At this time, we’d like to invite all activists, friends, likeminded allies and the curious to attend, as we, in common struggle and solidarity, work to build a genuinely liberatory, directly democratic movement and society.

What is Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS)?

Movement for a Democratic Society is a global association of people on the left. It seeks to create a sustained community of educational and political concern and actions: one bringing together liberals and radicals, activists and scholars, students, faculty and workers in all trades. It maintains a vision of a democratic society, where at all levels the people have control of the decisions which affect them and the resources on which they are dependent. It seeks a relevance through the continual focus on realities and on the programs necessary to effect change at the most basic levels of economic, political, and social organization. It feels the urgency to put forth a radical, democratic program counter-posed to authoritarian movements.

Why should I attend the MDS WORKSHOP-MEETING at the USSF in Detroit on June 24th?
The workshop is entitled, “Organization: what are the best structures
for political (and more) association, adequate for our needs in these times?””
As people on the left, we speak of the need for better movement organization, more effective focus, sharper actions, wider reach, participatory democracy, bottom-up process, horizontal connections, and greater transparency. In 2009, an organizing committee for Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) undertook the drafting of a Constitution, to describe the working form of such an organization and to incorporate the best practices we have learned.

On July 4, 2009, our proposed Constitution was released to the MDS member body for input and analysis. On October 11, 2009, it was voted upon and adopted in a multi-city membership conference call. At the Detroit workshop, we will present this document for review, discussion, and to elicit proposals for improvement, and implementation.

MDS has a rich history and legacy. Current members are moving forward based on that legacy, the strength of the organization, an openness to new, more cooperative ways of working together, a unique, multi-tendency approach, and a desire to see that approach continue.
Discussion will center around the importance of multi-generational organizing, working with allied groups, inter-organizational cooperation, non-hierarchical structuring, a commitment to direct action, sustaining a multi-issue approach, building a network of local chapters, a “one struggle, many fronts” orientation, and developing an international reach.

Topics include but are not limited to:
** A historical review: “How SDS became MDS”. What has MDS been doing on a local and national level?
** A mission statement: What are our needs?
** The international view. How do we tie into global networks and structures?
** Understanding and fully utilizing new modes of communication
** Cooperation and competition among organizations .
** Common actions based on shared values and issues

Following this presentation and discussion, members of MDS will hold a membership meeting at approximately 3:00 PM, to reflect on the workshop and conduct organizational business – putting into practice the principles we discussed.

Join Us!

Thursday, June 24 – 1:00-5:30 PM.
Room 02-35 Cobo Hall, 1 Washington Boulevard, Detroit, MI

We want the World, and we want it Now!

Watch video of the streets of Port au Prince:

Grassroots International works to create a just and sustainable world by building alliances with progressive movements.

Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA)
The Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA) is a coalition of nine Haitian popular and non-governmental organizations which work with the Haitian popular movement to develop alternatives to the neo-liberal model of economic globalization. When the Haitian government moved to privatize certain industries, PAPDA worked with the unions and the business community to create strategies that would improve production and minimize cost without privatization. The coalition has worked with the agricultural sector to devise ways of producing and selling indigenous Haitian crops and protecting Haitian farmers from cheap imported grains.

SIGN OUR PETITION FIRST AT: Say NO To Virtual Strip Searches, at http://www.rallycongress.com/2/2759/

WE ARE PLANNING PROTESTS AT LOCAL AIRPORTS. AND WITH YOUR HELP, ON A NATIONAL BASIS.

The use of full body scanners is as invasive to our privacy as it is degrading to our dignity. Targeting “terrorist prone counties” amounts to nothing less than racial profiling. We aren’t moved by pleas for increased security from “terrorists”.

We can’t be convinced that even more abuses to our privacy rights are needed for anyones safety. We won’t be bullied by government or media hysteria — No matter how ratcheted up the fearmongering gets or how overheated the propaganda becomes.

We plan to make our voices heard, and we’d like you to join in this campaign if you agree. The government violates privacy rights and makes people jump through hoops enough under the pretext of security. But the right to privacy is an inalienable human right. And our determination to protect that human right from increasing intrusions is unshakeable.

We not only refuse to subject ourselves to full body scans, we reject their use altogether. On any person, from any country, at any time!

