SOMETHING YOU DID

By Willy Holtzman
Dramaturgy Packet
Theater J
August 2010
Compiled by David Conison and Shirley Serotsky

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1
About the
Playwright……………………………………………………………………………………
………3
Life in a Women’s
Prison………………………………………………………………………………………4
The Civil Rights
Movement………………………………………………………………………………….10
The Roots and Results of
Radicalism……………………………………………………………………13
Conservative Backlash: Right Wing
Organizations……………………………………………….15
Character/Real-Life
Parallels……………………………………………………………………………....15
The Life of a Correctional
Officer………………………………………………………………………….19
Going Before the Parole
Board………………………………………………...............................22
From the Headlines: Bill Ayers and Barack Obama…..
…………………………………………..26
Additional SOMETHING YOU DID
References………………………………………………………..28
Joan Baez
Bronx Science
Cluster Bombs
Sam Cooke
Allen Ginsberg
Lazarus
The Peekskill Riots
Jerry Rubin
Peter Seeger

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About the playwright

Willy Holtzman's plays include: Hearts (Long Wharf Theatre, Northlight

Theatre, Alliance Theatre, People's Light and Theatre, nominated for 2003
Pultizer Prize, Arthur Miller Award for Dramatic Writing, Barrymore Award for
Outstanding New Play, Best New Plays), Sabina (Primary Stages, Portland
Stage Company, Gradiva Award Nominee), Bovver Boys (Primary Stages,
Cleveland Play House, Berkshire Theatre Festival), The Closer, (GeVa
Theatre, Nebraska Rep, Davie Award) Inside Out, (New Federal Theatre,
Portland Stage Company, Nebraska Rep),Blanco, (Goodspeed), San
Antonio Sunset (New York, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Bombay; Best
Short Plays of 1989). For film and television: Edge of America (directed by
Chris Eyre, Sundance 2004), Blood Brothers (HBO, Cine Golden Eagle, WGA
Nomination), The Aaron Henry Story (HBO, Emmy Nomination), Mad
Dogs and Englishmen (Two Drivers Films), The Plagiarist (Cornucopia
Films). Willy received the HBO Award at the National Playwrights Conference.
He taught as a visiting artist at Bronx Regional High School in the South
Bronx, 1987-89, and was Resident Playwright at Juilliard, 1990-92. He has
worked with the 52nd Street Project in New York's Hell's Kitchen and on the
Navajo Reservation. He is a former member of New Dramatists and now
serves on its Board of Directors.

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Daily Life in a Women’s Prison

Kathleen Desautels is a Sister of Providence and a human rights worker on

the staff of the Chicago-based 8th Day Center for Justice. At age 64 she
served a six-month sentence in Illinois Greenville Federal Prison for civil
disobedience against the School of the Americas, a training school for Latin
American military officers who are responsible for violence and atrocities
against their own people, targeting religious workers, student leaders, and
union organizers.

The following are excerpts from several of her letters, sent to family and
friends during that six-month period. You can read the complete series of
letters at www.womenandprison.org.

September, 2002

Dear Family & Friends,

Just a quick note to let you know that I/we (Mary & Kate) were finally
transported from Pekin FCP, where we reported on September 10, to
Greenville FPC in downstate IL. It took the administration at Pekin over an
hour to do preliminary processing—strip search, change into a white
jumpsuit & shoes (men’s size 7…no size 5 in the system, actually no
women’s sizes of anything).

Arrived at Greenville about 3:30 & did more of the same—paperwork, change
of clothes, lots of question answering, medical paperwork. All this took us
until 8:30 PM before we were escorted to our “Dorm 2”. Despite the frenzied
day—or maybe because of it—I was asleep by 9:30!

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Yesterday was spent doing some of the same—medical exams, dentist visit,
etc. In between meetings I took time to walk the track—visit the small library
for quiet time—& just find my way around. Lots of time for visits with many
of the women. Word leaked out about one of us “being a nun,” which meant
all three of us were asked all day if we were “the nun”?! You’ll be glad to
know I’m Greenville’s first, and have been invited to every bible class,
discussion, workshop until my release!

Greenville FPC has been opened as a Women’s prison for two years. There
are approximately 220 inmates & from what I can tell is a very laid back
prison atmosphere. I see guards only when we have the “sacred counts” at 4
PM & 9 PM. It’s only taken me a day to know that this place is a waste of
taxpayer’s money, but another story for another time. There are two large
dorms with two wings to each building. These wings are divided into two
“alleys” where cubicles sub-divide the alley for sleeping quarters. Each
cubicle has two beds, two small steel chests, one small shelf & four hooks for
hanging clothes. Spacious it is not, however, I’m lucky to have such a good
roommate. She’s very helpful but low-key in her manner.

As soon as we arrived in the dorm, she began helping me along with the
other women, giving me all the kinds of things I might need before next
week when I can finally go to the commissary—soap, shampoo, water cup,
toothbrush, you name it—they had bought it or were sharing some of their
own supply. Constantly all day long yesterday & today we were asked if we
need anything by the many women. Two different ones loaned me a pair of
tennis shoes, a jacket, & sweat pants. Their kindness & welcoming attitude
has been heart-warming—women helping women!

Well, it’s time for 4 PM “count”. Thank you again for all your love & support.
Blessings ‘til next time.

Love,
Kak

September 29, 2002

Dear Family & Friends:

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk in exile from Vietnam & nominated for
the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King has a saying - “Make the present
moment into the most wonderful moment of your life.”

Indeed this “moment” of my life at Greenville Federal Prison Camp will rank
right up there as the most memorable - if not always the most wonderful. I
never cease to be amazed at how women cope with such long sentences &
keep their spirits up despite their circumstances. The present moment is

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allowing me time to appreciate the simple pleasures of life that I so often
take for granted - watching the sunrise each morning with my 2nd cup of
coffee sitting on the log pile, walking the track for my 2 mile daily exercise,
talking with women about their children, listening to stories of how one’s
boyfriend or husband is coming for a visit for the first time - all this in the
midst of a day filled with interruptions, constant announcements over the
loud speaker throughout the camp compound & reporting here or there for
some sort of duty, “count” or function of the prison.

Friday was our official “admission & orientation” meeting where we were told
some of the following bits of advice:
* “Obey the laws or we’ll find out. We rely on snitches & we have plenty of
them!”
* “Ladies,” (the preferred group term used by the guards & administration)
if you play petty - we’ll play petty. So don’t go off on me or we’ll go off on
you.” I think the message was meant to simply be one of “don’t crab.”
* Contraband is anything not approved by the BOP - (so far taking a coffee
cup out of the dining room in the morning is not considered “contraband,”
but I’ll keep you posted.

My “orderly” job that has been my interim employment ended today. I made
a whopping 12 cents an hour for 7 days a week. That’s starting pay or “level
4.” Level 3 is 17 cents & level 2 is 27 cents and if you’re working for the
prison industry called UNICOR, level 1, you can make as much as 40 cents
and hour. For many of the women this is all they have for their commissary
spending. Not a pretty picture.

Despite the officiousness, the indignities, the being treated as numbers or

things, I’m finding lots to make this “moment” fruitful. Mostly just being open
to the next silly regulation that I’m learning about & marveling at the
flexibility of the women’s responses. Many of them come up & whisper some
rule that I’m unaware of but need to know. Say my “whisper-er,” “I don’t
want you to get a “SHOT.” A “shot” (how’s that for violent terminology?) is
like a “black mark” - only worse. A “shot” can take away the phone privilege
or commissary privilege. The only “rights” we have are “3 meals, a bed &
prison clothes.”

And so the “wonderful moments” go, but mostly I’m grateful for your support
& the notes & letters of so many in the Community & the peace movement.
Thank you, thank you. I pray that you each make “the present moment into
the most wonderful moment of your life”...this week anyway.

Gratefully,

Kathleen #90966-020

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October 7, 2002

Dear Family & Friends:

Life is settling in a bit more & made more enjoyable by the commissary
finally having tennis/walking shoes to fit. My 3-5 mile daily walks around the
outdoor track are blister-free. It really is the little things in life that bring us
joy, no?

My permanent job, well until it’s changed at the whim of someone for no
explainable reason, is to be “on the line” serving food at supper. This “work”
begins at 2:30 PM by setting out the food for “early eaters” at 3 PM & then
waiting around to serve the “mainline” (term given for all meals) at 4:30 PM.
Cleanup & finish by 5 PM. So-lunch is at 11 AM-supper at 3 PM for servers-
starved by 9 PM!

