Building Bridges, Not Walls, Sunday, November 11

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Welcome!

Building Bridges, Not Walls:

Berkeley, America's First Sanctuary City

Our next exhibit, co-curated by Phyllis Gale and Harvey Smith, will explore Berkeley’s humanitarian spirit and internationalism. Berkeley became the first sanctuary city in the United States at the end of the City Council Meeting of November 7, 1971, when Resolution #44,784 was signed, providing sanctuary for Naval seamen of the USS Coral Sea who were opposed to the Vietnam War.  Since that date, nine more resolutions have been approved by the City in areas such as the Central American refugees (1985), acceptance of Arab immigrants (1991), a Hate Free Zone (2001), opposition to the Patriot Act (2002), reaffirming Berkeley as a City of Refuge (2007), and on to today, where the City recently approved sanctuary for people due to federal marijuana law infringement (2018).

BHS Member Harvey Smith is contributing parts of his recent San Francisco Public Library exhibit “Building Bridges, Not Walls.” The materials he has put together focus on immigrants, diversity and internationalism, providing a broader context beyond the sanctuary movement. Works by Berkeley artists, poets and photographers will provide artistic interpretation of the exhibit themes. This will bring the historical content into our contemporary context.

Save the Date: November 11, 2018. At 11:11 am, we will gather in front of the Veterans Building to honor the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day – the end of World War I (now Veterans Day).  Led by the Mayor’s Office, we will honor the Berkeley soldiers who served in World War I with the renewing of the memorial plaque, then we will have a presentation in the auditorium about the exhibit and the sanctuary city movement, followed by opening the exhibit and a reception.

(Rafael Jesús González, 
1st Poet Laureate of the City of Berkeley,

will read near the beginning of the program.)

Berkeley Historical Society and Berkeley History Center

1931 Center Street,

Berkeley, California

Sunday, November 11, 2018

at 11:11 AM

Admission free, donations welcome.

Wheelchair accessible.

Telephone: 510-848-0181

In addition to changing exhibits, the History Center now features a permanent illustrated Timeline of Berkeley History giving an overview of major periods and events in the evolution of the city.

Hours (during exhibits): Thursday–Saturday, 1–4 pm.

Mailing address: P.O. Box 1190, Berkeley, CA 94701

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