History Commons^™

Interview With Jack Wuest, Grace Fanning

Chicago 1968

Length: 63 minutes

Interview with Jack Wuest by Grace Fanning

Mr. Wuest begins by outlining the details of his childhood, family, and early education. He describes his role in the draft resistance during the Vietnam War, and describes the process the young men were subjected to as part of the draft. He recalls his time working with the Juvenile Protective Association which is what first brought him into contact with the Democratic National Convention protests. He recalls witnessing the police violence perpetrated against protesters. He remembers his reactions to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. He …

Interview With Father Dominic Grassi, Paul Brennan

Chicago 1968

Length: 105 minutes

Interview with Father Dominic Grassi by Paul Brennan

Fr. Dominic Grassi begins his interview by detailing his childhood, growing up the youngest of five to Italian immigrant parents on the North side of Chicago, He credits his high school work with the children at Cabrini Greens for introducing him to the community service aspect of religious life and recalls the significant role the priests played in his early years. He describes daily life at the college seminary and the formation of his religious vocation amidst “almost a tsunami” of worlds events: the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights …

Vietnam Reading, Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

During Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, the author was prominent in the anti-war movement, and a conscientious objector to the system of compulsory military service in place at the time. In this article he accounts for the intellectual development which shaped his politics. The focus of the article is the reading he did during the 1960s.

Interview With Bill Ayers, William Ayers

Winthrop University Oral History Program

In his April 1994 interview with Ron Chepesiuk, Bill Ayers detailed his part in the 60s Radical Movement. Ayers described his motivations for joining the Students for a Democratic Society community, the Weather Underground, and his eventual leading of the groups. He covered several issues of the anti-war movement, including communism, radicalism, social hierarchies, government distractions, bombings, and the Vietnam War. Ayers focused greatly on educational reform and the educational aspects of joining a social movement. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.