Human Be-In

The Human Be-In was a happening that took place on the afternoon and evening of January 14, 1967, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It marked the beginning of the Summer of Love.

The Human Be-In placed its emphasis on the ideas of the 1960s hippie movement: individualism, cultural and political decentralization, living in communes, environmental awareness, and the expansion of consciousness.

The term Human Be-In originated with Beat Generation artist and co-founder of the San Francisco Oracle Michael Bowen; the term, created by accident, combined humanist values with the large number of sit-ins that changed college and university practices, causing the last vestiges of entrenched racial segregation to disappear.

The Human Be-In was announced on the front page of the San Francisco Oracle as "A Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In," published in the fifth issue of February 1967. Speakers at the rally included Timothy Leary, who provided the motto of the afternoon with his famous phrase "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out," and Richard Alpert (later better known as Ram Dass). But poets like Allen Ginsberg, who chanted mantras, and Gary Snyder also participated. Other famous participants included Dick Gregory, Leonore Kandel, and Jerry Rubin. Also represented were the Hells Angels. Local rock bands such as the Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service provided the music.

There are still contradictory figures about the number of visitors, but it is assumed that between 20,000 and 30,000 people attended. Nevertheless, the impact of the Human Be-In was great: the hippie movement, which was able to present itself at the Human Be-In, encouraged people to question authorities in terms of civil rights, women's rights and consumer rights. In addition, alternative media of their own were created and new paths were taken in music and art; technologically, this eventually led to the Digital Be-Ins in the 1990s.