It is 1991. No one remembers Bill Ayers, just like no one remembered him until someone said the Weather Underground. I saw this front cover story on Bill Ayers when I was checking out the Chicago Reader. A great story of the rich kid who became a radical and "The war was over; there was no need for the Weather Underground anymore," says Ayers. "We had served our purpose." He moved on to be just a guy.
The link to the whole story and more after the jump
This is the front cover story of who Bill Ayers was as a child, was growing up, was as a radical and is today. The complete link is here from the Chicago Reader.
Important to note, the Alliance for Better Chicago Schools is featured prominently in this article. This is the "radical organization" that ties Barack Obama to Bill Ayers. Funny reading the article, there is no mention of Obama.
(Coretta) McFerren and others invited Ayers to meetings of the Alliance for Better Chicago Schools, a coalition that includes members of Hispanic, business, black, and civic organizations. He started attending the group's monthly meetings, held over breakfasts of eggs, sausage, rolls, fruit, and coffee in a conference room on the 57th floor of First National Bank's downtown headquarters.
In many ways, Ayers's philosophy was ideal for ABCs. The targets of his criticism--central office bureaucrats and ineffective classroom teachers--were not members of the coalition. For ABCs' members he had almost nothing but praise.
Within a few weeks, the group named Ayers convener, which means he runs their meetings.
"He plays a good role because he listens to what everyone is saying," says Laurie Glenn, a member of the coalition. "That's important with a group like ABCs, which has so many divergent interests and so many members who want to talk."
...
Many of ABCs' members are allies of Mayor Daley. (Monteagudo, for instance, is Daley's handpicked $80,000-a-year deputy mayor of education.) ABCs never criticized the mayor, even though he angered other activists by failing to appoint members to the school board within the state-mandated deadline.
At one point, Ayers and others were ushered into Daley's private City Hall chambers to brief the mayor on reform.
"I don't think much about Daley, but I don't have a lot of animosity toward him," says Ayers. "I don't know if he knows who I am. When I was in his office, he didn't say, 'I prosecuted your wife and you threw stones at my father.' However, I must admit it was bizarre to be sitting there."
Bill Ayers is Bill Ayers. He has been named Citizen of the Year by Chicago in 1997. He is still outspoken and will until he dies. Is he still a terrorist? I don't know and I guess it depends on your definition. But like a lot of people who lived through the 60's, he has changed. He is still a fighter for the people. In Chicago, there seems to be a "huh?" effect when the national media talk about him. I believe he is a revolutionary not a terrorist and continues to work to change the system, but now from the inside.