Ellison, Richard

Description

During the Vietnam War, David Harris was a noted draft resister and civil rights activist. He describes his transformation from “All-American boy” believing American leadership could do no wrong, to disillusioned adult. He recounts traveling to Mississippi to protest the use of violence against blacks fighting for desegregation and returning more radicalized. He describes the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee’s transformation from a focus on black civil rights to a focus on the war, particularly the draft. He tells the story of October 16, 1967, when people—especially in San Francisco and Oakland, California—began to return draft cards to the government as tangible proof that they would not fight in the war. Contains sensitive content.

Record Contributed By

WGBH

Record Harvested From

Digital Commonwealth