Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour

The walking tours

Register for the Berkeley tour
Register for the San Francisco tour

We now offer two tours!

  • We’ve been running our Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour since 2012. It meanders through Downtown Berkeley and the UC Berkeley campus, and it’s the tour we recommend for most people. It’s fairly accessible, offering wheelchair access, and opportunities to sit.
  • We soft-launched our San Francisco South Asian Radical History Walking Tour in 2023, and will start offering it in 2025. It covers a century of South Asian activist history on one street, using site visits, stories, visuals, and a little bit of poetry and music. While it’s wheelchair-accessible, it includes few opportunities to sit.

Which tour should you take?

Berkeley tourSan Francisco tour
Description: Our award-winning monthly tour, enjoyed by 4000+ people since 2012.Description: Our experimental new tour in the Mission District, soft-launched in 2023.
What you’ll discover: Covers four generations of local Bay Area South Asian American people’s history (from freedom fighters to feminists), told through site visits, stories, historical photos, and more.
Suggested order: Can be taken in any order. The two tours build on each other, and even include some sequel/prequel stories.
Frequency: Offered 20+ times a yearFrequency: Offered ~5 times a year
Length: Roughly three hours, under 2 miles, with several opportunities to sitLength: Roughly three hours, about 1.2 miles, mostly standing
Getting there: Right next to BART, and a parking garage nearbyGetting there: Right next to BART, but parking is more limited
Access: Includes a restroom stop. Fully accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. Guides use amplification in case of urban noise.
(If you’re worried about physical limitations, Berkeley’s a better pick.)
TLDR: You can’t go wrong with this award-winning tour. Also, choose this if you’re concerned about physical limitations, or parking access.TLDR: Take this tour to discover a whole new layer to the city, or to go deeper into the stories you heard on the Berkeley tour.

Previous Berkeley dates: Aug 4 (BASS 2012), Sep 29, Oct 13-14, 20-21, 28, Nov 3-4, 17-18, 2012, and Mar 30, Apr 7, May 4, Jun 16, Jul 4 (DesiQ conference), July 13, Jul 27 (BASS 2013), Aug 25, Sep 21, Oct 20, Nov 1, 16–17 2013, Mar 8, 27 (Stanford Alternative Spring Break), April 4 (NAES conference), April 13, April 26 (AAAS conference), May 3, May 24 (Stanford Okada dorm), May 26, June 15, July 19, Aug 24, Sep 6, Oct 25-26, Dec 20, 2014, and Jan 31, Feb 21, Feb 27 (Berkeley APASD), Mar 28, Apr 26, May 31, June 5 (Race, Space, Violence conference) 2015, 13, 20 (Seeding Change), July 26, Sep 20, Oct 3 (Dalit Women Fight), Oct 4 (APA NorCal 2015, with Black Panthers Tour), 17, 22 (NLG SF conference), December 19, 26 (Munshi) 2015, Jan 23, Feb 7, Mar 6 (Arcadia), Mar 19, Apr 23, May 22, June 25, July 16, Aug 17 (Seeding Change), 28, Sep 24, 2016, Jan 28, Feb 26, Mar 11, Mar 26 (Grassroots Asians Rising), Apr 30, May 7, Aug 14 (Seeding Change), Sep 2, Aug 8, Oct 28, Nov 4 (Stanford Okada), Dec 2, 2017, Jan 21, Feb 12, Feb 25, Mar 25 Apr 15, May 19, June 16 (O.P. Jindal), June 19 (Seeding Change), June 24 Jul 8, Aug 13 (BASS), 25, Sep 23, 29 (UCB, Markaz), Oct 7 (AID), Oct 28 (Berkeley Historical Society), 2018, Feb 10, Mar 3, 10 (Cal APATH), 22 (APIDA), 24, Apr 16 (Techniques of Memory), 28, 2019, May 9 (GSPP), May 19, June 21 (Seeding Change),, June 30, July 7 (including APIENC LEX), Aug 5 (BASS), Aug 11 (SMU Human Rights), Aug 25, Sep 22, Oct 13, Nov 16 (UCB), Nov 17, Jan 12 2020, Jan 26, 2020 (UCD MENASA Retreat), Feb 16, 2020, June 27 2021 (reopening!), July 11 (feat. Rani Bagai), 25, Aug 1, Oct 9 (200th, feat Rishi Reddi), Oct 24, Nov 14, Dec 19, 26, 2021, Jan 9 2022, April 17 (public + UCB Jakara), May 22 (Bridgespan), May 22, May 29, July 10, July 31 (CAIR), Aug 10 (Third Act), 13 (BASS), 21, Sep 18, Sep 23 and 30 (BPL), Oct 1 (UCSF), 8 (Stanford A3C), 15, 16 (CEDSOC, SF State), Nov 20, Dec 4 (Ramanujam), 12, 2022, Feb 26, Mar 5 (Berkeley Haas) 2023, 19 (USF), 24 (Miramonte and Campolindo High), 25 (Stanford ASB), 26, Apr 30, June 20 (Seeding Change), 25, July 1 (APILO), 24 (Fellowship Ctr for Racial Reconciliation), 30, Aug 14 (BASS 2023), 27 (API Giving Circle + USF immigration class), Sep 24, Oct 14, 27 (USF), 28 (Stanford), Dec 2 (UC Berkeley SSWANA) 2023, Jan 21, 2024, Apr 6 (Narika), 21, May 11, 12 (Okada), June 1 (CHCI conference), 15, 29, July 14, 21 (Hewlett), Aug 7 (BASS), Sep 8, Sep 7, Sep 21 (Stanford Markaz), Oct 19 (Chabot), Oct 20, Nov 9 (Stanford), Nov 17 2024, Jan 26, Feb 15, Mar 18 (Stanford Okada), Mar 19, Apr 12, May 4, 2025, June 18 (Seeding Change).  Previous SF Mission dates: May 7 (preview), 13-14 (When Eyes Speak), Oct 21 (with Shaping SF), Nov 9 (Hopelab) 2023, Mar 10 (USF IME), 27 (SFUSD), 31 2024, Apr 11 (CAA), May 4 2025. Previous transbay dates: June 7, 2025.  Previous SF Tenderloin dates: Sep 26, Oct 30, 2024.