The Human Be-In is commonly referred to as a prelude to the Summer of Love because it occurred on January 14th 1967, which was several months before the summer began. It also occurred in the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco. This was an event promoting a large assortment of principles that defined the hippie generation, for instance: acceptance of drugs like LSD, communal living, awareness of the environment, and radical political beliefs. The event was announced on the cover of the underground counter-cultural newspaper The San Francisco Oracle. The newspaper touted the event, “The Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In.” It was only a few months before this event that California banned the use of LSD, so one of the main points of the event was to voice for the acceptance and safe use of LSD. The event was organized by artist Michael Bowen and included speakers such as: Timothy Leary who at the event uttered his most famous phrase, “Turn on, tune in, drop out.”, Richard Alpert, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Michael McClure. The event also included music from Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead who were both prominent San Francisco musicians during that time. Of course there also was abundant use of LSD as a large amount was produced specifically for the event and passed around. The event garnered massive media attention and is estimated to have between 20 or 30 thousand attendees.
Timothy Leary at the Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 1967.
Human Be In, Golden Gate Park, San Fransisco, Timothy Leary, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Suzuki-roshi, John Chipilino, Jim Marshall – Photographer, Poets. Jim Marshall behind Suzuki-roshi.
Here is a clip from the Human Be-In. In the clip Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, and the Grateful Dead can all be seen.
The World They Imagined 