Reform 1962-1965

In the summer of 1963 the SDS National Convention saw America entering a New Era, an era marked by insurgency against both the tokenism of the New Frontier and the conservatism of the traditional Right, and by a growing demand for a society free from war and poverty.

Since that summer much has happened to justify those who saw this insurgency as only a beginning: the development of mass movements based around economic issues in cities like Chester, Pennsylvania, a March on Washington linking the demands of full employment and civil rights, cooperation of students and workers in demanding jobs and justice for the unemployed in cities like Hazard, Kentucky, and the rapid growth of SDS itself.

But with the new possibilities for a radical movement in America must come new questioning—about the sort of society we are trying to create, about the ways to achieve that society.

—In which American institutions are the potentialities for radical action the greatest?

—How must American institutions be reshaped to create a true democracy?

—Around what issues is a genuine movement of the poor most likely to be created?

—What steps can be taken to move the American middle class in a radical direction?

—What attitude should community organizers take toward electoral action?

—What useful roles are there for radicals who cannot be full-time activists or organizers?

—What should be the program of SDS in 1964-65?

—Invitation to the SDS National Convention, May 1964