Berkeley Talks

Across the American West Coast in the 1980s, the burgeoning punk rock and skinhead scenes were much more than just raw music and counterculture fashion — they quickly became contested ground in an ideological battle against white supremacy. Neo-Nazi groups actively targeted these subcultures to recruit alienated kids, and anti-racist punks were forced to step up in response, organizing grassroots community defense networks, confronting extremist infiltration and building alternative spaces rooted in inclusion.Those strategies — forged in clubs, at shows and within tight-knit local scenes — offer a vital, real-world blueprint for confronting today’s mainstream political crises, according to a recent panel discussion at UC Berkeley.The May 3 event, which headlined the second annual Jewish Arts and Book Fest hosted by the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, began with a screening of We've Been Here Before, a 2023 documentary short chronicling these subcultural struggles. Following the film, the program bro