The latest from "Dreams Die Hard", the 1982 memoir about the sixties and one of the aftermaths (an assassination). "It is hard for me to describe us and what we were about that summer without lapsing into what now sounds trite. The intervening decade and a half has reduced much of the language we then... Continue Reading →
“Authenticity” can win elections… which may become a problem, obvs.
So this is from "Dreams Die Hard". David Harris (author of the memoir) was an anti-Vietnam War activist who stood in Stanford University's student union election, not expecting to get more than a respectable 30 per cent of the vote (or less). Then some frat boys jumped him, cut his hair and he got a... Continue Reading →
Bob Moses – “who wields power and what shape is it?”
So, Bob Moses (who died a little while back) was a very big deal in the early 1960s as part of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee - a black-led activist group trying to fight for Civil Rights in the Deep South (which was a very very dangerous thing to do). This below is a clip... Continue Reading →
Liberals, losers and air-conditioned meetings with Important People
I remember discussing, 30 years ago, what Martin Luther King was doing the night before he was assassinated. He was talking to sanitation workers about their strike and the upcoming poor people's march on Washington. One of the two people in the conversation was scoffing, saying that wasn't real politics and that he should surely... Continue Reading →
Pathologies of organisers… Four examples
A few more clippings from "Dreams Die Hard" by the late David Harris. There are two lovely pen portrait about Bob Moses, and his thoughts on leadership - I will come to those another time. For now, by way of contrast, here's some various stuff about Allard Lowenstein, who clearly needed to be the "key"... Continue Reading →
Learning from the 60s – “Dreams Die Hard”
I've been fascinated by the 1960s for a very long time. The first real 'kick' on this was, I think, in 1991, when I was into the late period, of 1968 to 1970. I was lucky enough then to do a great course at UC Santa Cruz, which broadened it out to include China and... Continue Reading →
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