UNERASING HISTORY notes to a future generation of activist on How to make change : Final Gathering of 60's Anti-War tribe: Vietnam Power of Protest Tom Hayden...

Dear Friends and Comrades

Let me share with you memories of the struggle for change and how my generation of activists stopped the Vietnam war and what can be learned from that time as we confront the growth of fascism at home and the world today 
Meet my comrade, Tom Hayden and listen to his closing remarks at the end of the Final Gathering of the '60's Anti-War Tribe: The Power of Protest. the gathering brought together women and men who were young in the 60's and stopped the war in Vietnam,  Tom Hayden was a founder of the Students for  Democratic Society (SDS), He was a spokesperson for the Anti-War movement in the late 60's early 70's. He became a celebrity when he married Jane Fonda. Later he was elected to the California Legislature. Like many of his generation, he crossed the line of substance pleasure into abuse. Tom found recovery in a 12 program. He never stopped thinking about how to make the change to more equitable society. I have always looked to Tom for a path to change. This was the last time I heard Tom speak. Less than a year later, Tom was dead. He opened his remarks by acknowledging our generation was losing people as they age. He said it was important to feel proud of stopping the war and bringing soldiers home alive. Tom then began to share what he had learned from his/our fight to end the war in Vietnam. I identified and sometimes disagreed (friends and comrades can ) ..but this day I simply listened and identified. If you are too young to have lived through the 60's or the anti-War movement or the Nixon or Reagan years,  I hope you will take the time to listen ... I look with pride and hope at all the younger people engaged in the struggle for justice, peace, and building a better world, From Black Lives Matter to the Parkland generation, Collectively you are our children and grandchildren. Generationally we have or are passing the baton of struggle to you. We love you. If you ever want to chat ..please let's have coffee.

Tom  Hayden's closing remarks at the end of the Final Gathering of the '60's Anti-War Tribe: The Power of Protest

Listen to Amy Goodman talk about Tom on Democracy Now memorializing his life and politics

Listen to Jon Weiner, Historian and author talk with Tom Hayden about his new book and his life

And yes there were powerful voices of women represented at Vietnam: The Power of Protest... here is Margret Prescod speaking when we marched to the Martin Luther King monument May 2nd, 2015

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Final Gathering of 60's Anti-War tribe: Vietnam Power of Protest Tom Hay...

It was Tom Hayden's birthday last week. I wanted to share my last time I saw him in public.. his thoughts are relevant I think today: In a Gathering of this Anti-War tribe: Vietnam Power of Protest and what we learned, Tom Hayden gives the closing speech after a two day gathering of veterans of the Anti-war movement of the 60's Yes we and the Vietnamese people won. The war was finally stopped. The US was defeated, Here in his speech and in the many workshops of the conference much attention was placed on what this generation had learned from our activism them,to pass on to the younger movement emerging today like BLM On a personal note, Tom Hayden from the Point Huron statement which spark plugged Students for Democratic Society along with Carl Whitman' s GAY MANIFESTO written in the same period moved me into more conscious political understanding and cultural and political work. This was the last time I was with Tom in public , I am at an age when people die not of AIDS or OD's but of age related issues . A death like Tom's affects me differently A comrade falls and we are left to honor and continue the struggle not with the arrogance of age but with a continued compassion and desire for change.Tom opened his remarks saying "This may be the last time we gather as this group ,,,,,,, thank you Tom for living a very human life of positive revolution , I am committed to carrying it on .. give a listen ..,it's a good way to climb into that boat  there is space for all of us in all our differences as we stay visible opposing the DT takeover.

20 ways Bernie Sanders has stood up for civil and minority rights - Salon.com

I think Sanders should speak directly to the issues the Black Lives Matters movement raises and make if clear he stands on the side of criminal justice reform and the demilitarization of police forces in the US . He also needs to speak to retraining police offices to be peace officers first and not to shoot to kill. Many things in his platform speak to the issue of equality for all minority ..His economic program addresses the disparity of income in this Country and what affect that has on minorities. Black Lives Matters activists need to know Bernie Sanders civil and minority rights record. Stopping him from speaking as if he is the enemy is simply the wrong tactic. The people who disrupted his speech and shut him down need to identify themselves and explain why he was attacked and other candidates have not been attacked


20 ways Bernie Sanders has stood up for civil and minority rights - Salon.comhttp://www.salon.com/2015/07/22/20_examples_of_bernie_sanders_powerful_record_on_civil_and_human_rights_partner/