Now the challenge of this task I’m told is to keep from getting crabby when
someone insists that they want something not allowed. Example: When
hamburgers, hot dogs & corndogs are offered a person can have a
hamburger but no hot dog or corndog. However, someone wanting the “dog
offerings” can have 2 hot dogs or 1 hot dog & 1 corndog. You can see the
hitch, no? How glad I am that life’s funny bone didn’t get lost on my way
from MBVM to Greenville. You can’t imagine the variety of requests & then of
course there are the hamburger & “dog” buns - not always to accompany the
entrée selection you might expect.

I’m beginning to believe this is the best gift that SOAW prisoners of
conscience are asked to be as they / we do our time. In fact, one young
woman said to me the other evening “I’m glad to have peace protesters here
with all us crooks.” That’s actually the term she used for herself. If nothing
else, the women are so honest, so down to earth & so open to the non-
ordinariness of life. When I said to her in response “Sassy (her prison name),
you surely don’t think of yourself as a ‘crook’ do you?” Her reply: “Well, I
know I did wrong & I know you, Kate & Mary did something right. I think it’s
good to have you all here with us.”

Now to practical matters. Thanks to those of you wanting to & have sent
books to the ‘Chapel’ library & had them returned. As I’ve said before -
nothing’s easy here. Here’s how it goes:

1. One must send the letter as described earlier.

2. DO NOT SEND the books or tapes with the letter.
3. The letter & list of donations must first be approved by the Chaplain,
then it goes to the Warden for his approval or NOT & then he either
lets me know & I’ll let you know if the box can be sent.

7
Is it any wonder that the women needing approval for their appeals are held
up because the paperwork is held up on the Warden’s stack of “to-dos”? The
BOP has not yet heard of the notion of subsidiary! The response I get is
always “This is the way the government works.”

Secondly, those who asked for visiting forms, either from me or from MBVM
&/ or Corbe who have copies, you need to sign it at the bottom where it says
“Signature for authorization to release information.”

If it’s not signed it will be sent back to you which delays the approval
operations. Ask Margaret Kelly who had to wait an hour this past Saturday
while Dorothy G. & Kay Manley were able to come in for the visit. Margaret
eventually got in thanks in large part to a kind guard who took it upon
himself to call my counselor, Mr. Chambers. However, another guard might
not have been so willing. Got the picture? Nothing’s easy & it seems if
there’s a way to make it difficult the BOP can find it. I’m reminded daily of
how prisons or the prison system is unique in all the world especially for
those of us in religious life who bend over backwards to accommodate one
another.

Until next week, we “unite ...in love & peace-

Kathleen #90966-020

October 29, 2002

Dear Family & Friends:

Foundation Day last Tuesday was indeed Providential…the lunch menu

included TACOS & ICE CREAM (a first since arriving). Mother Theodore
continues to intervene with surprises of both large & not-so-large favors for
her daughters.

Last week an added simple bit of joy arrived when our “alley” received two
new Labrador puppies who will be trained, along with the other 8 month old
dogs, to be support dogs for people with physical challenges. These special
gifts of creation are a great asset in creating an atmosphere of community
for the women. Though there are two women assigned to each dog, the
responsibility to play with them is shared by all who want. Some of the more
talented sew-ers/crocheters are in the business right now of making each of
the dogs an outfit for Halloween…Yes, striped prison outfits top the list. I
balked at having any of them dressed as a “nun.”

Blessings for the hallowed days ahead!

Kathleen #90966-020

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P.S. Anyone who’s written for visitation permission as of 10/27/02 is OK’d.
Please check with MBVM-ers Patty, Dorothy, or Margaret for visiting date &
times.

November 30, 2002

Dear Family and Friends:

Our ancient ancestors had it right when they celebrated the festival of lights
during the darkest period of the year. There’s a lesson in this, is there not,
for those of us who struggle at this time to bring the justice that the
Scriptures promise? May this Advent season remind us again to find hope in
the doing and being peace with one another, as well as continuing our efforts
for the same for the world.

You might be interested to know that Thanksgiving here at Greenville began

on Wednesday with the surprise arrival of new pillows. Good thing, I say,
since the one issued to us upon our arrival was paper thin and only useful
with an extra folded blanket underneath it to give any comfort. So imagine
the delight of 200 women when a pick-up arrives Wednesday afternoon at
the front door of the dorm (mind you there’s no driveway at this point) with
large boxes in its bed. With the guards pitching and the women catching…
pillows were flying everywhere. Luckily for me an alert and kind “alley-mate”
caught two and gave me one. What a laugh that night when sleeping
seemed to be done in a sitting position given the brand-spanking new
pillows. A great light in the darkness for sure.

The kitchen crew went all out for the main Thanksgiving meal…very, very
teeny Cornish hens substituted for turkey. My first taste of white meat for
which I gave extra thanks. Other traditional trimmings of yams, green beans,
and jello with real bananas were delicious. However, the meal was not
without its special BOP touch. As the line began to form the food supervisor
got on the loudspeaker system that blares throughout the whole compound
and says, “Listen up, ladies. This is how it works. Everyone gets one piece of
pumpkin pie and one piece of either apple, cherry or pecan. No one gets two
pieces of the same kind of pie.” The section on “food presentation” must
have gotten lost from the BOP food handbook.

The added burden for women in prison at the end of the month has to do
with their 300 minutes allotted for phone use is usually gone or very nearly
gone by Thanksgiving day. Many mothers literally call home every day or
until the money and/or time allotted runs out. We’re given 300 minutes at 17
cents each, equaling $51. If you work 20 days @ 84 cents per day for those
on the low end of the pay scale…you get the picture.

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I counted my blessings on Thanksgiving for the extra time (I don’t work on
Thursdays) and spent quiet hours alone in “my office,” which is what I call
the Law Library. With everyone in the dorms I had the place practically to
myself reading mail from the day before, reading articles sent by friends and
an unexpected delightful visit with an inmate I call “Greenville Prison’s St.
Francis.” She’s notorious for sneaking food out of the dining room everyday
to feed the stray family of cats. She told me that she was sure she’s the only
person in BOP history who has ever gotten a “shot” for the crime, which
reads: “possession of fish.” Quiet and bingo, what more can one ask! It was a
swell Thanksgiving. Hope yours was, too.

Love,

Kathleen

Civil Rights [in the South]

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A Voting Rights Demonstration in 1962 in McComb, Mississippi

“I am calling upon every red-blooded American who believes in the

superiority and integrity of the white race to get out and see [that
no blacks vote]. The best time to do it is the night before.”
--Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo, 1946

I. Freedom Rides
In 1946, the U.S. Supreme Court banned segregation on interstate bus
travel. Though a law had been passed, no one knew for sure how effective
the ruling would be. In an attempt to find out, several interracial bus rides
were taken in the mid-upper south. Until the first Freedom Ride, no one
really dared to venture into the deep south. The Freedom Ride protests
joined blacks and whites together using the simple act of riding a bus to
demonstrate against the injustice of segregation. At bus stops, the whites
and blacks would swap segregated bathrooms, ultimately hoping to provoke
a response from southern segregationists. The result (they hoped) would be
a federal enforcement of the Boynton v. Virginia decision, the Supreme Court
ruling about the illegality of interstate buses and terminals.

Violent reaction did, indeed, occur in South Carolina and, particularly,

Alabama. On May 14, 1961, buses were firebombed and Freedom Riders
were beaten. The reaction of law enforcement was, perhaps not surprisingly,
slow. The Riders, unable to find a bus line to carry them further, were helped
along by the SNCC. With the help of Robert F Kennedy, the Freedom Riders
were able to travel from Birmingham to Montgommery under guard of the
Highway Patrol. They buses were again attacked, receiving ineffectual help
from the police guard. In a final effort, the National Guard was called on to
protect the 27 freedom riders as they continued on to Jackson, Mississippi

11
where they were arrested and promptly placed in Jail. Kennedy managed to
force through a motion enforcing the banning of segregation of public
transport, helped along by Freedom Riders who continued to travel by bus
until the resolution took effect in September.

