A Memoir of the New Left

“In Charles Haynie’s autobiography we get a rare look into the development of a great social movement through the quietly dramatic experiences of a rank-and-file member of that movement. This is valuable social history, but more important, Charles Haynie’s life is an inspiration for a new generation.”—Howard Zinn Charles Haynie’s life as an activist and organizer began while he was a graduate student at Cornell University. Young, fiercely intelligent, and spirited, Haynie had a political awakening during the early antinuclear movement in the late 1950s. It was the beginning of a long career of tireless fighting for social justice—a career that Haynie himself compellingly describes in A Memoir of the New Left. From 1963 to 1965, Haynie was field director for a voter registration project in Tennessee. In 1967 he worked with Massachusetts Political Action for Peace as an organizer of antiwar delegations in all twelve congressional districts of the state. Haynie also ran for a Buffalo Common Council seat in 1979 and helped organize the Buffalo Unity Day rally to ease racial tensions.