THEY SAY, extra security screening of people from “terrorist prone countries” will make everyone safer.
WE SAY, it’s racist, and can’t be allowed to stand. Not in our name.
THEY SAY, head-to-toe x-raying of the entire body, adults and children alike, is “simply precautionary”, “safeguarded”, and “for our own good”.
WE SAY, we’d rather be blown to bits than to live in a world where fearmongering was the norm, and dehumanizing violations of our privacy were accepted.

Full body scans are nothing less than virtual strip searches. All human beings have a right to be secure in their person, and no amount of fearmongering should be able to strip that right away!

Send us an email at movementforademocraticsociety@gmail.com
for more information on how you can participate, help plan and organize
protests now.

If you’d like to engage in discussion, join the Google Group, “ScanThis”, at http://groups.google.com/group/scanthis

Our protest group is as yet unnamed, but our discussions begin immediately.

Look for our low volume Riseup list when it becomes active to receive
digest updates and action announcements.

And sign our preliminary petition, Say NO To Virtual Strip Searches, at
http://www.rallycongress.com/2/2759/

Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) – SI-NYC Chapter

(This constitution is adapted from the sds constitution 1962-67) 

Preamble: Movement for a Democratic Society is a global association of people on the left. It seeks to create a sustained community of educational and political concern and actions: one bringing together liberals and  radicals, activists and scholars, students, faculty and workers in all trades.  It maintains a vision of a democratic society, where at all levels  the  people have control of the decisions which affect them and the resources on which they are dependent. It seeks a relevance through the continual focus on realities and on the programs necessary to effect change at the most basic levels of economic, political, and social organization. It feels the urgency to put forth a radical, democratic program counter-posed to authoritarian movements.

 Article I: Name 

The name of the organization shall be Movement for a Democratic Society (sometimes referred to herein as: MDS).

 Article II: Membership 

 Section 1.

 Membership is open to all people who share the commitment of the organization to democracy as a means and  as a social goal. 

 Section 2.

 Movement for a Democratic Society is an organization of democrats. We are civil libertarian in our treatment of those with whom we disagree, but clear in our opposition to any totalitarian principle as a basis for  government or social organization. Advocates or apologists for such a  principle are not eligible for membership.

 Section 3. Dues

There shall be a membership fee of one dollar, supplemented by periodic dues, the amount and period of which shall be determined by the Council of Representatives.

 Section 4. Associates

 Individuals who do not wish to join the Movement for a Democratic Society, but who share the major concerns of the organization, may become associates, with rights and responsibilities as determined by the MDS Working Committee.

 Article III: Chapters and Affiliates

 Section I.

 Any group of five or more members may apply to the MDS Working Committee for a charter as a chapter. 

 A chapter may be geographical in a specific community, or non-local, focused on a particular project.

 Section 2.

 A chapter may be chartered at any meeting of the Council of Representatives. It must be considered for chartering at the first meeting of the Council of Representatives after it has submitted a membership list, a constitution or statement of principles, and notification of  its elected Council of Representatives “chapter representative” to the Council. In the period between submission of the required information to the Council of Representatives and the next Council of Representatives’ meeting, the chapter may be given a provisional charter at the discretion of the  MDS Working Committee.

Section 3.

 Chapters are expected to operate within the broad terms of policy set by the Movement for a Democratic Society Convention and the Council of Representatives. Points of conflict should be referred to the Council of Representatives and a procedure established to make the issue public to the organization. In matters judged to be detrimental to the interests of the organization, the Council of Representatives shall have the power to dissociate the organization from whatever activity that has been brought into question. The matter shall be finally resolved by the Council of Representatives in meeting or referendum. 

Section 4. Associated Groups

 Independent groups can affiliate as associates of MDS by vote of their membership and designation of a liaison representative to sit on the Council of Representatives with consultative vote. The representative shall be a member of Movement for a Democratic Society.  Such association is provisional until the approval of the Council of Representatives.  

The form of the relationship shall be worked out in each case between the associated group and the Council of Representatives.  

Section 5. Fraternal, Sororal and Sibling Organizations 

Organizations whose programs and purposes are consistent with the broad aims and principles of Movement for a Democratic Society can be invited by the Council of Representatives to be Fraternal, Sororal or Sibling with the Movement for a Democratic Society and have a Fraternal, Sororal or Sibling vote on the Council of Representatives. Such organizations shall appoint a liaison representative who shall be a member of Movement for a Democratic Society.

 Section 6. 

