The Weather Underground: America’s Radical Youth of the 60′s

Written By Max Gibson

“Hello, I am going to read a declaration of a state of war. This is the first communication from the Weathermen Underground. Kids know the lines are drawn. Revolution is touching all of our lives. Freaks are revolutionaries and revolutionaries are freaks. If you want to find us this is where we are. In every tribe, commune, dormitory, farmhouse, barracks and townhouse. Where kids are making love, smoking dope and loading guns. Fugitives from the American justice are free to go. Within the next 14 days we will attack a single institution of American injustice.”  – Bernardine Rae Dohrn

They were only kids. Young adults perhaps. Radicals to some, revolutionaries to others. Their actions justified through the sincerity of their mission. They were called the Weather Underground, and their mission was to violently overthrow the American government.

Established in 1969, the Weathermen were born from the remains of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). A leftist organization that challenged American foreign policy initiatives while championing domestic reform. Founded in 1960, and comprised of students from across the nation, the SDS served as a concerted front aimed to challenge the power systems of America. Specifically, the SDS highlighted economic inequality, and racial discrimination as two of their primary issues. 

Emerging from a sub-faction of the SDS called, the Revolutionary Youth Movement, the deterioration of the SDS and the birth of the Weathermen came to fruition on June 18th, 1969 during an SDS convention in Chicago. Calling for a youth led revolution, the Weathermen outlined their position at the convention, effectively drawing a line in the sand, and solidifying their presence amongst the student activists.

At the helm of the new radical faction were two individuals, Bernadine Dhorn and Mike Klosky. As the leaders of the two most popular student groups that came from the disbandment of the SDS, their ideas about the social climate in America resonated with students. The stagnation of SDS initiatives, coupled with increasing violence of the Vietnam War and domestic injustice created a volatile landscape that provided the breeding grounds for the Weather Underground to emerge.

Taken from Bob Dylan’s song the “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” the Weathermen found their name in Dylan’s words. Embracing the lyrics, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” the Weathermen posited that the imperial initiatives of the U.S led to social and economic injustices worldwide. Under Leninist thought, the Weathermen saw oppressed people as the true wealth of a nation. Thus, the liberation of these oppressed people, and the redistribution of the ruling classes “stolen” wealth served as one of their primary initiatives.

Frustrated and fed up with the results of non-violent protest, the Weathermen sought to combat the oppressive government through violence, to literally and symbolically counteract the efforts of the U.S abroad. The Weathermen aligned themselves within the framework of the world revolutions being waged internationally. Drawing inspiration from the Black Panther Movement, the Weathermen sought to spark revolution by aligning their initiatives with the black liberation struggle.

Central to this crusade was the involvement of young white Americans, for  whom the Weathermen sought as vital to the fight against injustice. In the mind of Bernardine Dohrn, white youth stood at the crossroads of societies political revolution. Their action, or inaction was polarizing. For white youth to maintain their middle class status, was to support the oppressive regime the Weathermen were fighting against. Echoing these sentiments, the Weathermen stated that American luxury and lifestyle came at the expense of the Third World,

“The relative affluence existing in the United States is directly dependent upon the labor and natural resources of the Vietnamese, the Angolans, the Bolivians and the rest of the peoples of the Third World.” Stated Dhorn.  “All of the United Airlines Astrojets, all of the Holiday Inns, all of the Hertz’s automobiles, your television set, car and wardrobe already belong, to a large degree, to the people of the rest of the world.”

This call to action served as the foundation of the Weathermen’s movement. Their purpose founded in bringing equality to the suppressed people of the United States and around the world, in their eyes, by any means necessary.

While debate and discussion characterized many initiatives on the part of the SDS, the Weathermen’s efforts came from a place of frustration and unrest. Most often, that action resulted in violence as the Weathermen committed various local crimes targeting institutions of oppression in the U.S.

October 9th, 1969 marked a turning point in the legacy of the Weathermen as their exploits finally reached a national audience. Determined to “bring the war home” by recreating the chaos of the war on American soil, 300 Weathermen rioted throughout the streets of Gold Coast, Illinois. Smashing store windows and cars, the rioters ran four blocks before being confronted by police. When the two met up, chaos ensued as the rioters attacked police officers, resulting in 28 injured police, 68 incarcerated rioters and 6 wounded by gun shot.

It was a pivotal moment for the Weathermen, and a wake up call to government officials as the violence of the attacks took the public by surprise. For the next three years the Weathermen would have their hands in various public attacks across the nation. Often times in retaliation for excessive force used by the U.S abroad, the efforts of the Weathermen served to draw light to the plight of U.S foreign policy, and oppressive regimes worldwide.

Now visible on a national scale, the Weathermen began to form collectives throughout the United States and abroad. Leaving friends, family and romantic partners behind, young people across the country left the comfort of their homes to join the cause. Enrolling in various collectives around the country, 1969 saw the beginnings of the Weathermen’s ascension into a national entity.

The Weathermen surged into 1970 with a revolution at all costs mentality. Sparked by the murder of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton at the hands of Chicago police, the event served as another turning point for the Weathermen,

“We felt like we were in way over our heads, and that we didn’t have time to figure [it] out. The time was now. People were getting killed, and we had to go underground.” Stated Weathermen member Cathy Wilkerson. “We wanted to create some pressure, to overextend the police so they couldn’t concentrate all their forces on the Panthers. We wanted to create a political cost for what they were doing.”

As a result of growing tension above ground, coupled with a botched bomb attempt that resulted in the death of three Weathermen members, the group headed underground, becoming completely invisible to the general public. After preaching revolution through armed struggle for months, the group had reached a turning point where armed conflict was a very real and very eminent reality. During this period the Weathermen became the Weather Underground as many members of the group escaped indictment by going underground, effectively becoming federal fugitives. In May 1970, the FBI announced “one of the most intensive manhunts in history,” for nine suspected Weathermen leaders. The announcement also placed Bernardine Dohrn on the FBI’s “Most Wanted List.”

Throughout the Summer and Fall of 1970, the Weather Underground went through a period of internal unrest and change. Continuing bombings throughout the year, the group was being pulled in two directions. On one side, the group served as the white anti-racist political movement, while on the other side the group was emerging as the “outlaws” of the white youth movement. Helping free LSD advocate and activist Timothy Leary from a minimum security prison in September, the actions of the group again fell into heated debate as members questioned the message and motives of the group. By freeing a white counter-culture drug enthusiast, instead of the hundreds of minorities the Weathermen were supposedly aligned with, critics within and without the group highlighted the acts as hypocritical.

The top-down nature of WUO politics created an environment that eroded continuity as the years went on. Facing mounting pressure from mainstream media, opposing activist groups, and increasing attacks by the FBI, the core principles of the group became foggy with the changing social climate. Organizing a conference in 1976 entitled Hard Times, the group tried to form an umbrella organization to unify the radical groups. However, strife amongst members, along with disagreement about the direction of the WUO led to the disintegration of the organization from within. In the wake of the WUO demise, many underground members emerged after years as fugitives. While regarded as terrorists by many, WUO leader Bill Ayers posited a different outlook regarding the label of the group,

“Terrorists terrorize, they kill innocent civilians, while we organized and agitated. Terrorists destroy randomly, while our actions bore, we hoped, the precise stamp of a cut diamond. Terrorists intimidate, while we aimed only to educate. No, we’re not terrorists.”

A major part of the anti-war movement in America during the 60’s and 70’s the Weather Underground set a precedent for youth activism in America. Although the execution of their efforts may have been misguided, the legacy of the Weather Underground provide a framework for later generations to understand the ongoing struggle for equality and justice in the world.