Howard Machtinger
Encyclopedia
Howard Norton Machtinger (born April 26, 1946) is a former director of Carolina Teaching Fellows, a student teacher scholarship program at the University of North Carolina. He is an education and civil rights activist, a teacher, a forum leader, and a political commentator. Machtinger is a former member of Students For a Democratic Society
and Weatherman (organization)
.
, in 1966. He became an active SDS member while he was a graduate student in Sociology at the University of Chicago
in 1968. Machtinger was a regional director of SDS from autumn of 1968 until the SDS Split and made contributions to New Left Notes, an SDS publication. He was part of a steering committee which took over the administration building at University of Chicago on January 30, 1969. During the takeover, 300 students occupied the university's administration building, protesting the non-renewal of Marlene Dixon's contract with the Sociology department. Students believed the department voted her out because she was a woman with politically radical views.
He was a part of the Revolutionary Youth Movement
(RYM), a faction of SDS who believed revolution was imperative. Machtinger, like other members of RYM, criticized members of the Progressive Labor (PL) faction of SDS for placing emphasis on the class struggle rather than focusing on the issue of racism, which he viewed as a dire problem plaguing America. Machtinger was one of the eleven co-authors of the Weatherman statement, which appeared in the issue of New Left Notes presented at the 1969 SDS National Convention in Chicago. Machtinger co-wrote “You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows” with Bernardine Dohrn
, Bill Ayers
, Jeff Jones
, Mark Rudd
, John Jacobs
, Terry Robbins
, Jim Mellen, Karin Ashley, Gerry Long, and Steve Tappis. Machtinger participated in the Days of Rage
and was present at the Flint, Michigan "War Council" in December 1969. He was among the Weathermen who eventually went underground.
but the charges were dismissed as electronic surveillance had not been court-ordered. Machtinger was indicted again on July 24, 1970. Along with ten other members of Weather, Machtinger was charged with conspiring to bomb the Detroit Police Officers Association Building. He went underground in the early 1970s and was arrested on East 86th Street in New York in April of 1973. Machtinger was released on bail, and subsequently went back underground. Upon averting jail time, Machtinger released a statement to the press explaining his desire to remain underground and to continue working for Weather’s Cause. In his letter, written October 16, 1973, Machtinger explores the dilemma of being a revolutionary fugitive in the following excerpt:
What should I do? Go to jail and do time--for how long?...Do my political work behind steel bars, get out and figure a new way to integrate myself in the revolution? Or, if I had the opportunity, return to what I had been doing: trying to build secret--from the state power--bases of strength as one means of aiding in the overthrow of the imperialist, sexist, racist state.
in 1981. He taught high school history from 1993 until he received his master's degree in history from San Francisco State University
in 1996. Machtinger’s 1995 dissertation, entitled Clearing Away the Debris : New Left Radicalism in 1960s America, further explores the New Left
movement of the 1960s. He served on the planning committee for East Chapel Hill High School from 1995-96 and is a former member of the North Carolina Humanities Council Forum Speakers. In 1998, Machtinger helped organize a visit of South African educators and students to the Triangle area to promote cross-cultural communication and understanding of educational issues. He is an activist for educational reform and wrote two articles in 2007 for the High School Journal, entitled "After the Flood: The Impact of Katrina on Education in New Orleans" and "What Do We Know about High Poverty Schools? Summary of the High Poverty Schools Conference at Chapel Hill." Machtinger presently works for the School of Education at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
.
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
and Weatherman (organization)
Weatherman (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
.
Early education and activism
Howard (“Howie”) Machtinger was born in the Bronx, New York on April 23, 1946. Machtinger earned his baccalaureate degree cum laude in Sociology and English from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, in 1966. He became an active SDS member while he was a graduate student in Sociology at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1968. Machtinger was a regional director of SDS from autumn of 1968 until the SDS Split and made contributions to New Left Notes, an SDS publication. He was part of a steering committee which took over the administration building at University of Chicago on January 30, 1969. During the takeover, 300 students occupied the university's administration building, protesting the non-renewal of Marlene Dixon's contract with the Sociology department. Students believed the department voted her out because she was a woman with politically radical views.
Weatherman
Machtinger was one of the founding members of Weatherman (later known as the Weather Underground), an organization that formed as a result of the SDS split in June of 1969.He was a part of the Revolutionary Youth Movement
Revolutionary Youth Movement
The Revolutionary Youth Movement was the section of Students for a Democratic Society that opposed the Worker Student Alliance of the Progressive Labor Party...
