Mark Rudd talked about his memoir Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weathermen (William Morrow; March 24, 2009). Mr. Rudd recounts his role as the chairman of the Columbia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the organization’s occupation of Columbia University in 1968, and his time spent as a member of the Weather Underground. Mark Rudd discussed his book with Ishmael Reed. Topics included his family background, the history of the SDS, racism and sexism in the SDS, his political positions, and white privilege. Alan Senauke, a fellow member of the SDS, also made a statement. Following the interview Mark Rudd responded to questions from members of the audience at City Lights. 

Mark Rudd was the chairman of the Columbia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and was elected as the last National Secretary of SDS in June, 1969. He was a co-founder of the Weatherman faction of the SDS. Mr. Rudd was a fugitive from 1970 to 1977. From 1980 to 2006 he was a math instructor at a community college in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He retired from teaching in 2007.


Ishmael Reed is an essayist, novelist, poet, and playwright. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Mixing It Up: Taking on the Media Bullies and Other Reflections and Pow Wow: Charting the Fault Lines in the American Experience - Short Fiction from Then to Now. Mr. Reed started lecturing in the English department of the University of California Berkeley in 1968.


This program contains language that some may find offensive.