McComb, Mississippi played a critical role in the Civil Rights Movement. It

was the location of the SNCC's first voter registration project--which was met
with violence and intimidation both from city authorities and the Ku Klux
Klan. More than one hundred McComb high school students were arrested in
1961 for protesting the murder of voter-registration activist Herbert Lee
and the expulsion of Brenda Travis (a fifteen-year-old African American girl
who was arrested for sitting in the white section of a bus, then expelled by
her high school). McComb was also the setting for several bombings
involving racial strife.

II. Organizations and Leaders/Resulting Violence

Two of the most important organization were: Council Of Federated
Organizations and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (COFO
and SNCC respectively). COFO functioned as an umbrella organization for
national and local civil rights organizations, including the NAACP and SNCC.
The organization was founded by Bob Moses in 1962 as a reaction against
the failure of the McComb Voter Registration. Realizing that a civil rights
needed a unified front, Moses founded COFO with the primary goal of
overcoming political discrimination. In 1963, Moses began organizing
Freedom Votes, a radical act of voter registration that attempted to send a
black delegation to the 1964 Democratic Convention (ultimately, a failure).
The COFO, with SNCC organized the Freedom Ballot Campaign, a mock
election that called for an end of segregation, improvement in education,
and equality in the workplace. This campaign highlighted the shift in COFO
emphasis, turning away from black voter registration towards sending a
black delegation (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party) to the Democratic
Convention. The resulting success of the campaign demonstrated the
willingness of blacks to vote when given the opportunity.

The SNCC focused predominantly on black voter registration throughout the

early 1960s. In June 1964, with the help of COFO, the SNCC organized the
Freedom Summer. Using volunteers, the SNCC held voter registration
meetings in an attempt to overcome the enforced ignorance and active
prevention of blacks voting in Mississippi. Finding that many rural locals did
not even know they had the right to vote, the SNCC educated rural locals on
how, when, and why to vote. Local white populations were, for the most part,
displeased. Many blacks lost their jobs and were threatened with physical
violence. Organizers and voters alike were often beaten, threatened, and
even killed by governmental organizations, the police, the KKK, and local
citizens.

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The most notorious and visible result was the lynching of three civil rights
workers (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner)
around June 21, 1964, during the height of the Freedom Summer. Two
white, Jewish volunteers and a black Mississippi resident working with the
SNCC were pulled over by a local policeman (and KKK member) Cecil Price
for speeding and arrested. When COFO attempted to locate them, the police
secretary lied and denied that the three were at the jail. Later that night, the
three were released with orders to vacate the county. Price again pulled
them over to allow a KKK murder squad to descend, beat, and shoot the
three men. The car was burned and dumped in a swamp while the bodies
were buried in a local earthen dam. They were all under 25.

A missing poster for the three young men.

That murder occurred the first day of the Freedom Summer, terrifying the
697 other volunteers. As the summer progressed, 35 churches were bombed
or burned along with dozens of houses.

Initially, J. Edgar Hoover was reluctant to investigate due to his own

antipathy towards civil rights. The disappearance, though, catapulted into
national headlines and, along with indirect threats from President Johnson,
forced Hoover to act.

Stokely Carmichael as leader of the SNCC in 1966 ousted more moderate

SNCC workers, renounced non-violence and the goal of integration,
ultimately calling for “black power,” a separatist political ideology that would
influence a number of organizations in later years. His black power dogma
alienated many former supporters who found Carmichael’s radicalism out of
place with the former non-violence of the civil rights movement.
Carmichael’s ideology ultimately isolated him from many of his former allies
within the civil rights movement, causing his emigration to Guinea in 1969.
He remained there for the rest of his life, writing books on revolution. As his
vision became more radical (calling himself a “pan-African revolutionary”) he
found himself relegated to yet further reaches of the extreme political fringe.

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Carmichael’s influence on the future of civil rights cannot be understated,
though. His notions of black power essentially started the militant,
revolutionary side of civil rights such as the Black Panthers and, by
extension, the Weathermen.

The Roots and Results of Radicalism

“Better stay away from those/That carry around a fire hose/Keep a

clean nose/Watch the plain clothes/You don’t need a weatherman/To
know which way the wind blows.”
--Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

I. SDS
Founded in late 1959, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) had its
roots in the leftist League of Industrial Democracy. Initially, SDS had strong
involvement in the civil rights movement, actively sending members to
participate across the country. The SDS was initially guided by the Port
Huron Statement, a political manifesto that laid out a philosophy for post-
Vietnam America. The statement, written by founder Robert Alan Haber and
Tom Hayden, called for participatory democracy, an alternative to the
top-down, bureaucratic government model. As U.S. involvement in Vietnam
grew, so, too, did SDS membership, eventually becoming a well-known face
of the anti-war movement. By April of 1965, the SDS was able to organize a
march on Washington, D.C. and began a more militant phase in the
organization’s philosophy, including taking over college campuses (Columbia
University, 1968) and occupying administration buildings across the country.
This streak of militarism would ultimately be the undoing of the SDS as
competing groups with different visions would splinter the SDS into a shadow
of its former self. As the war wound down, more and more groups splintered
away until its ultimate dissolution in the mid-1970s.

II. The Weather Underground

The most infamous offshoot of the SDS is the group that became known as
the Weather Underground. Initially a radical, militant internal organization
of SDS known as the Revolutionary Youth Movement (RYM), the
Weathermen first came to prominence at a large 1968 SDS meeting where a
pamphlet (written by Weathermen founders Bernadine Dohrn, Bill Ayers,
John Jacobs and others) entitled “you don’t need a weatherman to know
which way the wind blows” called for radical revolution in line with The Black
Panthers. The culmination of this early phase was the Days of Rage riots, a

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four-day, violent demonstration that coincided with the trial of the Chicago
7.

The increasing internal splintering of the SDS, particularly between the

“National Office” (led by Dohrn) and the more passive Progressive Labor
Party allowed Dohrn to lead an overt takeover of SDS in 1969. The
Weathermen became the effective leaders of the SDS, with all official SDS
propaganda and literature promoting the Weathermen agenda. The new
leadership fully advocated direct, violent action in hopes of inciting a
proletariat uprising, culminating in a government run by the workers.

In late ’69, the Weathermen had the last SDS “National Council” meeting
which was dubbed the War Council. At the meeting, the Weathermen
discussed how to organize cells, what it meant to go underground, and
terrorist tactics. The meeting culminated in the dissolution of the SDS
National Office (and, effectively, the organization).

The Weathermen hoped to organize semi-autonomous cells under a central

leadership (The Weather Bureau) in almost every major city. Actually, only
a few cells were effective, with New York City (led by John Jacobs and Terry
Robbins) comprising the largest numbers. The cells were encouraged to
engage in a counter-cultural lifestyle, including bisexuality, drugs, and
polygamy. In New York City, Robbins began an active campaign of violence
with approval of the Weather Bureau.

During this time, too, The Weathermen attempted to entice new, young
members into their ranks. By staging “Jailbreaks” wherein Weathermen
broke into high schools, the organization hoped to lure in new members with
its anti-establishment mentality. Ultimately, their efforts alienated much of
the youthful demographic they were hoping would swell their ranks.

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In March of 1970, a nail bomb blew up a Greenwich Village town house being
used as a Weathermen safe house. The blast killed much of the NYC
leadership, including Terry Robbins. Robbins’ girlfriend Cathy Wilkerson and
fellow Weatherman Kathy Boudin escaped the blast. The accident killed a
number of strong voices within the Weathermen ranks and morale was
generally low. Despite this (and partially spurred on by the death of Fred
Hampton) the Weathermen decided to go underground. Becoming the
Weather Underground, the organization declared war on the United States
and assumed fake identities.

Beginning the 1970’s, the Weather Underground stepped up their efforts,

embarking on a series of bombings. The bomb targets were picked as a
reaction to specific “imperialist” actions or events, functioning as a counter-
cultural form of protest. People were not targeted; rather, warnings were
given shortly before each bomb blast in hopes of eliminating casualties.
Notable bombing targets included The Pentagon and NYC Police
Headquarters. Other notable actions including aiding the jailbreak of noted
counterculture leader Timothy Leary. An earlier bombing of Park Place
Police Station, which resulted in the death of a police officer, is sometimes
attributed to Weathermen agents, but no proof exists.