(RYM), a faction of SDS who believed revolution was imperative. Machtinger, like other members of RYM, criticized members of the Progressive Labor (PL) faction of SDS for placing emphasis on the class struggle rather than focusing on the issue of racism, which he viewed as a dire problem plaguing America. Machtinger was one of the eleven co-authors of the Weatherman statement, which appeared in the issue of New Left Notes presented at the 1969 SDS National Convention in Chicago. Machtinger co-wrote “You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows” with Bernardine Dohrn
Bernardine Dohrn
Bernardine Rae Dohrn is a former leader of the American anti-Vietnam War radical organization, Weather Underground. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and the immediate past Director of Northwestern's Children and Family Justice Center...
, Bill Ayers
Bill Ayers
William Charles "Bill" Ayers is an American elementary education theorist and a former leader in the movement that opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He is known for his 1960s activism as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction...
, Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones (activist)
Jeff Jones is an environmental activist and consultant in Upstate New York. He was a national officer in Students for a Democratic Society, a founding member of Weatherman, and a leader of the Weather Underground....
, Mark Rudd
Mark Rudd
Mark William Rudd is a political organizer, mathematics instructor, and anti-war activist, most well known for his involvement with the Weather Underground. Rudd became a member of the Columbia University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society in 1963. By 1968, he had emerged as a leader...
, John Jacobs
John Jacobs (student leader)
John Gregory Jacobs was an American student and anti-war activist in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was a leader in both Students for a Democratic Society and the Weatherman group, and an advocate of the use of violent force to overthrow the government of the United States...
, Terry Robbins
Terry Robbins
Terry Robbins was a U.S. leftist radical activist. A key member of the Students for a Democratic Society Ohio chapter, he led Kent State into its first militant student uprising in 1968. Robbins was credited for drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan’s song Subterranean Homesick Blues which later...
, Jim Mellen, Karin Ashley, Gerry Long, and Steve Tappis. Machtinger participated in the Days of Rage
Days of Rage
The Days of Rage demonstrations were a series of direct actions taken over a course of three days in October 1969 in Chicago organized by the Weatherman faction of the Students for a Democratic Society...
and was present at the Flint, Michigan "War Council" in December 1969. He was among the Weathermen who eventually went underground.
Indictment and life underground
On April 2, 1970, Machtinger was indicted with twelve other Weatherman members on charges of conspiracy and violation of the Federal Antiriot Act during the Days of Rage. He was accused of leading Days of RageDays of Rage
The Days of Rage demonstrations were a series of direct actions taken over a course of three days in October 1969 in Chicago organized by the Weatherman faction of the Students for a Democratic Society...
but the charges were dismissed as electronic surveillance had not been court-ordered. Machtinger was indicted again on July 24, 1970. Along with ten other members of Weather, Machtinger was charged with conspiring to bomb the Detroit Police Officers Association Building. He went underground in the early 1970s and was arrested on East 86th Street in New York in April of 1973. Machtinger was released on bail, and subsequently went back underground. Upon averting jail time, Machtinger released a statement to the press explaining his desire to remain underground and to continue working for Weather’s Cause. In his letter, written October 16, 1973, Machtinger explores the dilemma of being a revolutionary fugitive in the following excerpt:
What should I do? Go to jail and do time--for how long?...Do my political work behind steel bars, get out and figure a new way to integrate myself in the revolution? Or, if I had the opportunity, return to what I had been doing: trying to build secret--from the state power--bases of strength as one means of aiding in the overthrow of the imperialist, sexist, racist state.
Resurfacing and recent history
Machtinger surrendered in Criminal Court on May 11, 1978. Upon resurfacing, he continued to pursue education, earning an A.A.S degree in computer science and business technology from Seattle Central Community CollegeSeattle Central Community College
Seattle Central Community College is a community college located in Seattle, Washington, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is one of the three colleges which make up the Seattle Community College District...
in 1981. He taught high school history from 1993 until he received his master's degree in history from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
in 1996. Machtinger’s 1995 dissertation, entitled Clearing Away the Debris : New Left Radicalism in 1960s America, further explores the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
movement of the 1960s. He served on the planning committee for East Chapel Hill High School from 1995-96 and is a former member of the North Carolina Humanities Council Forum Speakers. In 1998, Machtinger helped organize a visit of South African educators and students to the Triangle area to promote cross-cultural communication and understanding of educational issues. He is an activist for educational reform and wrote two articles in 2007 for the High School Journal, entitled "After the Flood: The Impact of Katrina on Education in New Orleans" and "What Do We Know about High Poverty Schools? Summary of the High Poverty Schools Conference at Chapel Hill." Machtinger presently works for the School of Education at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
.