Jim Zarichny was on the scene during the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1937 and at the formation of Students for a Democratic Society. In between, he was a target of the McCarthyist witch hunt—the only person ever to be tried by the Michigan State Legislature. In April, Jim will give a series of three talks on these experiences, in the intimate setting of the Left Hand Books shop in Boulder--another activist project in which he has participated. Jim’s talks will be FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Left Hand Books is located at 1200 Pearl Street, downstairs, in the Pearl Street Mall, Boulder, Colorado. Jim’s talks are scheduled as follows:
April 1, 2009 (Wednesday) at 7:00 PM
The Flint, Michigan Sit-Down Strikes of 1937
These were the spectacular strikes of the 20th Century. Instead of the workers walking out, the bosses had to leave the factory. The workers converted the factories into fortresses which they lived in and held for a month until General Motors recognized the union. Jim’s family was active in the strike—his mother was among the group of women who took long poles to break out the windows to let the tear gas out.
Jim attended many of the strike support rallies. He knew quite a few of the strikers and, after World War II, had many conversations with them. During the summer of 1937, Jim was president of the Junior Union, and in high school, he was treasurer of the CIO Youth Club.
April 8, 2009 (Wednesday) at 7:00 PM
Fighting McCarthyism in Michigan
Jim was the first and only witness in 1948 to appear before the Michigan Senate Committee on Un-American Activities at Universities. Jim was accused by State Senator Matthew Callahan of contempt for the State Senate, a supposed criminal offense. The following autumn, Callahan was defeated in the Republican primary.
At the time, Jim was an undergraduate math major at Michigan State University, after having served in World War II. He was eventually expelled for attending a lecture off campus in the conference room of People’s Church at which a Communist spoke. The Civil Rights Congress took both cases on Jim’s behalf to the courts. They reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear them.
April 15, 2009 (Wednesday) at 7:00 PM
The Early Years of SDS
Jim was one of the founders of a study group that eventually became the FDR Four Freedoms Club, which met in his apartment. In 1960, when the Four Freedoms Club had 80 members, it affiliated to Students for a Democratic Society, bringing the total membership to 200 members, nationwide. This was before Tom Hayden and some of the other famous members joined.
In 1964, Jim was one of a dozen people who were specially invited, as resource people, to attend the Pine Hill convention of SDS.
*****
Today, Jim Zarichny lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he continues his career of activism into its 72nd year. He is a founding member of the Left Hand Books Collective, which furnishes the space for this series of fascinating talks on his experiences.
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