The Weather Underground’s tactics did not go unnoticed, resulting in Grand

Jury Trials and even a stint on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List for Bernadine
Dohrn. Dohrn eluded capture throughout. The organization, though, lost
much of its momentum with the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Facing the
realities of a post-war America, the group split into two factions. The
Dohrn/Ayers led Prairie Fire Collective used Dohrn’s Prairie Fire manifesto
as a new guide and advocated coming out from hiding. Throughout the
remainder of the 70s, more and more former members came out from
underground and surrendered themselves to the authorities. The remaining
members continued to attack targets up through the early 1980s (break-ins,
planned bombings, and robbery), one of which resulted in the arrest of Kathy
Boudin. Both Dohrn and Ayers surrendered in 1980 to a resulting media
circus and minimal jail time.

Right Wing Organizations as Counterparts to Radicalism

I. The Heritage Foundation

A conservative think-tank founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation
develops and promotes research on public policy revolving around the
conservative ideas of, “free enterprise, limited government, individual
freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” The
foundation gained prominence during the Reagan presidency, when its
handbook, Mandate for Leadership was used as a primary source of guidance
for the administration. The foundation is still active today.

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II. AEI
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a
generally conservative think-tank founded in 1943. The Institute strongly
advocates free enterprise and individual opportunity, though its researchers
study defense, theology, economics, law, and healthcare. The AEI is
considered one of the chief architects of the second Bush administration.

Character/Real-Life Parallels

ALLISON: Kathy Boudin, Bernardine Dohrn, Kathy Wilkerson

I. Kathy Boudin (b. 19 May 1943)
Born to a wealthy family in Greenwich Village, Kathy Boudin had a history
of Leftist thought in her family. Her father was noted lawyer Leonard
Boudin who was notorious for representing figures like Fidel Castro, Paul
Robeson, the Church of Scientology, and a number of those subpoenaed by
the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Boudin was actively involved in the Weather Underground from early on. She
was one of the only survivors of the Greenwich Village town house explosion
and, though she was awaiting trial, she quickly fled underground. In 1981,
Boudin and several former members of the Weather Underground and Black
Panthers planned and executed a robbery of a Brinks armored car. The
robbery went wrong, resulting in the death of two police officers. Boudin was
captured and arrested. At her trial, lawyer Leonard Weinglass (who worked
for Leonard Boudin) managed to get a plea bargain that sentenced Boudin
to 20 years to life.

Boudin served 23 years. In 2003, she successfully achieved parole, though

not without some controversy. A number of critics have implied that Boudin
shows no contrition for her actions. For the most part, Boudin has attempted
to remain out of the media spotlight since her release.

II. Cathy Wilkerson (b. 14 January 1945)

The other survivor of the 1970 Greenwich Village townhouse explosion,
Cathy Wilkerson was an active and important member of the Weathermen
since its inception in SDS. During her years at Swarthmore, she involved
herself in anti-segregation work. After college, she was hired by SDS National
Office to edit its newspaper. It was Wilkerson who published the now-famous
Weathermen manifesto and, along with other early Weathermen leadership,
she traveled to Cuba and Cambodia to receive training in communist
revolutionary tactics. Wilkerson was a participant in the Days of Rage riots
and quickly joined the Chicago cell of the Weathermen. Terry Robbins invited
her to join the NYC cell, which Wilkerson ultimately chose to do. She and
Robbins started a relationship shortly thereafter. The townhouse that blew
up and killed Robbins and others was owned by Wilkerson’s family. After the
explosion, Wilkerson went underground and remained successfully hidden

17
for 10 years, coming out and turning herself in 1980. Wilkerson was
sentenced to 3 years in prison, of which she served 11 months.

III. Bernadine Dohrn (b. 12 January 1942)

Bernadine Dohrn, with husband Bill Ayers, was one of the chief architects
and leaders of the Weather Underground movement from its inception. As a
leader of RYM, Dohrn was one of the authors of the Weathermen manifesto
that circulated at the SDS convention. Dohrn ultimately became the leader of
the national branch of SDS and was instrumental in its final dissolution,
resulting in the formation of the Weatherman. Dohrn and Ayers were
considered the leaders of the Weathermen/Weather Underground. She and
Ayers signed the declaration of war against the U.S., helped form and ran the
Weather Bureau, and led much of the revolutionary activity across the US
(landing her a spot on the FBI 10 Most Wanted List). In the mid-70s, Dohrn
wrote Prairie Fire, a new manifesto that fractured the Weather Underground.
Dohrn and Ayers encouraged members to come out of hiding and turn
themselves over to the authorities, caused partially by Dohrn’s fears of
governmental repercussions against Weathermen children. She and Ayers
came out of hiding in 1980, serving less than one year of jail time. She
refused to testify against any former members of Weather Underground.
After her release, she was hired by a prestigious Chicago law firm. Today,
she is an associate professor at Northwestern Law School and still considers
herself a “radical.”

GENE: David Brooks, Jonah Goldberg, Glenn Beck

IV. David Brooks (b. 11 August 1961)
Cultural and political columnist David Brooks is an op-ed columnist for the
New York Times and other respected periodicals, including The Atlantic and
The Wall Street Journal and has been a commentator for National Public
Radio. Politically, Brooks is something of a moderate conservative, stating
that he was “liberal until he came to his senses.” Often agreeing with
neoconservatives on issues of national defense, Brooks often holds more
liberal views on issues such as same-sex marriage.

V. Jonah Goldberg (b. 21 March 1969)

Jonah Goldberg is the editor-at-large for the conservative The National
Review Online and author of the bestselling Liberal Fascism, a book that links
the philosophy of the Left with Italian fascism. As a young man, Goldberg
worked for conservative think-tank AEI where he was a researcher for
conservative commentator Ben J. Wattenberg. Goldberg continued to work
closely with Wattenberg and spearheaded the development of Wattenberg’s
TV show. Goldberg first came to prominence as a writer during the Clinton-
Lewinsky scandal. Goldberg’s mother was instrumental in Linda Tripp’s
testimony and is considered partially responsible for the media circus that
ensued. Goldberg continued to work on TV and contributed to The National
Review until he was asked to develop the National Review Online, an

18
internet-only, sister publication. He is a regular contributor to a number of
national papers, periodicals, television and radio shows.

VI. Glenn Beck (b. 10 February 1964)

Glenn Beck is a conservative media pundit and television personality best
known for his Fox News show, Glenn Beck. Beck began his career in radio
starting at age 13. Professionally, his first show, Captain Beck and the A-
Team was a zany, personality driven show with a whacky emphasis. As it
developed, Beck began inserting overt, patriotic messages into the otherwise
lighthearted show. Beck’s talent for self-promotion grew and he became
known for a number of stunts to drum up business, including hijacking
another radio show-sponsored concert. After battling alcoholism, Beck
converted to Mormonism in 1999 and began a right-wing radio talk show in
Tampa, Fl. The popularity of the show gained Beck national fame and
syndication. Eventually, Beck was invited to be a political commentator for
CNN, a job which lasted for four years until he got his own talk show on Fox
News. Beck is notorious for his outspoken attacks on President Barack
Obama and has become an unofficial spokesman for the reactionary Tea
Party Movement. Currently, Beck is developing a book called The Plan, a
manifesto that describes how to make a new, conservative America.

ARTHUR: William Kunstler, Martin Garbus, Leonard Weinglass

VII. William Moses Kunstler (b. 7 July 1919—d. 4 September 1995)
An often controversial and flamboyantly theatrical lawyer, William Kunstler
came to prominence for defending radical political figures such as the
Chicago 7. His courtroom antics often caused numerous citations and
contempt complaints, often causing Kunstler himself to be sentenced to jail
time (often waived). A graduate from Columbia University, Kunstler did not
receive attention until his close involvement with the ACLU, defending a
number of Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King, Jr. Besides
defending these clients, Kunstler became actively involved in their causes
and he would go on to defend a number of civil rights and political radicals
such as Stokely Carmichael. Even in his waning days, Kunstler continued
to champion the under-represented and often maligned political figures,
including suspected terrorists linked to the 1993 World Trade Center
bombings.

VIII. Martin Garbus (b. 8 August 1934)

One of the most famous and highly acclaimed living trial lawyer, Martin
Garbus has defended Vaclav Havel and Nelson Mandela, prosecuted
Eminem for copyright infringement, and defended Lenny Bruce’s freedom of
speech. His area of expertise is intellectual property and copyright, but his
skills have made him in high demand by a number of foreign governments
for consultation. He has been a professor at Yale, Harvard, and Stanford and
was admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. Though a strong critic of the second
Bush administration, Garbus has not withheld his dislike of the Obama

19
administration’s apparent secrecy. Garbus, though politically left, is strongly
influenced by his scholarship on the first amendment.

