The Summer of Love is the name of a social phenomenon that took place in the summer of 1967. Thousands of people (mostly hippies) converged in San Francisco. These people generally supported ideas that we now associate with the counterculture of the 60s, such as the opposition to the war in Vietnam, rejection of consumerism and suspicion of the government.
African Americans were also experiencing a transformation, and this is often referred to as the Long, hot summer of 1967. During this same summer, race protests became extremely common all over the country. Black Americans were trying to achieve equal rights in an unprecedented effort. This led to the creation of the Kerner Commission, which developed suggestions to reduce race tensions in the future.