Mario Savio facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mario Savio
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Mario Savio on Sproul Hall steps, 1966
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| Born | December 8, 1942 New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Died | November 6, 1996 (aged 53) Sebastopol, California, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley, Queens College, San Francisco State University, Martin Van Buren High School |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Known for | "Bodies Upon the Gears" |
| Spouse(s) | Suzanne Goldberg (1965-72) Lynne Hollander (m. 1980) |
Mario Savio (December 8, 1942 – November 6, 1996) was an American activist. He was a very important leader in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. He is best known for his powerful speeches. His most famous speech was "Bodies Upon the Gears." He gave it at Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley on December 2, 1964.
Savio is remembered as a key figure in the early days of the 1960s counterculture movement. This movement was about young people challenging old rules and ideas.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mario Savio was born in New York City. His parents were both from Italy. They were very religious Catholics. When he was young, Mario even thought about becoming a priest. He was an altar boy, helping the priest during church services.
He was a very good student. He graduated at the top of his class from Martin Van Buren High School in 1960. He then went to Manhattan College and Queens College. In 1963, he spent a summer in Taxco, Mexico. He worked with a Catholic group to help improve living conditions in poor areas.
In late 1963, Mario started studying at the University of California, Berkeley. In March 1964, he was arrested for protesting. He was demonstrating against a hotel group in San Francisco. They were not hiring Black people for many jobs. While he was in jail, he heard about a project in Mississippi. This project was helping with Civil Rights.
Activism for Change
In the summer of 1964, Mario joined the Freedom Summer project in Mississippi. This project helped African Americans register to vote. He also taught at a special "freedom school" for Black children. One day, Mario and two other activists were attacked in Jackson. This event showed him how much violence and unfairness existed.
Mario realized that racism and violence in the South were part of bigger problems across the country. When he returned to Berkeley, he wanted to raise money for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. But the university had banned all political activity and fundraising on campus. Mario felt strongly that they could not forget the people they had helped in Mississippi.
His part in the Berkeley protests began on October 1, 1964. A former student, Jack Weinberg, was arrested for having a table for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Police put Weinberg in a police car. Suddenly, people started sitting down around the car. They trapped the car in the plaza. Mario Savio and others climbed on top of the car. He spoke to the crowd, inspiring them.
Mario later climbed on the police car again. He told the crowd that an agreement had been reached with the university president. He asked everyone to leave quietly and with respect, and they did. After this, Mario became a main leader of the new Free Speech Movement. This movement fought for students' rights to protest and speak freely on campus.
When talks failed, students took direct action. On December 2, Mario gave his most famous speech, "Bodies Upon the Gears." He spoke to about 4,000 people. That day, he and 800 others were arrested. He later said he would do it all again. In April 1965, he left the Free Speech Movement. He felt there was a growing gap between the leaders and the students.
The "Bodies Upon the Gears" Speech
This speech is also known as "Operation of the Machine." Mario Savio gave it on the steps of Sproul Hall on December 2, 1964. It is one of his most famous works.
He said that if the university was like a business, then the students were like "raw material." But he said students were human beings, not products to be made.
He spoke these powerful words:
There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels ... upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!
This speech meant that sometimes, you have to stand up against a system that feels unfair. You have to make it stop working until things change.
FBI Monitoring
Years later, in 1999, it was revealed that the FBI had watched Mario Savio. They followed him for over ten years. This started when he first climbed on the police car during the protest. The FBI watched him because he was a very well-known student leader. Even though there was no proof he was a threat, they thought he might inspire students to rebel.
The FBI collected personal information about him. They watched his daily activities. They even had agents pretend to be professors or journalists to talk to him. They also put him on a special list. This list was for people who could be held without a court order in a national emergency. They also tried to disrupt his political activities.
This investigation finally ended in 1975. Mario's ex-wife said that the FBI's watching of them was a waste of money and an invasion of their privacy.
Later Life and Passing
After 1965, Mario Savio worked in different jobs. He was a sales clerk and an instructor at Sonoma State University. In 1965, he married Suzanne Goldberg, whom he met in the Free Speech Movement. They had a son named Stefan. They later divorced in 1972. Mario faced some difficult times after this.
In 1980, he married Lynne Hollander, another person he knew from the Free Speech Movement. He went back to school at San Francisco State University. He earned a degree in physics in 1984 and a master's degree in 1989. He was a very smart student.
In 1990, Mario and Lynne moved to Sonoma County, California. Mario taught mathematics, philosophy, and logic at Sonoma State University. He was mostly quiet on campus until students protested higher fees. Mario joined them in this last campus battle.
Mario Savio had heart problems. He passed away on November 6, 1996, after a short illness. He was 53 years old.
Legacy
Mario Savio's work continues to inspire people. After he passed away, the Mario Savio Memorial Lecture Fund was created. It holds a yearly lecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Many important speakers have given these lectures.
The fund also gives out the Mario Savio Young Activist Award. This award honors young activists who work for human rights and fairness.
In 1997, the steps of Sproul Plaza were officially renamed the "Mario Savio Steps." This is where he gave his most famous speech.
His famous speech is also used in many songs, TV shows, and movies. His words and actions have been mentioned often in recent protest movements, like the Occupy movement.
On October 16, 2012, the Downtown Plaza in Sebastopol was renamed the "Mario Savio Free Speech Plaza." On November 15, 2012, the "Mario Savio Speakers' Corner" was opened at Sonoma State University. His wife, Lynne, hoped people would use it to speak up for what they believe in.
Footage of Mario Savio is shown in the 1990 documentary film Berkeley in the Sixties. The Free Speech Movement Cafe on the Berkeley campus also honors him.
Images for kids
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Mario Savio on Sproul Hall steps, 1966
See also
In Spanish: Mario Savio para niños
