When last fall’s intense presidential campaign descended into a game of rhetorical name-calling, one name in particular was invoked as a sign of Barack Obama’s “questionable” personal associations — Bill Ayers.
Throughout the Democratic primary season and general election campaigns, Ayers refused to protest or publicly challenge the characterization made by Obama’s political opponents that he was and remains a domestic terrorist.
Ayers will present a talk and read from the republication his 2001 book, “Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist” at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery, Room 100.
He will be joined by Bernardine Dohrn, coauthor with Ayers of “Race Course: Against White Supremacy.” Dohrn is director of the Children and Family Law Justice Center, and a clinical associate professor of law at Northwestern University.
Ayers and Dohrn married during their times as fugitives as members of the Weather Underground.
The author readings are cosponsored by the University Library and Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor.
A distinguished professor of education and senior university scholar at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Ayers was the subject of scorn and ridicule throughout Obama’s campaign. Despite Obama addressing what he characterized as a casual association on a nonprofit board, his political opponents often castigated Obama for simply knowing Ayers. Some alleged this was a sign that he wasn’t quite the moderate reflected in his rhetoric of unity and bipartisanship.
While Obama’s political critics attempted to exploit the loose connection, there’s compelling relevance in revisiting the cauldron of social activism of the radical 1960s, Ayers says. The ongoing war in Iraq, impending escalation of military operations in Afghanistan and social unrest in response to current economic calamities is stirring a desire for reform and accountability perhaps not seen since the days of the Vietnam War protests and Great Depression, he says.
Who is the real Bill Ayers, and how does his personal journey offer a unique perspective on the last 40 years of American history? Ayers’ views — wrought from his confrontations with entrenched institutional powers — are based on his belief that racism and war are interwoven issues. Today, Ayers widely is considered an expert on educational reform, particularly elementary education in urban areas.
Despite his trenchant social analysis and contributions to educational reform, there’s no overlooking his infamous involvement in the bombings of public buildings nearly 40 years ago cast doubt on his methods. Some say that Ayers’ currency in the past presidential election points to the depth of the wounds inflicted on the American conscience during the Vietnam war, a schism that continues today.
Ayers grew up outside of Chicago, and in 1968 earned a Bachelor of Arts in American studies from U-M.
