Dohrn, Bernardine (1942–)

Former member of the violent revolutionary organization Weatherman, Bernardine Dohrn led the “Days of Rage” riots in Chicago and was once a notorious fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list.

While in law school at the University of Chicago, Dohrn had the opportunity to work with Martin Luther King, Jr., toward alleviating the poverty in Chicago. She also worked closely with the civil rights group Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Her activism led her to become involved with an organization called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), an activist group originally focused on promoting civil rights and ending the Vietnam War that became increasingly radical as the 1960s progressed.

After law school, Dohrn traveled around the United States to recruit members for SDS. One of SDS's largest protests occurred at Columbia University in 1968. Students had discovered that the university was secretly doing war research ...