In 1961, before the outbreak of the Occupy Wall Streets movement, Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village was filled with three thousand young beatnik protesters. Playing instruments and singing folk music symbolized the lack of freedom and equality these young people wanted for America. Protesters demonstrated mixed cultures and individualistic beliefs that ran counter to America's status quo in the postwar years. The Beatnik Riot involved young mainstream Americans who fought not only against the musical crisis of the time, but also against the social, racial and cultural segregations brought about by the war years. Acting as a catalytic reaction, the Beatnik Riot set in motion for a new, modernized America. Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York, was previously occupied by young protesters motivated by pacifist and racial aspects. “In the spring of 1961, the Washington Square Association, a community group of property owners around the square, appealed to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to do something about the hundreds of roving troubadours. and their supporters” playing music around the square. fountain turned off on Sunday afternoon” (Straughsbaugh 1). “The parks commission began issuing permits to limit the number of musicians, allowing them to 'sing and play from two to five as long as they did not have a drum,' Van Ronk writes” (Straughsbaugh 1). Allowing the number of musicians encouraged traditionalists to become active protesters. The community around the square complained about the ruckus caused by these hippies, racial mixtures, cultured young people. In Greenwich Village, an old historical dilemma concerned racial ideas having this heritage, people were not in favor of...... middle of paper ......imon 3). Izzy Young was the organizer of the riot and supervisor of the Folk Center. “In 1961, Izzy Young ran the MacDougal Street Folk Center. At the time, it was the heart of the Greenwich Village folk scene” (51e 2). “Young was the guy who applied for the permit to sing in Washington Square. And when it was rejected, he helped organize the protest” (Simon 2). Izzy tried to organize a peaceful protest demanding the people's right to sing. The Beatnik Riot of 1961 characterized young Americans in the United States who were fighting for their rights. Young radicals rebelled against America's milquetoast population during this era. The riot showed that the beats were not only fighting for their right to sing, but also for gender and racial equality. The Beatnik riots sparked a domino effect of protests across the United States..