All my life I've been involved with racial politics. I was a Freedom Rider in the South. I was the author of books on gang violence, I was a community organizer in Newark, New Jersey, and when I spoke to the Black Caucus, congressional and state, I realized they were going all the way for Hillary [Clinton] and so was the Latino caucus in Sacramento and I asked myself this question: "Do I really want to cast my vote against these people who have been central to my life and to the soul of the country?" And so I went with them. Period.
Tom HaydenWe ourselves are imbued with urgency, yet the message of our society is' that there is no viable alternative to the present.
Tom HaydenTwice the Republicans in the California legislature tried to block my seating because of my trips to Hanoi.
Tom HaydenThe issue of civil rights was too much for the establishment to handle. One of the chapters of history thats least studied by historians is the 300 to 500 riots in the U.S. between 1965 and 1970.
Tom Hayden