IX. Leonard Weinglass

A partner at Leonard Boudin’s firm, Leonard Weinglass gained a
reputation as a champion of Leftist figures. With William Kunstler,
Weinglass assisted in the defense of the Chicago 7. He successfully
defended Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin, coming up with a
plea bargain that reduced Boudin’s 3 life sentences to a 20-Life sentence
with an option of parole. His has defended numerous other political figures,
often those accused of domestic terrorism or what was considered “un-
American” activity. His Leftist politics gained him a personal invitation by
Fidel Castro to visit Cuba in 1968 and later to Hanoi in 1972. In 1974,
Weinglass was the first recipient of the ACLU’s Clarence Darrow Award.
Weinglass remains politically active, lending his name to a number of anti-
war campaigns post-9/11.

20
The Life of a Correctional Officer: From the Bureau of Labor
Statistics

Significant Points
• The work can be stressful and hazardous; correctional officers have one
of the highest rates of nonfatal on-the-job injuries.
• Most jobs are in State and local government prisons and jails.
• Job opportunities are expected to be favorable.

Nature of the Work

Correctional officers, also known as detention officers when they work in
pretrial detention facilities, are responsible for overseeing individuals who
have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of a
crime and sentenced to serve time in a jail, reformatory, or penitentiary.

The jail population changes constantly as some prisoners are released, some
are convicted and transferred to prison, and new offenders are arrested and
enter the system. Correctional officers in local jails admit and process about
13 million people a year, with nearly 800,000 offenders in jail at any given
time. Correctional officers in State and Federal prisons watch over the
approximately 1.6 million offenders who are incarcerated there at any given
time.

Correctional officers maintain security and inmate accountability to prevent

disturbances, assaults, and escapes. Officers have no law enforcement
responsibilities outside of the institution where they work.

Regardless of the setting, correctional officers maintain order within the

institution and enforce rules and regulations. To help ensure that inmates
are orderly and obey rules, correctional officers monitor the activities and
supervise the work assignments of inmates. Sometimes, officers must search
inmates and their living quarters for contraband like weapons or drugs, settle
disputes between inmates, and enforce discipline. Correctional officers
periodically inspect the facilities, checking cells and other areas of the
institution for unsanitary conditions, contraband, fire hazards, and any
evidence of infractions of rules. In addition, they routinely inspect locks,
window bars, grilles, doors, and gates for signs of tampering. Finally, officers
inspect mail and visitors for prohibited items.

Correctional officers report orally and in writing on inmate conduct and on

the quality and quantity of work done by inmates. Officers also report
security breaches, disturbances, violations of rules, and any unusual
occurrences. They usually keep a daily log or record of their activities.
Correctional officers cannot show favoritism and must report any inmate who
violates the rules. If a crime is committed within their institution or an inmate
escapes, they help the responsible law enforcement authorities investigate

21
or search for the escapee. In jail and prison facilities with direct supervision
of cellblocks, officers work unarmed. They are equipped with
communications devices so that they can summon help if necessary. These
officers often work in a cellblock alone, or with another officer, among the 50
to 100 inmates who reside there. The officers enforce regulations primarily
through their interpersonal communication skills and through the use of
progressive sanctions, such as the removal of some privileges.

In the highest security facilities, where the most dangerous inmates are
housed, correctional officers often monitor the activities of prisoners from a
centralized control center with closed-circuit television cameras and a
computer tracking system. In such an environment, the inmates may not see
anyone but officers for days or weeks at a time and may leave their cells
only for showers, solitary exercise time, or visitors. Depending on the
offenders' security classification, correctional officers may have to restrain
inmates in handcuffs and leg irons to safely escort them to and from cells
and other areas and to see authorized visitors. Officers also escort prisoners
between the institution and courtrooms, medical facilities, and other
destinations.

Work environment
Working in a correctional institution can be stressful and hazardous. Every
year, correctional officers are injured in confrontations with inmates.
Correctional officers and jailers have one of the highest rates of nonfatal on-
the-job injuries. First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers also
face the risk of work-related injury. Correctional officers may work indoors or
outdoors. Some correctional institutions are well lighted, temperature
controlled, and ventilated, but others are old, overcrowded, hot, and noisy.
Although both jails and prisons can be dangerous places to work, prison
populations are more stable than jail populations, and correctional officers in
prisons know the security and custodial requirements of the prisoners with
whom they are dealing. Consequently, they tend to be safer places to work.

Correctional officers usually work an 8-hour day, 5 days a week, on rotating

shifts. Some correctional facilities have longer shifts and more days off
between scheduled work weeks. Because prison and jail security must be
provided around the clock, officers work all hours of the day and night,
weekends, and holidays. In addition, officers may be required to work paid
overtime.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Correctional officers go through a training academy and then are assigned to
a facility where they learn most of what they need to know for their work
through on-the-job training. Qualifications vary by agency, but all agencies
require a high school diploma or equivalent, and some also require some

22
college education or full-time work experience. Military experience is often
seen as a plus for corrections employment.

Education and Training; Other Qualifications

A high school diploma or graduation equivalency degree is required by all
employers. The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires entry-level correctional
officers to have at least a bachelor's degree; 3 years of full-time experience
in a field providing counseling, assistance, or supervision to individuals; or a
combination of the two. Some State and local corrections agencies require
some college credits, but law enforcement or military experience may be
substituted to fulfill this requirement.

Correctional officers that are members of prison tactical response teams are
trained to respond to disturbances, riots, hostage situations, forced cell
moves, and other potentially dangerous confrontations. Team members
practice disarming prisoners wielding weapons, protecting themselves and
inmates against the effects of chemical agents, and other tactics.

Correctional officers must be in good health. Candidates for employment are

generally required to meet formal standards of physical fitness, eyesight,
and hearing. In addition, many jurisdictions use standard tests to determine
applicant suitability to work in a correctional environment. Good judgment
and the ability to think and act quickly are indispensable. Applicants are
typically screened for drug abuse, subject to background checks, and
required to pass a written examination.

Job Outlook
Employment growth is expected to be as fast as the average for all
occupations, and job opportunities are expected to be favorable. Job
opportunities for correctional officers are expected to be favorable. The need
to replace correctional officers who transfer to other occupations, retire, or
leave the labor force, coupled with rising employment demand, will generate
job openings. In the past, some local and State corrections agencies have
experienced difficulty in attracting and keeping qualified applicants, largely
because of low salaries, shift work, and the concentration of jobs in rural
locations. This situation is expected to continue.

Earnings
Median annual wages of correctional officers and jailers were $38,380 in May
2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $29,660 and $51,000. The
lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,300, and the highest 10 percent
earned more than $64,110. Median annual wages in the public sector were
$50,830 in the Federal Government, $38,850 in State government, and
$37,510 in local government. In the facilities support services industry,
where the relatively small number of officers employed by privately operated
prisons is classified, median annual wages were $28,790.

23
In addition to typical benefits, correctional officers employed in the public
sector are usually provided with uniforms or a clothing allowance to
purchase their own uniforms. Civil service systems or merit boards cover
officers employed by the Federal Government and most State governments.
Their retirement coverage entitles correctional officers to retire at age 50
after 20 years of service or at any age with 25 years of service. Unionized
correctional officers often have slightly higher wages and benefits.

Going Before a Parole Board

Convicted of Murder as Teenager and Paroled at 41

The New York Times
By TRYMAINE LEE

DIANA ORTIZ waited in a cagelike room at the Fishkill Correctional Facility

that winter morning in 2005, going over it in her head again and again. She
needed to find the right words, conjure the right emotions, strike the right
balance between remorse for her role in the killing of an off-duty police
officer and recognition of all that she had accomplished in the 22 ½ years
since.
She wanted to explain how she had blossomed behind bars, earning a high
school equivalency diploma and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in prison;
how she barely recognized the wispy, naïve 18-year-old who had fallen for a
man twice her age, become addicted to drugs and posed as a prostitute to
set up a robbery that turned deadly.

Convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 17 years to life in

prison, Ms. Ortiz had been in the same situation, prepping for a parole
hearing — four times before. She knew she would have about 10 minutes to
make her case to three strangers who knew little of where she had been but
controlled everything about where she would go. Each previous time she had
been nervous and flushed with remorse and regret. Each time, parole had
been denied.
“I felt it doesn’t matter what I say, it doesn’t matter who I am or what I’ve
done,” she recalled thinking. “It’s never going to change; the crime will
never change.”

“The hard part about it,” she added, “was that I changed.”

24
On the other side of a heavy metal door, Robert Dennison sat with two other
Parole Board members behind a long table stacked with files detailing the
lives and crimes of Ms. Ortiz and some 30 other prisoners whose cases they
would consider that day. As was their practice, they had begun reviewing the
cases only that morning.

Mr. Dennison was appointed by Gov. George E. Pataki to the state’s 19-
member Parole Board in 2000 and became its chairman in 2004; it was up to
him to schedule which members sat for which of the 20,000 hearings each
year at prisons across the state, and to set up meetings or phone calls with
crime victims and their families, who are entitled to express opinions about
parole decisions.

Parole Board members, who must have a college degree and five years of
experience in criminal justice, sociology, law, social work or medicine, can
serve an unlimited number of six-year terms, earning $101,600 a year. By
law, they must interview inmates in person and are required to consider their
criminal histories, prison achievements and sense of remorse. Ultimately,
though, parole decisions are subjective.

“It’s a real hard issue: how much time should you do for taking a life?” Mr.
Dennison said. “Many times, the parole commissioners feel differently than
the judge and probably say to themselves or say to one another, ‘I don’t
really care what the judge gave the person, I don’t feel comfortable letting
this person out. And I am going to hold him for two more years.’ And that can
go on and on and on forever.”

More than 800,000 people are on parole, according to the Department of

Justice; New York State has more than 50,000.

In 2005, 9 of the 263 so-called A-1 violent offenders — those who, like Ms.
Ortiz, had been convicted of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping or arson
— who went before the board were paroled, according to the State Division
of Parole. That was 3 percent of the A-1 offenders who had hearings (over all,
38 percent of inmates who had hearings that year were paroled).
In contrast, over the last four years, 14 percent of the A-1 offenders who
were eligible for parole were granted it. Governor Pataki, a Republican, at
one point tried to change state law so that A-1 offenders could not be
paroled, and in 2006, a group of A-1 offenders filed a class-action suit
claiming his administration had an unwritten policy that violated their rights
by denying parole based solely on the severity of the crime.

“I never got any direct pressure from Pataki not to let certain people out,”
Mr. Dennison said, “but he did make it clear in the newspapers that he didn’t
want violent felons released.”

25
Criminals sentenced to a range — like Ms. Ortiz’s 17 years to life — still earn
their first hearing after serving the minimum, while those given a fixed term
— say 10 years — can be paroled after serving six-sevenths of their
sentence. Those who are held (“hit” is the slang term) are entitled to another
hearing after two years, but most appeal the decisions to the Division of
Parole’s Office of Counsel, and sometimes beyond that, in court; those who
win appeals get another appearance, known as a hearing de novo.

Ms. Ortiz became eligible for parole in 2000. She was denied twice by the
Parole Board, whose decisions were upheld both times by the Division of
Parole’s Office of Counsel. She won court appeals both times on the grounds
that the board had not reasonably weighed how much she had changed
versus the severity of the crime she had committed, but she was rejected in
both of the de novo hearings.

“It’s hard, because you always hope people will just see the true you and
judge you that way,” she said. “Like they’ll say ‘O.K., she did this, but that’s
not who she is.’ And it’s never like that.”
For Mr. Dennison — who was born in the Bronx and has lived in Eastchester,
a Westchester County suburb, for most of his life — serving on the board was
the capstone to a 37-year career in corrections.

After determining that teaching sixth grade was “too hard a job for me,” he
used a master’s degree in counseling to become a parole officer, and
eventually rose to deputy regional director overseeing operations in Brooklyn
and Queens. He said he became active in the Conservative Party in 1998 to
pave the way to a seat on the Parole Board. “It’s a political appointment,” he
explained. “It’s the only way to get on.”
Mr. Dennison said he loved the job, taking pride in having an impact on
people’s lives — freeing those he deemed deserving, leaving caged those he
determined were dangerous. Over the years, he said, there were simple
cases and tough cases, and cases with dire consequences, like the model
prisoner of 18 years who, shortly after his release, raped a teenage neighbor
and set her home on fire.

“It is an easy job if you don’t have courage and you don’t have compassion,”
he said. “Because then you really don’t care. And then it is easy to make
whatever decision you want without feeling guilty, without feeling, ‘Gee,
maybe I made the wrong decision.’ ”

IN the early-morning hours of a summer day in 1983, Ms. Ortiz, then 18,
stood alone on a Coney Island street corner. A man pulled up in a car,
looking for oral sex. That was the plan cooked up by her boyfriend: to get a
man, any man, to pick up the pretty young thing. She made the deal for $25,
and then made the biggest mistake of her life: getting into the car.

26
Ms. Ortiz grew up in Chicago and had come to New York as a teenager after
fleeing an abusive relationship in Puerto Rico. That morning, she was
following instructions that had been drilled into her head by her 36-year-old
boyfriend. He had introduced her to cocaine, heroin and LSD, and had
convinced her that robbery was a good way to support their habits: take the
customer to a dark parking lot, wait for the boyfriend and his two buddies to
creep up, get out and run.
But as she was running down 24th Street, the plan and her life crumbled.
The robbers and the victim fought; the would-be customer was shot. Worse,
as she would discover in the next day’s tabloids, he was an off-duty police
officer, and he died after a few days. A frightened Ms. Ortiz, who had no
criminal record, turned herself in.

Convicted of felony murder at trial, she spent 18 years at Bedford Hills — the
state’s only maximum-security prison for women. Eventually, her fears of
rape and abusive guards faded, and she began taking classes, earning
college degrees. She worked as a bookkeeper and with a church ministry,
helping other inmates to reconnect with their children and learn to read.
After 15 years, Ms. Ortiz began counting down to her first chance at freedom.
“You start going through it in your mind,” she said. Other inmates told her
what to expect at the parole hearing: “This is what the room looks like; this is
where you’re going to sit.”

She was cautiously optimistic. “I was 18 years old, first-time offense, drug
use — now I have a master’s degree,” Ms. Ortiz recalled thinking. “And my
role, my role in the crime: I wasn’t the actual shooter. I wasn’t actually there
when it happened. So this is what I kept telling myself: ‘This is going to
happen.’ ”

Parole denied.

In a letter outlining its decision, the board said that “your serious record of
violent crime” and other factors “demonstrate that you pose a serious threat
to community safety and welfare.”
After three more denials, Ms. Ortiz grew weary of the emotional roller
coaster, unsure what more she could do. “I want to say all of these great
things that I’m doing, this great person that I am, but how do you balance
that with a life was taken?” she said. “Someone did die because of my act,
because of what I did. And so I think that was the hardest part. You really
want them to see who you are, who you’ve become, who you’re going to be.
That these are my hopes, these are my aspirations, this is what I want to do
with my life.”

HAVING left the board in 2007, Mr. Dennison, now 63, spoke plainly about
Ms. Ortiz’s case in a recent interview. “He was an off-duty police officer,” he

27
said of the victim, “and, basically, people didn’t want to let her out because
of that.”

Ms. Ortiz’s was the first name called that cold morning at Fishkill, and she
took her place in an armless chair, dressed in prison greens, her long brown
hair in a ponytail; she was 40.

“So you’ve been in jail longer than you were alive when you committed the
crime?” Mr. Dennison asked.

“Yes,” Ms. Ortiz responded.

“Do you tell your story to the women at Beacon?” he continued. “Do you tell
them what a terrible thing getting involved with drugs can do, not just to
your life but to the victims?”

“Exactly,” Ms. Ortiz said.

It was the longest of all her hearings, about 12 minutes. She was excused
from the room, then called back in and questioned for five more minutes,
then sent out a second time, then called in a third.

Then she opened the big metal door, closed it behind her, and wept.

“I was so exhausted, emotionally,” Ms. Ortiz recalled.

She returned to Beacon Correctional Facility, where she had spent the past
couple of years, and was summoned by the parole adviser that afternoon.
The inmates gathered on either side of the hallway and in stairwells, rooting
for her. She was their friend and mentor, and in that moment, she carried all
of their hopes for freedom.

