Tom Hayden
Thomas Emmett "Tom" Hayden (born
December 11,
1939) is an
American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and
civil rights movements of the 1960s. He is the father of American actor
Troy Garity.
Hayden was born in
Detroit, Michigan to parents of
Irish descent, and later attended the
University of Michigan, where he was editor of the
Michigan Daily and one of the founders of the student activist group
Students for a Democratic Society. He drafted the group's most famous work, the
Port Huron Statement, and served as president from 1962 to 1963. From 1964 to 1968, he lived in
Newark, New Jersey, where he worked with impoverished inner-city residents as part of the
Newark Community Union Project. He was also witness to the city's
race riots, and wrote the book
Rebellion in Newark: Official Violence and Ghetto Response (1967). Hayden also played a key role in the protests and violence surrounding the
1968 Democratic National Convention in
Chicago, Illinois. There, he was arrested as part of the "
Chicago Seven," with other protesters including
Abbie Hoffman and
Jerry Rubin, and charged with conspiracy and inciting riots. He made several high profile trips as a peace activist to
Cambodia and
North Vietnam during America's involvement in the
Vietnam War, including an especially controversial one in 1972 to
North Vietnam with his future wife, actress
Jane Fonda. He also made a speech during the
1999 Seattle WTO protests.
In 1976, Hayden made a maverick
primary election challenge against sitting
California U.S. Senator John V. Tunney. Starting from far behind, Hayden mounted a spirited challenge and finished a surprisingly close second in the Democratic primary field. He and Fonda went on to found the Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED), which formed a close alliance with then Governor Jerry Brown and successfully promoted solar energy, environmental protection, and renters rights policies while electing some 100 members to local office throughout California.
Hayden later served in the
California State Assembly (1982-1992) and the
State Senate (1992-2000). Hayden mounted another maverick bid in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in 1994 on the theme of campaign finance reform. He unsuccessfully ran as the Democratic candidate for
Mayor of Los Angeles in 1997, defeated by
Richard Riordan. Hayden unsuccessfully sought election to the Los Angeles City Council in 2001. He currently lives in
Los Angeles, California and is married to actress
Barbara Williams. Over the last three years, Hayden has periodically taught as an assistant and adjunct professor at
Occidental College, during the Fall semester of 2005 he taught a course on Social Movements at
Pitzer College.
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The Other Side (1966)
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Rebellion in Newark: Official Violence and Ghetto Response (1967)
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Trial (1970)
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The Love of Possession Is a Disease with Them (1972)
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Vietnam: The Struggle for Peace, 1972-73 (1973)
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The American Future: New Visions Beyond Old Frontiers (1980)
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Reunion: A Memoir (1988)
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The Lost Gospel of the Earth: A Call for Renewing Nature, Spirit and Politics (1996)
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Irish Hunger (1997)
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Irish on the Inside: In Search of the Soul of Irish America (2001)
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Rebel: A Personal History of the 1960s (2003)
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Street Wars: Gangs and the Future of Violence (2004)
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Radical Nomad: C. Wright Mills and His Times with Contemporary Reflections by Stanley Aronowitz, Richard Flacks and Charles Lemert (2006)
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TomHayden.com*
Tom Hayden Talking about politics after 9/11 at Cal Poly Pomona (streaming video)*
Justin Raimondo.
Tom Hayden: "I Was Israel's Dupe",
AntiWar.com, July 21, 2006.
