By the late 1960s serious opposition to the war in Vietnam had developed. Hundreds of thousands had already marched and demonstrated around the United States against the war before the afternoon of November 15, 1969 when the people of San Francisco took to the streets for the Vietnam War Moratorium Peace March.
As I walked along Geary Boulevard to Golden Gate Park with the crowd I photographed individuals, groups, and parents with their children holding banners—it was a multi-cultural cross-section of San Franciscans all in unity. None complained to me taking their photo in spite of worries that undercover agents were roaming around snapping away just like friendly photographers.
And, the crowd was so disciplined that if a traffic light turned red in their direction the marchers stopped. In the cover photo you can see them smiling at the single police officer in the intersection of Geary Blvd and Masonic Avenue who was only protected by a helmet and a clear plastic shield. While there must have been a few unruly incidents I saw none. And, the hundreds of crowd control volunteers who were strung out along the full length of Geary Blvd were always ready for intervention.
The experience of marching along with the thousands of inspired war opposition from the far left to SF 49er football fans, and the San Francisco Municipal Railway drivers had me always on the lookout for a photo that would capture the determination to stop the killing in Vietnam.
I used a 35mm Leicaflex SL camera with a semi-wide angle 35mm lens, and a standard 50mm lens. The film was Kodak Tri-X developed with a formula of Edwal FG7 mixed with sodium sulfite I had learned from master photographer Pirkle Jones. The photos in this book were printed as they were composed in the camera, and not edited.
Looking back 52 years as I write this, I am still inspired by the photos I took so long ago, and my hope is you will also be inspired.