People's Park Panel Seeks 'Hail Mary' To Save The Park

BERKELEY, CA — It was standing room only at a "last stand" panel discussion about the past and future of Berkeley's People's Park Wednesday evening.

"What's happening at People's Park with the university is just a power grab. It's all about power. There is no argument that can convince me that it's not about power," said state Senate candidate Jovanka Beckles, who spoke during the panel.

Beckles is running against Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin for the state Senate seat, and one distinguishing factor in the race is their opposing positions on developing People's Park into housing.

The park was once a hub for the Free Speech Movement but is now fenced off with double-stacked shipping containers ahead of UC Berkeley's construction of student and low-income housing. The yearslong legal battle over development ended earlier this month when the state Supreme Court sided with the university.

Despite the finality of the ruling, more than 70 people of all ages packed the East Bay Media Center in downtown Berkeley to discuss a potential "Hail Mary" discovery of indigenous artifacts in and around the site.

Activists claim that the excavation of remains or artifacts could become the grounds of another environmental law challenge to the housing project at the park.

Corrina Gould, tribal chair of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation, said she is hoping UC Berkeley will conduct a cultural resource report to assess those claims.

"It's not just a park; it represents a historic place for many people, and it also may include a place that is representative of our own people being on those lands for thousands of years," Gould said.

Other panelists included Joe Liesner, co-founder of the People's Park Historic District Advocacy Group that brought the lawsuit; Jonah Gottlieb, a recent UC Berkeley graduate who presented parts of his thesis on the park's history, state Assembly candidate Margot Smith, activist and attorney Moni Law, and Berkeley mayoral candidate Aidan Hill.

Law drew parallels between the fight for People's Park and another recent example of preservationist activism in Berkeley: the historic post office downtown. The building was registered on the National Register of Historic Places - like People's Park - and was slated for the development of a Target store.

Some people in the room, Law included, recalled rallying outside the post office building in protest. They eventually succeeded when a federal judge stepped in to essentially block the sale of the building to developers.

"As long as we have breath, we have hope," said attendee Maria Sol.

For many of the people in the crowd, this was not their first People's Park meeting. But for others, it was a chance to learn more about the history of the park and the organizers who fight to preserve it.

An incoming junior at Berkeley High School said the park was always in his periphery, but he didn't get involved until the university walled off the site in January. Attending meetings like Wednesday's panel made him feel optimistic about the park's future, he added.

"That Hail Mary that we were talking about is that if we can throw some stumbling blocks into that machine, then we've got to do that," said longtime Berkeley activist Andrea Prichett. "Let's imagine that they go ahead and they build in People's Park. My question is: Who's next?"

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