Emmett Grogan

Emmett Grogan (c. 1943–1978) was one of the founders of the Diggers in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, California who inspired Abbie Hoffman to undertake a similar venture on the Lower East Side of New York City during the mid-1960s. The Diggers were a hippie group that scrounged for and provided food and other services. They took their name from the Diggers of 17th Century England who were a radical movement opposed to feudalism, the Church of England and the British Crown. The Diggers of the 1960s can be compared with the present-day Food Not Bombs who feed homeless youth.

Related Topics:
1943 - 1978 - Diggers - San Francisco - California - Abbie Hoffman - New York City - Hippie - Diggers - 17th Century - England - Feudalism - Church of England - British Crown - 1960s - Food Not Bombs

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Grogan's penchant for personal myth making and distrust of the mainstream media resulted in few details of his life being reliably recorded. His 1972 autobiography, Ringolevio (A life played for keeps), is filled with embellishments and large portions of his pre-Digger life appear to be outright fabrications. This flexibility with the truth was part of Grogan's larger social and political analysis and was meant to further Digger ideals.

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