Movement for a Democratic Society welcomes the opportunity to cooperate with other  individuals and organizations in jointly sponsoring specific action, programs and joint stands on specific issues. The Council of Representatives shall be empowered to determine specific cooperative activity.  

Article IV:  Regions 

Section 1. 

All or some of the chapters and/or members in a given  geographical area may constitute themselves a region of Movement for a Democratic Society. New regions shall submit their constitutions and be recognized provisionally by the MDS Working Committee, pending  the next regular Council of Representatives meeting. All disputes over regional boundaries shall be resolved by the Council of Representatives.  

Section 2. 

Regions of Movement for a Democratic Society shall hold at least one membership convention each year and may establish regional councils as deemed necessary. Regional programs, staff, and offices shall be governed by decisions arrived at by a democratically constituted regional council. 

Section 3. 

While fundamentally responsible to their regional constituency, regions are expected to operate within the broad terms of policy set by the Movement for a Democratic Society Convention and Council of Representatives. Any points of conflict shall be finally resolved by the Council of Representatives. 

Section 4. 

If one-third of the duly chartered chapters in the geographical area of a region so petition, the Council of Representatives shall immediately consider whether to declare the regional organization defunct and to prohibit it from speaking or acting on behalf of  Movement for a Democratic Society. 

Article V: Convention 

 Section 1.

 The Movement for a Democratic Society shall meet in convention at least annually, at a time fixed by the Council of Representatives, with at least three months prior notice being given to all members.  

Section 2.

 The Convention shall serve to debate major issues and orientation of the organization, to set program mandates to the MDS Working Committee, and to elect MDS Working Committee members. The Convention shall be the policy-making body.  

Section 3. Representation. 

Chapters shall elect Convention Spokespersons on the basis of one Spokesperson for every five MDS members in the chapter.  Each Spokesperson will have as many votes as they have individual proxies from their chapter members who are not attending the Convention. Individual MDS members shall have the right to attend the Convention with one vote each.  Delegates from associated and sibling groups shall be elected by a procedure determined by the Council of Representatives. The MDS Working Committee shall draft Convention rules, accreditation procedures, and other requirements, and determine the place. 

Article VI: Council of Representatives 

Section 1. 

The Council of Representatives shall be composed of (1) two representatives elected from each chapter with five to twenty-five members, and one additional representative for each additional  twenty-five members or fraction  thereof,  in that chapter; (2) the elected  members of the MDS Working Committee (without vote); (3) elected liaison representatives from associated groups (with consultative voice); (4) liaison representatives from Fraternal, Sororal and Sibling organizations (with consultative voice); and (5) Movement for a Democratic Society staff, if any (without vote). 

In all cases, Council of Representatives’ members and liaison representatives must be members of Movement for a Democratic Society. (No more than three members can serve concurrently as MDS Working Committee Members.) 

Section 2. 

The Council of Representatives shall be the policy making  and  program body of the organization between conventions. It shall determine policy in the form of resolutions on specific issues within the broad orientation of  the organization; determine program priorities and action undertaken by the organization consonant with the orientation and mandates set by the convention; advise the MDS Working Committee on financial matters; establish ad hoc committees, designate representatives, if any, to other boards; charter chapters, associated groups, and sibling organizations. 

Section 4.  Term Lengths

 The Council of Representatives members, except those Secretariat members and others elected by the convention, shall serve for one (1) year with no more than two (2) consecutive terms (unless there is an exception requested by the chapter). 

Section 3. 

The Council of Representatives shall meet at least every 2 months either in person or through cyberspace or telephone. A quorum shall be 40 percent of the voting members. Chapter and liaison representatives may be represented by a designated alternate authorized by the chapter or liaison group. 

Section 4. The Council of Representatives shall establish by-laws governing due process in case of grievances, transparency, open communication, recall procedures,  accountability and other matters of  internal democracy. 

Article VII: The Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) Working Committee

Section 1.

 The MDS Working Committee  shall be composed of two or more people from each secretariat, elected by the convention plus such other individuals as the convention may elect.  If an MDS Working Committee member elected by the convention is unable to serve for a period, the Council of Representatives may select an alternate from among the chapter representatives on the Council. No more  than three members from one chapter or associated group can serve concurrently on the MDS Working Committee. 

Section 2. 

The MDS Working Committee shall have formal address and office(s) at a place(s) determined by the Convention.  

Section 3  The  MDS Working Committee shall meet, via phone, internet web-cam and or in person, at least bi-weekly. 

