclaim the gospel.  We talked about a Revolution of Love.

As a ministry staff member and journalist in my 20’s, it was exhilarating.

As editor of the Collegiate Challenge magazine, I wrote about all these movements, identifying with the desire for freedom and proclaiming that true freedom was found only in Jesus.

I attended the Berkeley Blitz in 1967 and the craziness of spring break in Palm Springs.

I rallied with the Resurrection March for Jesus in downtown Los Angeles Easter Saturday.

And we took a stand against sin.For me  that meant a local protest against an unsavory establishment.

Every Friday night for months a dozen or so of us showed up at a local topless bar, the Booby Trap.  We were peaceful, walking back and forth, praying, occasionally engaging patrons in conversation.

Of course, the proprietor was not happy.  He made sure we stayed on the sidewalk and not on his property.  We complied.  The next week he had set up a sprinkler to get us wet..  When that didn’t stop us, he began spraying us with a hose.   He made threats.

So the police came to protect us.  The owner was definitely not happy to have police cars around the property—clients stayed away.

As summer arrived, many of us headed for summer assignments, and the picketing slowed down.  A few, though, kept it up—and within a year the Booby Trap became a pool hall.

And my writing about true freedom, justice and a revolution of love in Jesus continues all these decades later.

What about you?  What have you protested?

C2014 Judy Douglass