Madison on Fire
After Putney, Jon set his sights on the University of Wisconsin, Madison, an epicenter of the Sixties generational rebellion led by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Jon jumped into the maelstrom of revolt, enlisting as an activist in Madison’s well-organized SDS chapter, focusing on opposition to the Vietnam war and support for the black liberation struggle.
During his first week in Madison, Jon led an SDS disruption of an ROTC indoctrination class, demanding the University abolish mandatory attendance by male freshmen, which they did.
Jon’s life changed inalterably when he heard Jesus Salas of Obreros Unidos (United Workers) speak on campus. Inspired by Jesus’ words advocating the formation of a union to fight for humane working conditions and fair treatment for migrant workers in Wisconsin, Jon enlisted as an organizer and travelled the state recruiting farm and cannery workers to the fledgling union.
When Jesus spoke to a contingent of United Steelworkers, Jon’s eyes opened-wide when the gathering belted out the lyrics to Solidarity Forever: “We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old …” Inspired, Jon thought to himself, “maybe, just maybe, these workers know more than I realized and are the force that can create an equitable, just world.”
For years, the Black People’s Alliance (BPA), had petitioned and met with administrators to demand that more students of color be enrolled and that subjects relevant to African American studies be instituted. When the administration remained intractable, the BPA initiated a class boycott, assisted by SDS.
Squads of activists marched into classrooms to explain strike issues. At the strike’s peak, the BPA led 10,000 on a night-march to the Capitol. The Governor ordered mobilization of the National Guard which laid siege to the campus to forcibly reopen classrooms.
When graduate student members of the fledgling Teaching Assistants Association (TAA) went on strike to demand union recognition, Jon was one of the committed supporters who joined picket lines until the TAA won and became the first such union recognized in the country.
May 1970, Nixon invaded Cambodia and four students at Kent State University were gunned down by National Guardsmen. Jon and many other student activists joined a broad, non-sectarian coalition – the United Front (UF) – to initiate a campus-wide-strike. After years of systematic political education by SDS, students went into the streets to oppose not just the Vietnam War, but world-wide U.S. imperialism.
National Guard helicopters and jeeps roamed streets as violence erupted. Classes came to a standstill. Frat students, engineering and ag students, and liberal arts students crossed boundaries to follow the lead of the UF, as did many professors and teaching assistants.