The MDS Working Committee shall compile and distribute to the membership a biweekly working group report, including pending questions and questions for consideration.

 Section 4.

 The MDS Working Committee members must have been members of the Movement for a Democratic Society at least two months prior to elections.  

Section 5.

 The MDS Working Committee is the day to day spokes vehicle of Movement for a Democratic Society. It shall  be responsible for carrying out organizational policy and shall convene the Council of Representatives. 

Section 6. 

The MDS Working Committee shall have day to day responsibility for the implementation of programs approved by the Convention or Council of Representatives.  

Section  7. 

A representative of the MDS Working Committee shall not attend congresses, accept  money, or establish formal relationships with organizations without the approval of the convention, the Council of Representatives, or, between Council of Representative meetings, the MDS Working Committee. 

Article VIII  Secretariats

 Section 1.

The Movement for a Democratic Society shall have 5 secretariats, each with at least 2 secretaries, elected by the convention, and volunteer members as each may recruit.  The voting members of the working committee are those elected by the convention or their alternates.  The secretariats are expected to function as work collectives with shared leadership. 

Section 2. Membership Secretariat: shall be responsible for list maintenance of chapter and at large members, membership recruitment, dues and finances, and maintaining the MDS web site and list serves. 

Section 3. The Education Secretariat shall have the primary responsibility for the functioning of the internal membership education program, public education and publications. 

Section 4. The Actions Secretariat: shall be responsible for helping support local chapter and regional actions and to coordinate actions and campaigns, as determined by the Convention and Council of Representatives. 

Section 5. The Inter-Organization Relations Secretariat: shall have primary responsibility for liaison with Associated Groups, Fraternal, Sororal and Sibling Organizations, and other organizations, and for informing the membership about these groups.  

Section 6. Media Secretariat: shall be responsible for “press releases,” relations with all media, and the place to which requests for organization statements are referred.

 Article IX: Parliamentary Authority  

In all cases not covered by this Constitution, How to Hold A good Meeting, Rusty’s Rules of Order, shall be the authority governing Movement for a Democratic Society business; except that on page 12, under the heading of “Making a Main Motion,” a motion may be amended either by agreement of the maker and the second, or by a motion to amend, with a second and a vote; and a proposed and seconded amendment may also be amended by the body, by a second and a vote, in accord with section 33 of Robert’s Rules of Order. 

 Article  X: Policy and Discipline  

Section 1.

 Any member of the organization may be expelled or relieved of duties by a two-thirds vote of Council of Representatives. Due process shall be followed in all cases, according to by-laws approved by the Council of Representatives.  

Section 2. 

Any  three chapters, or one-third of the Council of Representatives can initiate a Movement for a Democratic Society organization-wide referendum on any question. 

Section 3. 

All material sent out in the name of the organization shall have the approval of a majority of the Council of Representatives and shall have been submitted to all of the MDS Working Committee members.  

Article  XI: Amendments  

This constitution may be amended by one of three procedures:  

 a. by a two-thirds vote of the Convention in session on amendments introduced at the Convention, in which case the amendment will take effect at the following Convention;

 b. by a two-thirds vote of the Convention in session on amendments introduced by distribution to the membership at least a month before the Convention, in which case the amendment will take effect immediately upon adoption;  

 c. by a two-thirds vote of the membership in referendum in which case  the amendment will take effect immediately upon adoption

MSU SDS reunion program guide and local press coverage (Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

East Lansing, MI – December 6, 2007. Former members of MSU SDS, present day members of MDS and organizers from Ignite, the new MSU SDS chapter all came together for a counter-recruitment protest and later, a moving MSU SDS reunion. Friday, November 30, 2007 was a bitter cold day in East Lansing. A spirited demo outside a Marine Corps recruiting center, on busy Grand River Avenue, opposite the MSU campus, was abbreviated due to the frigid temperatures. But later in the day, an SDS reunion held in MSU’s South Kedzie Hall, warmed hearts and fired up the activists – young and old. Bob Meola, an MSU SDS alumnus, emceed the affair which featured speeches by Cole Smith of Ignite, Alan Haber, Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers and the man of the hour – Bert Garskof who had been the faculty advisor to the original MSU SDS chapter. Garskof, fired by MSU for his devotion to his students and the Movement, was described by Ayers as “a mentor, an inspiration”.