“You’re going home,” Ms. Ortiz remembered the adviser saying. “I waited so
long for that.”
When she emerged from the office with a smile, the prison halls erupted in
cheers and hugs, smiles and tears.

In a little coffee shop in Harlem not long ago, Ms. Ortiz’s eyes were wet again
after she spilled her soul. “I still have those dreams of not being able to leave
prison, like I’m still in there trying to get out,” Ms. Ortiz said. “I’m no longer
part of the system, but I keep having them. Why am I still struggling to get
out?”

From the Headlines: Bill Ayers and Barack Obama

The New York Times

28
December 6, 2008
The Real Bill Ayers
By WILLIAM AYERS

IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the
stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama. I refused,
and here’s why.

Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama’s campaign, his opponents

invented a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a
man of charm, intelligence and skill, but with an exotic background and a
strange name. The refrain was a question: “What do we really know about
this man?”

Secondary characters in the narrative included an African-American preacher

with a fiery style, a Palestinian scholar and an “unrepentant domestic
terrorist.” Linking the candidate with these supposedly shadowy characters,
and ferreting out every imagined secret tie and dark affiliation, became big
news.

I was cast in the “unrepentant terrorist” role; I felt at times like the enemy
projected onto a large screen in the “Two Minutes Hate” scene from George
Orwell’s “1984,” when the faithful gathered in a frenzy of fear and loathing.

With the mainstream news media and the blogosphere caught in the pre-
election excitement, I saw no viable path to a rational discussion. Rather
than step clumsily into the sound-bite culture, I turned away whenever the
microphones were thrust into my face. I sat it out.

Now that the election is over, I want to say as plainly as I can that the
character invented to serve this drama wasn’t me, not even close. Here are
the facts:
I never killed or injured anyone. I did join the civil rights movement in the
mid-1960s, and later resisted the draft and was arrested in nonviolent
demonstrations. I became a full-time antiwar organizer for Students for a
Democratic Society. In 1970, I co-founded the Weather Underground, an
organization that was created after an accidental explosion that claimed the
lives of three of our comrades in Greenwich Village. The Weather
Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs
in empty offices — the ones at the Pentagon and the United States Capitol
were the most notorious — as an illegal and unpopular war consumed the
nation.

The Weather Underground crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps

even of common sense. Our effectiveness can be — and still is being —
debated. We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at

29
monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on
people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and
determination to end the Vietnam war.

Peaceful protests had failed to stop the war. So we issued a screaming

response. But it was not terrorism; we were not engaged in a campaign to
kill and injure people indiscriminately, spreading fear and suffering for
political ends.

I cannot imagine engaging in actions of that kind today. And for the past 40
years, I’ve been teaching and writing about the unique value and potential of
every human life, and the need to realize that potential through education.

I have regrets, of course — including mistakes of excess and failures of

imagination, posturing and posing, inflated and heated rhetoric, blind
sectarianism and a lot else. No one can reach my age with their eyes even
partly open and not have hundreds of regrets. The responsibility for the risks
we posed to others in some of our most extreme actions in those
underground years never leaves my thoughts for long.

The antiwar movement in all its commitment, all its sacrifice and
determination, could not stop the violence unleashed against Vietnam. And
therein lies cause for real regret.

We — the broad “we” — wrote letters, marched, talked to young men at

induction centers, surrounded the Pentagon and lay down in front of troop
trains. Yet we were inadequate to end the killing of three million Vietnamese
and almost 60,000 Americans during a 10-year war.
The dishonesty of the narrative about Mr. Obama during the campaign went
a step further with its assumption that if you can place two people in the
same room at the same time, or if you can show that they held a
conversation, shared a cup of coffee, took the bus downtown together or had
any of a thousand other associations, then you have demonstrated that they
share ideas, policies, outlook, influences and, especially, responsibility for
each other’s behavior. There is a long and sad history of guilt by association
in our political culture, and at crucial times we’ve been unable to rise above
it.

President-elect Obama and I sat on a board together; we lived in the same

diverse and yet close-knit community; we sometimes passed in the
bookstore. We didn’t pal around, and I had nothing to do with his positions. I
knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I
wish I knew him better.

Demonization, guilt by association, and the politics of fear did not triumph,
not this time. Let’s hope they never will again. And let’s hope we might now

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assert that in our wildly diverse society, talking and listening to the widest
range of people is not a sin, but a virtue.
William Ayers, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at
Chicago, is the author of “Fugitive Days” and a co-author of the forthcoming
“Race Course.”

Additional References

Joan Baez
Joan Baez was born in Staten Island, She grew up in New York and California,
and when her father took a faculty position in Massachusetts, she attended
Boston University and began to sing in coffeehouses and small clubs. Bob
Gibson invited her to attend the 1959 Newport Folk Festival where she was a
hit. Vanguard Records signed Baez and in 1960 her first album, Joan Baez,
came out. Baez was known for her soprano voice, her haunting songs, and,
until she cut it in 1968, her long black hair. Early in her career she performed
with Bob Dylan, and they toured together in the 1970s.

Subjected to racial slurs and discrimination in her own childhood because of

her Mexican heritage and features, Joan Baez became involved with a variety
of social causes early in her career, including civil rights and nonviolence.
She was sometimes jailed for her protests. Joan Baez married David Harris, a
Vietnam draft protestor, in 1968, and he was in jail for most of the years of
their marriage. They divorced in 1973, after having one child, Gabriel Earl.

Early in her career, Joan Baez stressed historical folk songs, adding political
songs to her repertoire during the 1960s. Later, she added country songs
and more mainstream popular music, though always including many songs
with political messages. She supported such organizations as Amnesty
International and Humanitas International. Joan Baez continues to speak and
sing for peaceful solutions to violence in the Middle East and Latin America.

Bronx Science
A Brief History of Bronx Science High School
From the Bronx Science Website

The concept of a specialized science high school began as an idea in the

mind of Dr. Morris Meister, the founding principal of The Bronx High School of
Science. His background as a teacher and supervisor of science made him
realize that intellectually gifted youngsters tended to be neglected by public
education. He further believed that gifted students who shared common

31
interests in science and mathematics would achieve excellence thereby
justifying a school which grouped such students together. Dr. Meister had
the vision to realize that gifted young people interacting in an intellectually
challenging educational environment would be highly successful. He also felt
that such youngsters would go on to be leaders in our society.

Since its founding in 1938, the school has reflected societal changes. In the
early 40's the peaceful growth of the school was interrupted by our country's
entry into World War II, and the school reorganized its program to provide
maximum support to the war effort. In 1946, although the women's liberation
movement was not yet with us, Dr. Meister was, again, ahead of his time. In
September of that year, he opened the school to girls. The 130 young
women admitted became the first females to gain admission to a specialized
high school in New York City preceding its rival schools Stuyvesant (1969) by
23 years, and Brooklyn Tech (1972) by 26 years.

During the middle 60's things at Science proceeded in a calm, scholarly

fashion. However, as the period of social unrest and disturbance began to
accelerate in the late 60's, it became necessary for Bronx Science to divert
much of its energy towards protecting its integrity and insuring its survival.
The disenchantment with the Vietnam War was reflected in student
crusades. Science was not spared. During this period, the school was
frequently disrupted by student protests and demonstrations. The longest
teachers' strike in the history of the city occurred during this period, lasting
more than seven weeks.

In the late 60's, there was an attack made against specialized schools that
selected their students through an examination process. To counter this
threat, the four specialized high schools, Science, Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech,
and Music and Art formed a Council, which is still in existence.

During the 70's and 80's, enrichment of the curriculum continued. The
reputation of the school had now reached the far corners of the globe.
Visitors from all over the world came to Bronx Science. During the late 70's
and 80's, special programs were established. Focus was placed upon
independent research, communication, ethical decision making, and active
student involvement in the learning process through an approach called
Inquiry.

--Excerpts from a history written by former principal Milton Kopelman

The Bronx Science Speech & Debate Team: History was made in 2009
when the Bronx High School of Science Speech and Debate Team, one of the
most historically prominent and successful forensics programs in the country
made history by becoming the first program ever to win both Lincoln-
Douglas debate and policy debate at the Harvard National Invitational.

