Fifty years after the sixties
It was an era of political and cultural turbulence, but how much can today’s activists learn from it?
The 1960s were an era of political and cultural turbulence which saw the explosion of reform ovements n civil rights, environmentalism and anti-war activism. Half a century later, the legacies of that decade ring true for those disillusioned by modern-day government power and continued social injustice.
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Across Europe, recent protests over tuition fees and government austerity measures are becoming increasingly heated and reminiscent of the 1968 student demonstrations that threatened to topple governments.
On Tuesday’s Riz Khan show, we ask: How much did the sixties set the foundation for progressive reform, and what can today’s organisers learn from the era?
Riz speaks to American activist and writer Tom Hayden, who in 1962 penned The Port Huron Statement, a work considered by many as the founding document of 1960s student movement. Also joining the programme is former British Labour MP Kim Howells, a former student activist who led his peers in the 1968 student takeover of the Hornsey College of Art.
You can join the conversation. Call in with your questions and comments at our live time of 1630 GMT. Repeats air at 2130 GMT, and the next day at 0130 GMT.