Bert Garskof: teacher, mentor and activist (Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

The event was part hope, part history and part humor – master of ceremonies Bob Meola commented on some early controversy: “There were some who said that we, meaning in 1969, were a divided chapter and they wanted to know: ‘by whose authority is this being organized?’ We didn’t look to invite a particular faction. We invited everybody…like somebody said…the same people who wanted to put us all away then would want to put us all away now and they’d put us all in the same camp together…yeah..it’s silly, we’re beyond those disputes. Welcome to all factions!”

Cole Smith of Ignite, the new MSU SDS chapter spoke briefly about how his chapter could learn from the experiences of the original chapter, arguing that “the nature of oppression and war are the same as they’ve always been.” He urged those assembled to get active: “We need to start igniting ourselves, igniting our communities, igniting for change.”

Helpful in jumpstarting a new MSU chapter, Detroit SDS sent several reps to the reunion. Carmen Mendoza-King spoke about the Save Wayne State campaign – combatting “tuitionitis” by calling for a 3 year freeze on tuition – and dressing in scrubs to do some street theatre, highlighting the poor health of the university. Aric Miller offered a report back on the last Iraq Moratorium in the Motor City: Detroit SDSers took part in an intergenerational march. Betsy Palazzola made an appeal for cash for the very busy but cash strapped Detroit chapter.

Following the local Michigan chapter reports, Tom Price and Andy Pyle of MSU SDS offered a memorial tribute to fallen SDS comrade Jeffrey Glen Miller who was martyred at Kent State on May 4, 1970.

Tom Price provided a personal view of Jeff Miller – “the opposite of a true believer” – who was always questioning everything, including his own beliefs. Price related how on one occasion Jeff talked a group of frat boys out of beating up some SDSers at a local watering hole – providing a concrete example of how to open a dialogue with people who don’t agree with or even understand activists. This was also a leitmotiv of the evening – reaching out to others who are not engaged with the ailing US democracy or the activists attempting to treat it. Price’s comments were passionate, articulate, moving – and humorous. At one point Price quipped that he also belonged to a frat: Sigma Delta Sigma.

Andy Pyle spoke softly as he held aloft the famous John Filo photo showing Mary Ann Vecchio screaming as she knelt over the prone body of Jeff Miller, lying face down on the campus of Kent State. Pyle, who had been present at Kent, related how none of the students dispersed after the massacre – instead more and more arrived, essentially forcing the school to shut down. “I guess the lesson is just carry it on,” Pyle said.

Alan Haber, elder statesman of the New Left (Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Introduced by Meola as “the first president of SDS and actively organizing in Movement for a Democratic Society”, Al Haber was clearly moved by the assembly of activists, old and new. “This gathering to my heart is so beautiful…there is such power in this room,” he said. His concern for the wounded democracy we call the United States was obvious: “we are in a fascist situation,” he cautioned. But again he drew upon history, citing the Wobblies 1905 congress as an example of an approach that made him hopeful for the future. “We can create a campaign [for change]…what we have together is One Big Union”, a union of humanity,” he said. “If we actually used our poetry and art” to reflect people’s feelings back to them we would see that we can build a “community of transformation”. This theme – that art and poetry could help heal the Americas – would be echoed by several speakers: Haber, Dohrn and Ayers. Wearing his trademark kufi, his large font sds badge and a twinkle in his eye, Al Haber seemed comfortable in his role as elder statesmen of the New Left.

“This is a Movement for a Democratic Society that is international, interracial, intergenerational, interesting – and we are all a part of it.”

– Alan Haber, East Lansing, 30 Nov 2007

Noting that “the Sixties have been commodified…nostalgia for the Sixties is like a wet blanket for young people,” Bill Ayers also remarked that coming together to celebrate the spirit of resistance is important in a time when we are seeing: “empire resurrected and unapologetic; white supremacy, changing its form but essentially intact; growing surveillance in every sphere of our lives; attacks on women and girls”, and; “targeting of gay and lesbian people” as a form of scapegoating. According to Ayers, in the Sixties “we had a view that we could change things”…today, he argued, activists need to “imagine another world and put it in moral terms”. “We have to speak in a language that is large and encompassing,” he said. Discussing how to challenge an ‘almost unthinkable authoritarianism’, Ayers noted that “it’s the idea that we can tolerate these intolerable things…it’s what they count on” [to maintain control]. The solution lies in part with raising moral questions he added. “I think this is a moment of unprecedented opportunity for Movement building”, Ayers said, but he added that we need to make connections, “to talk to one another” across social justice movements. This notion, the need to talk with people with whom we might disagree – to initiate a dialogue – was a recurrent theme in the remarks of several of the longtime members of Sigma Delta Sigma present at the Reunion.

