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Words of freedom: video made from Mario Savio’s 1964 ‘Machine Speech’

This kinetic-typography video shares some of the most memorable words from that speech, dubbed "The Machine Speech."

Words of Freedom

On December 2, 1964, during the early months of the Free Speech Movement on campus, Mario Savio addressed a mass rally from the steps of Sproul Hall. This kinetic typography video shares some of the most memorable words from that speech, dubbed “The Machine Speech.”

Excerpt from Mario Savio’s 1964 ‘machine speech’

Here is the text of this excerpt of Mario Savio’s speech as it appears in the video:

“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!”

Read more about the Free Speech Movement and the anniversary

Media coverage of the anniversary

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