As we discussed not too long ago in a thread about Ann Arbor’s proposed “Ambassador” program, there was a time in Ann Arbor’s past when it wasn’t wealthy business owners pushing for their own private security force, but the young people of Ann Arbor, who wanted to replace the cops with their own “people’s peace force” known as the Psychedelic Rangers… Well, it’s just come to my attention that documentary evidence exists of this period in Ann Arbor’s history… Here, shot over the course of a number of free concerts in the summer and fall of 1970, is footage of the Psychedelic Rangers in action.
It’s like Heavy Metal Parking Lot but with hippies on grass instead of metalheads on asphalt.
I think, if I were to be transported back to 1970 Ann Arbor, I’d grow weary of the hippies pretty quickly. With that said, though, I find the Ann Arbor portrayed in the video above to be exponentially more compelling than the economically segregated Ann Arbor of today, with its vast and growing army of self-congratulatory Shinolabots.
[Thank you, Dustin Krcatovich, for making me aware of this video.]
15 Comments
Ann Arbor is just a mean city. Once a person accepts that, it is all downhill from there.
It makes me very happy that this footage exists.
I was struck when watching this by how little division there appeared to be between black and white concert goers. I was also struck by how often the camera operator zoomed in on the asses of young women.
I was probably at one of these.
I’d love to see the hipster of Ann Arbor do something similar today.
I bet a lot of the people featured in these videos were really annoying. They (boomers) certainly have been as adults.
It would be interesting to find and interview these same people now.
They aren’t all Shinolabots. Some are cooking meth.
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/04/police_find_meth_operation_in.html
I thought I’d clicked on an episode of Portlandia. Especially the shot with the woman riding a horse and perhaps the original crochet man in the foreground.
I tend to think stuff from the 70s looks awesome anyway. There seems to be a yellowish tint and people seem kinda stoned and happy and also Ronald Reagan hasn’t been elected president yet. My friend Tom (who lived through the 70s) and I have an ongoing debate about whether or not the 70s were the best decade. (I say “yes” but I only was around for 8 years of it)
The Psychedelic Rangers were organized by the White Panther/Rainbow People’s Party. Genie Plamondon was a primary organizer. I was a Ranger at the Free John Benefit at Crisler in 1972.
This has the feel my family’s home movies. I was a psychedelic Ranger. I could not have been at thi one cuz I would have only been seven. Did they go till 1973-74? Cuz I think I was 9-11 years old. It seems amazing now. I wish I still had the Psyodelic Ranger Tee. Did they those to Rangers. It was too long ago. Thank you
I was in the Chicago chapter of the White Panthers, with Chairman Bob Rudnick. I’m finishing my memoirs of that glorious year, 1970, although I was only in Ann Arbor briefly after Goose Lake festival. I’d love to hear from anyone who remembers those wild times.
I’m at the Altec Mixers in the opening,
Starts with Gary Quackenbush checking a mike
then me, then Woody Finger running a snake
great times…
The concerts were at Gallup by Huron HS. We went almost every week. Good times.