AADL Talks To: Rick Ayers, Former U-M Student Activist and Member of the SDS and Weather Underground

Wed, 07/10/2024 - 9:29pm

In this episode, AADL Talks To Rick Ayers. Rick is faculty emeritus at the University of San Francisco where he was an associate professor of education focusing on English language arts and teacher education. In the late 1960s, Rick followed his older brothers to the University of Michigan and was soon radicalized by the civil rights and anti-war movements, participating in protests and demonstrations with the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Weather Underground. Rick traces his fascinating journey as a draft dodger working with deserters in Canada through his decision to enlist in the U.S. Army where he would eventually go AWOL and live as a fugitive for seven years. Rick also shares his memories of the vibrant campus film culture and the people -- including girlfriend Gilda Radner -- who shaped his student experience at the university, and he reflects on the legacy of the 1960s protests in light of today’s political environment.

Legacies Project Oral History: Nancy Taylor

Thu, 01/16/2020 - 9:12am

Nancy Emmons Taylor was born in 1941 and grew up in Luxmanor, Maryland. She attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She married Thomas Taylor soon after graduating, and they had two children. She received her Masters from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. When their children had graduated from high school, the Tayors moved to London for 12 years. Thomas was the administrator of an international Quaker program and Nancy was the warden of the Quaker meeting house and ran a program for international diplomats.

Nancy Taylor was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2014 as part of the Legacies Project.

Legacies Project Oral History: Ruth Zweifler

Tue, 12/10/2019 - 11:00am

Ruth Zweifler was born 1929 in Palisades, New Jersey. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College, and converted from Judaism to Quakerism. Since the 1960s, she has been active in Civil Rights, anti-war, and anti-Zionist protests, including a sit-in at Ann Arbor City Hall protesting residential segregation. In 1975, Zweifler co-founded the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan, and she was Executive Director for nearly 30 years.

Ruth Zweifler was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2018 as part of the Legacies Project.

AADL Productions Podcast: Carol Mull and the Underground Railroad

Tue, 10/13/2009 - 3:08pm

In this episode, AADL speaks with Carol Mull, a local historian of the Underground Railroad. Carol talks about her upcoming book on the Underground Railroad in Michigan and her work with the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission. Mull also discusses some of the gems she found in The Signal of Liberty, a 19th century abolitionist newspaper published in Ann Arbor.