AADL Talks To: Ken Burns, Documentary Filmmaker
In this episode, AADL Talks To Ken Burns. Ken is a documentary filmmaker known for his critically acclaimed films exploring all facets of American culture. Ken reflects on growing up and coming of age in Ann Arbor during the 1960s, and how this period of intense political and cultural activity mixed with family tragedy charted his journey. He takes us down the streets we remember -- past restaurants and theaters that have come and gone -- and through a back alleyway during the 1969 South University Street Riot. Along the way, he highlights the people, places, and vibrant musical and cinema culture that left its mark on his work.
AADL Talks To: Bill Ayers
Bill Ayers is a retired Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. During his time in Ann Arbor during the 1960s, he served as director of Ann Arbor's experimental Children's Community School; Education Secretary for the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); and co-founder of the militant Weather Underground organization, which originated in Ann Arbor in 1969 as a far left-wing revolutionary party.
Ayers traces the path of his political awakening from wide-eyed college freshman to seasoned student organizer and educator. He reflects on the tumultuous moral dilemma he and many activists faced as the Vietnam War raged on in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He discusses the factionalism within the SDS leadership that resulted in the formation of the Weather Underground; how the strands of student activism during this turbulent time were rooted in the moral agenda outlined by Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.; and his lifelong pedagogic commitment to education.
Conscientious Objector signs in U-M's "Fishbowl," October 1965 Photographer: Doug Fulton
Year:
1965
Conscientious Objector signs in U-M's "Fishbowl," October 1965 Photographer: Doug Fulton
Year:
1965
Peace Rally On The Diag, September 20, 1969 Photographer: Cecil Lockard
Year:
1969
- Read more about Peace Rally On The Diag, September 20, 1969
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Protesters Wreck U Building
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Ban the Bomb
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Student Activists Protest Nuclear Weapons, November 1984 Photographer: Cecil Lockard
Year:
1984
Ann Arbor News, November 22, 1984
Caption:
BAN THE BOMB: Young protestors, many of them Community High School students, staged a "die-in" at downtown Ann Arbor intersections Wednesday. Joining hands in circles in the streets, they fell to the ground, symbolically simulating death by nuclear war. They walked through the downtown area chanting: "No, no, we won't glow." Somewhere along the way, they were joined by members of other groups protesting U.S. involvement in Central America. Ann Arbor police arrested two protestors on charges of disorderly conduct.
March Against Nuclear Weapons in Downtown Ann Arbor, November 1984 Photographer: Cecil Lockard
Year:
1984
Legacies Project Oral History: Chuck Warpehoski
Chuck Warpehoski was born in 1978 and graduated from Grinnell College with a BA in sociology. He worked in Washington D.C. for the Nicaragua Network and Latin America Solidarity Coalition before moving to Ann Arbor in 2003. He directed the Ann Arbor nonprofit organization Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) for sixteen years, focusing on issues such as nuclear disarmament and affordable housing. He also served on the Ann Arbor City Council from 2012 to 2018. He and his wife Nancy Shore have two children.
Chuck Warpehoski was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2015 as part of the Legacies Project.