Bernardine Dohrn at the SDS NE Regional Conference (NLN Photo)
As she was not able to attend the SDS 2006 National Convention in Chicago, Bernardine Dohrn sent the following greetings to the gathering. The statement was read by Thomas Good at the opening plenary:
Welcome to Chicago, Sisters and Brothers. The world you inhabit is daunting but you represent the spirit and hope of resistance and imagination – the insistance that what people do together can transform history – that we can make a difference. Here in the heart of empire, you represent a vital spark, a clear visision of the major forces at play and the determined vision to name our situation and to act to transform our circumstances.
Although I cannot be there in chicago, we have your back. May you stay clear about the challenges of movement-building: strengthening and connecting the widespread organizing work already underway, reaching out to engage new forces, and contending with principle and unity. As the great chicago poet laureate Gwendolyn Brooks said, “Live and have your blooming in the eye of the whirlwind.”