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Cluster Bombs
Cluster bombs are controversial weapons consisting of a canister which
breaks apart to release a large number of small bombs. A range of so-called
bomblets can be employed to attack different targets such as armoured
vehicles or people - or to start fires.They can cover a large area but do not
have precision guidance. Dropped from medium to high altitudes, they can
wander off target. There is a significant "dud rate" of about 5%. In other
words, many do not explode but, rather like landmines, litter the ground with
the potential to explode years later.

Sam Cooke
Considered by many to be the definitive soul singer, Sam Cooke blended
sensuality and spirituality, sophistication and soul, movie-idol looks and
gospel-singer poise. His warm, confessional voice won him a devoted gospel
following as lead singer for the Soul Stirrers and sent “You Send Me,” one of
his earliest secular recordings, to the top of the pop and R&B charts in 1957.
It was the first of 29 Top Forty hits for the Chicago-raised singer, who was
one of eight sons born to a Baptist minister.

Cooke’s career was defined by his early embrace of gospel and his
subsequent move into the world of pop music and rhythm & blues.
Joining the Soul Stirrers at age fifteen, he served as lead vocalist from 1950-
56. He recorded his first pop song, “Lovable,” as Dale Cook, choosing the
pseudonym so as not to jeopardize his standing within the gospel
community. Nonetheless, he’d crossed a line that made it impossible for him
to carry on with the Soul Stirrers. A versatile singer who never really settled
on a style, Cooke tackled everything from sophisticated balladry and
lighthearted pop to finger-popping rock and roll and raw, raspy rhythm &
blues.

In addition to being a performer, Cooke established himself as a successful

and even groundbreaking black entrepreneur operating within the
mainstream music industry. Cooke produced records for other singers,
founded his own publishing company (Kags Music) and launched a record
label (Sar/Derby). Tragically, Cooke was shot to death at a Los Angeles motel
on December 11th, 1964, under mysterious circumstances. RCA
posthumously issued “Shake” b/w “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Regarded as
one of the greatest singles of the modern era, it matched a hard-hitting R&B
number (later cut by Otis Redding) with a haunting song about faith and
reckoning that returned Cooke’s voice to its familiar gospel home.

Allen Ginsberg
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving
hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry

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fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the
starry dynamo in the machinery of night, who poverty and tatters and
hollow-eyed high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water
flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz"
- excerpt from "HOWL"

Allen Ginsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey on June 3, 1926. As a boy he
was a close witness to his mother’s mental illness, as she lived both in and
out of institutions. His father, Louis Ginsberg was a well-known traditional
poet. After graduating from high school, Ginsberg attended Columbia
University, where he planned to study law. There he became friends with
Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. Together the three would change the
face of American writing forever.

With an interest in the street life of the city, Kerouac, Ginsberg and
Burroughs found inspiration in jazz music and the culture that surrounded it.
They encouraged a break from traditional values, supporting drug-use as a
means of enlightenment. While a nation tried desperately to keep from
rocking the boat, Allen Ginsberg and the Beats saw the need for a more
vibrant and daring society.

One of the primary first works of the Beats was Ginsberg’s long poem
"Howl." In an age plagued by intolerance, "Howl" (1956) was both a
desperate plea for humanity and a song of liberation from that intolerant
society. For its frank embrace of such taboo topics as homosexuality and
drug use, "Howl" drew a great deal of criticism. Published by City Lights, the
San Francisco based publisher of many of the Beats, the book was the
subject of an obscenity trial. Eventually acquitted of the charges, City Lights
came out with Ginsberg’s second book in 1961. "Kaddish, And Other Poems,"
often considered Ginsberg’s greatest work, dealt again with a deep despair
and addressed Ginsberg’s closeness with his mother while she was
hospitalized and fighting insanity.

More than any other American poet of the 20th century, Ginsberg used his
popularity for social change. Coining the phrase "flower power," Ginsberg
encouraged protesters of the 1960s to embrace a non-violent rebellion. By
the 1970s, his fame had grown enormously, and though he cast aside drug
use for an interest in Buddhism and yogic practices, he remained important
to newly-formed youth movements.

By the 1980s, Ginsberg was the most famous living American poet. As a
writer he continued to publish challenging and personal verse and as a
celebrity he maintained an international presence as a spokesperson for
peace and tolerance—working often as a teacher and lecturer . He died on
April 5, 1997 at the age of seventy.

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Lazarus
Lazarus of the miracle
This personage was the brother of Martha and Mary of Bethania; all three
were beloved friends of Jesus (John 11:5). At the request of the two
sisters Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41-44). Soon thereafter,
the Saturday before Palm Sunday, Lazarus took part in the banquet which
Simon the Leper gave to Jesus in Bethania (Matthew 26:6-16; Mark 14:3-
11; John 12:1-11). Many of the Jews believed in Jesus because of Lazarus,
whom the chief priests now sought to put to death. The Gospels tell us no
more of Lazarus (see ST. LAZARUS OF BETHANY).
- From the Catholic Encyclopedia

The Peekskill Riots

On Feb. 2, 2009 Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey inducted Paul Robeson
into the state's Hall of Fame, and the town of Peekskill is planning an event
in his honor. But 60 years ago, riots erupted when a nearby small town tried
to hold a concert featuring the noted entertainer, socialist and civil rights
activist. But the fear and anger that appear to be artifacts of the Cold War
still have echoes today.

The police restrained a protester before a Paul Robeson concert in Cortlandt,

N.Y., on Sept. 4, 1949. The original concert, scheduled for Aug. 27, was
canceled after a terrifying attack by dozens of men swinging clubs and
folding chairs, making bonfires out of sheet music. The mob reactions would
come to be known as the Peekskill Riots.

Mr. Robeson was a football player, a singer, a lawyer -- and an unrelenting

advocate of socialism. It was that association, no doubt exacerbated by his
race, that brought on the mobs and soon the cancellations of dozens of
concerts elsewhere and the destruction of his career.

The anti-communist protest erupted into a riot that left 140 people injured
and came to symbolize the hysteria of the Red Scare. Still, what those long-
ago events mean today, and what resonance the fears and angers of 1949
have for the fears and angers of 2009, is a subject as rich and complicated
as the man who set the events in motion.
- From the New York Times Website

Jerry Rubin
Jerry Rubin, the son of a Cincinnati truck driver and Teamsters official, was
the radical co-founder of the Youth International Party. Prior to his attempt
to merge political and lifestyle liberation under the Yippie banner, Rubin had
edited a youth page for the CincinnatiPost, studied sociology in Israel, joined
the Free Speech Movement and ran for mayor in Berkeley, and led a march
on the Pentagon.

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Despite an outwardly zany style, Rubin lacked the natural lightheartedness
of his Yippie co-founder Abbie Hoffman. Rubin often seemed more tense or
anxious during the trial than other defendants. He provided one of the most
memorable moments of the trial when he paraded back and forth in front of
Judge Hoffman, thrusting his arm in a Nazi salute and shouting "Heil Hitler!"

Yippie turned Yuppie in the 1980's, as Rubin cut his hair and put on a
business suit. He worked on Wall Street and became a business
entrepreneur.

Jerry Rubin died in November 1994 after being hit by a car while jaywalking
on L.A.'s Wilshire Blvd. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City,
California.

Pete Seeger (B. 1919)

Born to musicologist Dr. Charles Seeger and concert violinist Constance
Edson Seeger, Pete developed interests in music and journalism during his
teens, crafts he would intertwine throughout his career. A Harvard University
dropout (he was in the same class as John F. Kennedy), Pete met, traveled
and performed with the great topical folksong writer Woody Guthrie in
1940, inspiring Pete to start writing his own songs. Pete was drafted into the
Army in 1942 and sent to the Pacific.

After the war, Seeger resumed his career as a performer and song collector,
helping to found the still-existent Sing Out! magazine. In 1948, he
formed The Weavers with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman.
Blacklisted during the McCarthy era for alleged Communist sympathies
and for Seeger’s refusal to testify before the House UnAmerican Activities
Committee, the quartet disbanded in 1953 (although they reunited
periodically), but Pete continued to record and to perform on the campus and
international circuit, despite being informally banned from most TV and radio
shows and many concert stages for the next 17 years.

During the ’60s, Pete participated in the Freedom Marches in Selma,

Alabama, and Washington, DC, with Dr. Martin Luther King and helped
bring an adapted version of the gospel song “We Shall Overcome” to the
civil rights movement, where it became an anthem of hope and
determination.

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