60s & Further Guest Photojournalist
Michelle Vignes Gallery I

"Allen Ginsberg-Human Be-In 1967' © MichelleVignes

Michelle Vignes

"I started as a photographer upon my arrival in San Francisco in 1966. Was San Francisco or California so special ?I could not figure it out. I felt like falling in another world, another time, another planet - It was the richest time I could find. The emotions ran high, the hopes too, the intensity was exhausting and elating.

People no longer wanted to dwell on the past. And there I was thrown into the present in an open door, but where ?? There were so many subjects to document, so many happenings - too much.... I cared mostly for the political and social changes that I documented and was curious about the new rock scene but was no part of it, just an observer - I am happy to have lived this in San Francisco. It was an extraordinary time of sharing and learning - it still stayed in me and inspired me forever."

Blessings!
Michelle Vignes.
All photos ©1998 Michelle Vignes

We will be showing Michelle's photos covering the 60s counter culture movement, the Black Panther Movement, AIM's (American Indian Movement) Alcatraz Island Occupation-1969-1971, and The Siege at Wounded Knee 1973.

Plus more biographical sketches of this most remarkable woman.

The 1967 San Francisco Be-In Tribute

'Bill Graham contemplating his new Fillmore Auditorium at 2AM, 1967' © Michelle Vignes

Bill Graham and The Fillmore
"Bill Graham was a veteran of the artistic community, but his greatest talents were his keen business acumen and his ability to organize events, creating comfortable and safe atmospheres without stifling the creative energies around him. Maintaining high aesthetic standards and calling on limitless personal energy, Bill pulled together a workforce that functioned as a family, and was a prime nurturing force in San Francisco's burgeoning scene.
The Fillmore represented the pinnacle of creative music making in the late 1960s. From December 10, 1965, when Bill Graham produced a San Francisco Mime troupe benefit(Jefferson Airplane with Great Society and Mystery Trend; the Warlocks, later the Grateful Dead, kicked off the show), until July 4, 1968, The Fillmore audiences experienced a 2 1/2 year musical and cultural Renaissance that produced some of the most innovative, exciting music ever to come out of San Francisco. The careers of the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Moby Grape, the Butterfield Blues Band, and countless others were launched from The Fillmore stage. The most significant musical talent of the day has appeared there: Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Cream, Howlin' Wolf, Captain Beefheart, Muddy Waters, The Who - well, you get the picture. Or you've heard the stories. If you're lucky, you were there."

Learn more about the Fillmores incredible history!

'Kiss' Altamont Speedway Concert-1969' © Michelle Vignes

Altamont-'The Death of the Flower Child?" (NAH-we survived!!-LH-)

Altamont is a speedway in Northern California, in Tracy near Livermore. It is best known for hosting a rock music festival in December 1969 which was marred by violence, including one killing and three accidental deaths.

The festival included the Rolling Stones and other bands (including the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane). About 300,000 people attended the festival, and the hope was that it would be "Woodstock West."

The festival was originally supposed to be at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. However, the permits were never issued for the concert. This was a result of Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones announcing in a press conference that they would be performing at the event; they were to be a surprise appearance. With the announcement that the Stones would be performing, the city of San Franciso feared crowd control problems that occurred at Woodstock. Accusations have arisen that Jagger made this announcement to ensure a large crowd for a planned concert movie. The venue was then changed to the Sears Point Raceway, but after a dispute with the owner of Sears Point, Filmways, Inc., over film distribution rights, the festival was moved to the Altamont Speedway. This move occurred only days before the event was to take place, resulting in many problems. Most importantly, facilities such as portable toilets and medical tents were lacking in number. The stage, which was only four feet high, was surrounded by Hells Angels who acted as bouncers; the sound system was hardly sufficient for such a large audience.

The Angels were hired by the Rolling Stones' manager, Sam Cutler, reportedly for $500 in free beer, although it is suspected that their involvement was, in reality, motivated by a desire to manage drug distribution at the concert. The crowd management proved to be a disaster and many people were hurt and four were killed. The Grateful Dead and other bands refused to play due to the violence. Over the course of the day, the crowds became increasingly violent. However, the Stones refused to take the stage. Again, accusations have arisen by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and others, that this was to ensure better lighting that would be available in an evening performance. Two of the deaths were caused by a hit-and-run car accident. Another death was the result of a person drowning in a drainage ditch.

The most famous death was that of Meredith Hunter. Hunter, an 18-year-old African American drew a long-barreled revolver and was stabbed and kicked to death during the Rolling Stones concert just in front of the stage, allegedly by the Hells Angels. News agencies reported the event as a "drug induced riot." The Rolling Stones, who reacted rather helplessly in the face of the brutality within the crowd, had to interrupt their performance. Unaware that Hunter had been fatally stabbed, they decided to go on in order to prevent a riot.

The Altamont concert is often contrasted to the Woodstock festival that took place earlier in 1969, and is sometimes said to mark the end of the innocence embodied by Woodstock or the de facto end of the 1960s.

In popular culture, the events at Altamont have been characterized as Hells Angels attacking innocent hippies. Various drugs were present at the event, some of which were of poor quality. These drugs were distributed to unknowing victims during the concert, with a resulting increase in "bad trips." Hells Angels acting as security guards were not only using some of these drugs, but were probably not the best people to handle these cases. Unlike Altamont, Woodstock's security had been provided by members of the hippie commune, the Hog Farm, led by Wavy Gravy. Obviously, fellow hippies would understand what those on LSD were going through.

Some commentators saw coincidences with the astrological situation, while others connected it with the Stones dealing with the Voodoo fashion. The album and song titles Let It Bleed, Sympathy for the Devil, and Gimme Shelter, seemed appropriate terms for the riotous atmosphere at Altamont. Contrary to a popular urban legend, Sympathy for the Devil was not playing while Hunter was being stabbed, rather, the song was Under My Thumb.
The events of the concert are recounted in the documentary film, Gimme Shelter which includes the stabbing.

On May 25, 2005, the Alameda county sheriff's department announced that it was closing the stabbing case. The accused Hells Angel, Alan Passaro, had been acquitted at the time, after a jury concluded he acted in self-defense because Hunter was carrying a gun, drew it, and pointed it at the stage. There had been rumors over the years that a second unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and as a result, the police had considered the case to still be open. Investigators, concluding a renewed two year investigation, have now dismissed a theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing.
'Altamont' © Robert Altman

'The Black Panthers in front of the Alemeda Courthouse during Huey Newton's Trial'

The Black Panthers 'Ten Point Plan'

1 WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.

2 WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.

3 WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.

4 WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.

5 WE WANT DECENT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY. WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.

6 WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR All BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.

7 WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, All OPPRESSED PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

8 WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF AGGRESSION.

9 WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U. S. FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, CITY AND MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE WANT TRIALS BY A JURY OF PEERS FOR All PERSONS CHARGED WITH SO-CALLED CRIMES UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY.

10 WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation is a community-based, non-profit research, education, and advocacy center dedicated to fostering progressive social change. By preserving the history of multicultural activism and community self-determination, by educationg the public about this history's continued relevance, and by creating a crucible for practicing ongoing progressive change, guided by the writings and teachings of Huey P. Newton, the Foundation seeks to empower all people, but especially urban youth, to be builders of a true global community.

Learn more about the Black Panthers

Please continue on to

Michelle Vignes'

American Indian Movement of the 60s & 70s

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