Mario Savio (1942-1996) was a political and human rights activist from the University of California at Berkeley who became the voice of the Free Speech Movement. He was investigated by the FBI from July 1964 until January 1975, following his arrest in March 1964 at a civil rights demonstration in San Francisco.
Being a man of brilliance, compassion, and humor, he came to public notice as a spokesman for the Free Speech Movement at the University of California in 1964. Having spent the summer as a civil rights worker in segregationist Mississippi, Savio returned to Berkeley at a time when students throughout the country were beginning to mobilize in support of racial justice and against the deepening American involvement in Vietnam.
His moral clarity, his eloquence, and his democratic style of leadership inspired thousands of fellow Berkeley students to protest university regulations which severely limited political speech and activity on campus. The non-violent campaign culminated in the largest mass arrest in American history, drew widespread faculty support, and resulted in a revision of university rules to permit political speech and organizing. This significant advance for student freedom rapidly spread to countless other colleges and universities across the country.
Savio went on to become a teacher of mathematics, physics and philosophy at Sonoma State University, to speak and organize in favor of immigrant rights and affirmative action and against U.S.intervention in Central America.
Mario Savio died on November 6, 1996, in the middle of a struggle against university fee hikes that hurt working-class students.
He never lost his love of poetry and debate, his willingness to admit his own doubts and to listen to another's point of view, or his deep belief that this kind of dialogue was essential to building a more just world whose fruits would be shared by all.
http://www.savio.org/who_was_mario.html
https://archive.ph/lWP2
Same video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MChW0d8wT3g
This is long but a good read on these slogans. I can't help but wonder what lies and scams did George Orwell know about from his days when he wrote 1984.
The Meaning of War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, and Ignorance Is Strength in Orwell's "1984"
https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Meaning-of-War-is-Peace-Freedom-is-Slavery-and-Ignorance-is-Strength-in-Orwells-1984
https://archive.ph/AxWAG
Michael's Newsletter
https://michaelatkinson.substack.com/