I don’t think we can wait, I think we need to develop a courageous conversation across organizations, across movements. Looking for that common ground, that common strand that brings us together.”

- Bill Ayers, East Lansing, 30 Nov 2007

Bernardine Dohrn, known simply as “BD” to many in SDS and MDS, opened her remarks by commenting on how singular the sacrifice of Bert Garskof was during the Sixties: “You don’t even need your toes…to count the number of people who were academics and teachers who risked everything in that ten year period – to side against the war, to side for justice and to join, throw their lot in with the students.”

Bernardine Dohrn at the MSU SDS Reunion (Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

BD went on to argue for a multi issue approach to organizing, and to Movement building: “the idea is…what the Zapatistas call points of convergence…how can we get out of the box of single issue organizing which really drives us towards reforms that almost always get turned into their opposites? How do we get to the nexus that shows us what the system of oppression is? I think it’s by pushing issues together…” Her talk, titled ‘When Hope and History Rhyme’ focused on what she termed building the “humanizing project.” Resisting the cultural domination of the United States, especially consumerism…by focusing on arts and culture, on using “other than didactic tools.” This is one effective way, she argued, to approach the “question of hope”. Ending on an upbeat tone she offered that: “It may happen that hope and history will rhyme again, as they did in the Sixties.”

Keynote speaker Bert Garskof opened his remarks with a smile and a joke, observing that: “It’s a little strange knowing that in 1969 I was the older generation mentoring the younger generation. I can’t figure that one out…” An appreciative audience erupted in laughter and applause.

Garskof’s comments indicated that he hasn’t lost a step in terms of his analysis. He talked about 1968/1969, the time period in which he was sacked by MSU for his radicalism saying that, “…In ‘68 these two rigid systems: socialism – sensible in theory but corrupt in practice, and capitalism – corrupt in theory and practice…In ‘68 these were confronted by a worldwide contentious conglomerate of liberational spirit. And speaking sentimentally, it was grand, it was grand.” The former faculty advisor of MSU SDS noted that: “SDS included people who wanted to end the war. to provide for the poor to end racial discrimination, to end sexism in all of its manifestations. SDS also included people who were grounded in the struggle for socialism. Moreover, there were some like me who came to the ideas of socialism and then anarchism through personal change.” This underlying contradiction, the reform versus revolutionary change issue, was something that could not be easily resolved, Garskok noted. It led, in his view, to the end of SDS in 1969. But Garskof did not see this as other than it should be. He spoke about a “natural end of SDS”, after it had gone about as far as it could go. But he noted that “the reemergence of SDS on today’s campuses…that’s a good thing!” Filled with hope – and armed with an impressive knowledge of history – Garskof also rejected the notion that the Movement did not help end the US war on Viet Nam: “We controlled the streets” which helped end the war, he argued. Looking to the future Garskof argued that resistance will come again and will again surprise the pundits: “the Sixties were a surprise”…renewed activism will likewise take society by surprise, he argued. Garskof spoke of his own transformation during the Sixties: “I was once a liberal professor, ugh…I went to a party…met Bill Ayers and Diana Oughton and my life was changed forever.” Ever self effacing, Garskof thanked Bill and Bernardine for all their support and all they taught him. He joked about his dismissal from MSU – the clear result of supporting his students. One day, he said, the local newspaper headline read “Garskof put on fulltime research.” “A dream of most people in my department,” he quipped.

Student and Mentor: Bill Ayers with Bert Garskof (Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Garskof also spoke of the forms of struggle he would like to see, he advocated the building of parallel structures, building a new society in the shell of the old: arguing that we need to be “creating a movement culture” because “as we fight the old we have to build the new”. Garskof argued for a counterculture based on “liberty, equality…and community” that would embrace people and help them stay a part of the Movement. He encapsulated the libertarian socialist leitmotiv of the evening in his remark “what we are now is what we will become later” – a succinct expression of the prefigurative politics that characterized the New Left in its brightest Moments. Convinced that change will come, Garskof nonetheless rejected the role of prophet stating: “What will happen, will happen. When it will happen, I don’t know.” He left the stage to sustained applause, his fist raised.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…