Potential protest site, Bughouse Square, READ!

[standforsomething]

Bughouse Square (from “bughouse,” slang for mental health facility) is the popular name of Chicago's Washington Square Park, where orators (“soapboxers”) held forth on warm-weather evenings from the 1910s through the mid-1960s. Located across Walton Street from the Newberry Library, Bughouse Square was the most celebrated outdoor free-speechcenter in the nation and a popular Chicago tourist attraction.

In its heyday during the 1920s and 1930s, poets, religionists, and cranks addressed the crowds, but the mainstays were soapboxers from the revolutionary left, especially from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Proletarian Party, Revolutionary Workers' League, and more ephemeral groups. Many speakers became legendary, including anarchist Lucy Parsons, “clap doctor” Ben Reitman, labor-wars veteran John Loughman, socialist Frank Midney, feminist-Marxist Martha Biegler, Frederick Wilkesbarr (“The Sirfessor”), Herbert Shaw (the “Cosmic Kid”), the Sheridan twins (Jack and Jimmy), and one-armed “Cholly” Wendorf.

A Bughouse Square Committee, headquartered at Newberry Library, has continued to organize free-speech gatherings there each July in conjunction with the library's annual book sale.

[mjcassel]

This is a great idea. 

[Kevinz]

July is a long way from now! Why not do street speaking at corners in the loop? During the Vietnam War this was a frequent action that we did. All you need is a sturdy box, a loud voice and the ability to resond to questions without talking down to the person that asked the question. This can be done on street corners, Daley Plaza, the State of Illinois Building, etc. and it't legal!

[marymcmahon@clear.net]

Yes, what a great idea! Start now, make it mobile... lunchtime might be a great time.

BTW: July Bughouse uses 4 boxes, crowd moves at will and also determines a speakers time. So you need to be good or the next guy/gal gets the floor.

[marymcmahon@clear.net]

Maybe this should be moved to Outreach.

It is such a good Chicago based idea.

And my BTW comment was not intended to alter Kevinz concept of a single speaker performing in the BugHouse style.