Written from the maximum-security prison where he has lived for almost 30 years, this enlightening memoir chronicles the militant career of David Gilbert, a radical activist whose incarceration is due to his involvement in the 1981 Brinks robbery, an attempted expropriation that resulted in four deaths. From his entry into the world of political activism as the founder of Students for a Democratic Society at Columbia University to his departure from public life in order to help build the clandestine resistance to war and racism known as the Weathermen, Gilbert relates all of the victories he has achieved and obstacles he has encountered during his struggle to build a new world. In telling the intensely personal story he is stripped of all illusions and assesses his journey from liberal to radical to revolutionary with rare humor and frankness. A firsthand glimpse into the terrors and triumphs of the 1960s and beyond, Love and Struggle is as candid and uncompromising as its author.
An Appreciation Boots Riley 1
Introduction 5
Beginnings 9
Missing the Wink 14
Illusions Replaced by a Dream 18
The 1960S and the Making of a Revolutionary 23
Columbia and the Black Struggle 25
Assault on a Black-Jewish Alliance 29
Black Education 30
Black Power 31
Internationalism 33
Vietnam 35
National SDS 42
Local Action 42
"Hey, Hey, LBJ, How Many 45
Kids Did You Kill Today?" Strike! 46
Women: Relationships 51
Women: Politics 55
Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll 61
Political Theory 65
The Weapon of Theory 72
Revolutionary Youth Movement 75
Cointelpro 79
From Protest to Resistance 86
Equal Rights and Unequal Power 92
First Bust 95
Affinity Groups 98
Foco 100
Revolution in Our Lifetime? 102
Making Choices 105
Sectarianism 106
A Seismic Fault Line 110
The Split of SDS 113
The Most Sane/Insane of Times 119
Criticism/Self-Criticism 123
Breaking and Brawling 127
Fighting in the Streets 132
Rocky Mountain High 134
On a Life Trip 140
The Panthers in Denver 142
County Jail 144
War Council 147
The Townhouse 149
Underground 153
Weather Declares War 161
High on Youth Culture 164
New Morning 166
Encirclement 171
Clandestinity 177
Regrouping 179
Action 180
Status and Hierarchy 185
Democratic Centralism 189
The Doldrums 192
Kathy Boudin 198
Prairie Fire 199
Organization Man 205
Hard Times 210
Things Fall Apart 217
Alone 225
A Mile High: Aboveground in Denver 229
Back to Brookline 236
Rebuilding My Life in Denver 238
Adams Street 240
Men Against Sexism 241
El Comité 243
Iran 247
My Two Worlds Collide 249
Sexist Dog of the Century 251
Back Under 257
Socialism? 263
Dancing Feet 265
Back Above, the Hard Way 271
BUSTED 275
Trial by Trial 278
Isolation 279
Climbing Mountains 286
The Rock Is a Hard Place 296
Daily Life 305
Facing Life 310
Heading up the River 317
Afterword 321
Five Pages on Twenty-Eight Years 323
Glossary of Acronyms 329
Acknowledgments 333
Overview
Written from the maximum-security prison where he has lived for almost 30 years, this enlightening memoir chronicles the militant career of David Gilbert, a radical activist whose incarceration is due to his involvement in the 1981 Brinks robbery, an attempted expropriation that resulted in four deaths. From his entry into the world of political activism as the founder of Students for a Democratic Society at Columbia University to his departure from public life in order to help build the clandestine resistance to...