Bill Ayers

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Bill Ayers 2007

William Charles "Bill" Ayers (born December 26, 1944 in Glen Ellyn , Illinois ) is an American educator and emeritus professor of education at the University of Illinois in Chicago . In 1969 he was a founding member of the terrorist organization left the Weathermen Movement (engl., Dt. Weathermen ), which was responsible in the 1970s for a series of bomb attacks on public institutions.

During the US presidential campaign in 2008, Ayers made international headlines when Sarah Palin , then Vice-Presidential candidate of the Republican Party , Barack Obama , accused the Democratic Party candidate of cultivating contact with terrorists - meaning Bill Ayers. Both had served on the board of a foundation , knew each other as neighbors, and there had been a fundraising event at Ayers' house. Ayers currently serves on Truthout's advisory board .

Life

Ayers grew up in Glen Ellyn near Chicago . In 1968 he earned a Bachelor (BA) in American Studies at the University of Michigan . He had his first job as a teacher already as a student at a small nursery that the Free School Movement (dt. Movement for Free Schools belonged).

Since the mid-1960s, Ayers took part in left-wing protests against racism and imperialism , particularly against the Vietnam War . He became a member of the American New Left ( New Left ) and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS, dt. Students for a Democratic Society ).

In 1969 he was a founding member of the militant underground organization Weathermen , which became known for bomb attacks on state, especially military and police facilities.

In 1970 Ayers went underground . He was involved in bomb attacks on a New York police station (1970), the Capitol (1971) and the Pentagon (1972), both in the American capital Washington, DC During this time he married Bernardine Dohrn , who was also fighting underground has two sons (born 1977 and 1980).

In 1980 both surrendered to the authorities. All pending lawsuits against Ayers have been suspended for improper investigative methods used by the FBI. Dohrn received fines and suspended sentences .

In 1987 Ayers received his doctorate from Columbia University and subsequently worked as a professor of education at the University of Illinois . In the mid-1990s, he worked with Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley to develop a school reform program for the city. During this time, Ayers met in working groups with Barack Obama, the then Senator from Illinois , who also advocated school reforms (see Chicago Annenberg Challenge ).

Fonts

  • 1968, Bill Ayers: Education: An American Problem . Radical Education Project
  • 1969, Bill Ayers: Hot town: Summer in the City: I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more . Students for a Democratic Society
  • 1989, William Ayers: Good Preschool Teachers . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-2947-2
  • 1989, William Ayers: The Good Preschool Teacher: Six Teachers Reflect on Their Lives . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-2946-5
  • 1993, William Ayers: To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-3262-5
  • 1995, William Ayers: To Become a Teacher: Making a Difference in Children's Lives . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-3455-1
  • 1997, William Ayers: A Kind and Just Parent . Beacon Press, ISBN 978-0-8070-4402-5
  • 2000, William Ayers: A Simple Justice: The Challenge of Small Schools . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-3963-1
  • 2001, Bill Ayers: Fugitive Days: A Memoir . Beacon Press, ISBN 0-8070-7124-2 Penguin, ISBN 978-0-14-200255-1 (published in German in 2010)
  • 2003, William Ayers: On the Side of the Child: Summerhill Revisited . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-4400-0
  • 2004, William Ayers: Teaching the Personal and the Political: Essays on Hope and Justice . Teachers College Press, ISBN 978-0-8077-4461-1
  • 2005, William Ayers: Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom . Beacon Press, ISBN 978-0-8070-3269-5
  • 2006, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Jeff Jones: Sing a Battle Song: The Revolutionary Poetry, Statements, and Communiques of the Weather Underground 1970-1974 . Seven Stories Press, ISBN 978-1-58322-726-8
  • 2008, William C. Ayers: Handbook of Social Justice in Education . Routledge, ISBN 978-0-8058-5927-0
  • 2010, William C. Ayers: Fleeting Days: Memories from the Weather Underground . Ventil Verlag , ISBN 978-3-931555-52-8

literature

  • Willi Baer / Karl-Heinz Dellwo (eds.): The Weather Underground. Urban guerrilla in the USA (Library of Resistance, Volume 6), Laika-Verlag , Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-942281-75-1
  • Dan Berger: Fight in the Heart of the Beast - Militant Resistance in the USA (Edition Provo, Volume 3), Laika-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-942281-89-8
  • Ron Jacobs: Where the wind blows from. A History of the Weather Underground . Translation by Hans Kittel, idverlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-89408-084-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pociao : Bill Ayers Revisited , Radio-Feature , DLF, March 2, 2012. ( Manuscript )
  2. ^ Fugitive Days: A Memoir , 2001. See publications .
personal data
SURNAME Ayers, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ayers, William Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American educator and professor of education; former member of the underground militant organization Weathermen
DATE OF BIRTH December 26, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Glen Ellyn , Illinois