Nancy Kurshan
Encyclopedia
Nancy Kurshan was born in Brooklyn, NY on February 4, 1944, was raised as a “red diaper baby
” and is best known for being a founder of the Youth International Party
(whose members were popularly known as Yippies). She was a participant in the civil rights and peace movements as far back as high school. During her college years in Madison, Wisconsin, she was a member of Friends of SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
) and CORE
, and participated in the first demonstration against the Vietnam War
in Washington, DC in April 1965. She then began to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology at UC Berkeley where she met Jerry Rubin
. She dropped out to join Jerry in New York where they worked for the Mobe (National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
) on the 1967 demo to shut down the Pentagon.
Nancy initiated a guerrilla theater women’s group called W.I.T.C.H.
(Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell) along with Robin Morgan
, Sharon Krebs, and Roz Payne. When Jerry appeared in front of HUAC (House on Unamerican Activities Committee) dressed as an international guerrilla, she joined him, appearing as a witch and put a hex on HUAC employing a secret ingredient in her incense. At the conclusion of the “Chicago Conspiracy Trial,” when all the defendants were initially found guilty, Nancy and Anita Hoffman
burned judges’ robes during a press conference as a denunciation of the guilty verdict (which was later reversed on appeal). Photos of this action appeared on front pages all across the world.
Robin Morgan
wrote about Nancy in her famous essay entitled “Goodbye to All That.” Morgan suggested that Nancy, and many other women (Morgan among them), needed to free themselves from the male domination of the left and their respective partners. In 1970 Nancy traveled to North Vietnam
on an all-women’s trip that included Judy Clavir and Jeanne Plamandon of the White Panther Party
.
Not long after, Nancy left Rubin. She then went on to join the Weather Underground as a public member until its demise. She participated for many years thereafter in the efforts to free political prisoner
s such as the Puerto Rican political prisoners, Sundiata Acoli
, Geronimo Pratt
, and many others. She was active in the fight against control unit prisons as a founding member of the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown. She has also authored a popular analysis called “Women And Imprisonment in the United States,” which has appeared in countless texts and books about prisons and repression.
Along the way, Nancy raised two children, got a master's degree in social work
and worked for 20 years as a social worker in the Chicago Public Schools
.
Mayim Bialik
plays Kurshan in the film Chicago 8
Red diaper baby
Red diaper baby describes a child of parents who were members of the United States Communist Party or were close to the party or sympathetic to its aims.-History:...
” and is best known for being a founder of the Youth International Party
Youth International Party
The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a radically youth-oriented and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s. It was founded on Dec. 31, 1967...
(whose members were popularly known as Yippies). She was a participant in the civil rights and peace movements as far back as high school. During her college years in Madison, Wisconsin, she was a member of Friends of SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
) and CORE
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
, and participated in the first demonstration against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
in Washington, DC in April 1965. She then began to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology at UC Berkeley where she met Jerry Rubin
Jerry Rubin
Jerry Rubin was an American social activist during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman.-Early life:...
. She dropped out to join Jerry in New York where they worked for the Mobe (National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam was a relatively short-lived coalition of antiwar activists formed in 1967 to organize large demonstrations in opposition to the Vietnam War. The organization was informally known as "the Mobe"....
) on the 1967 demo to shut down the Pentagon.
Nancy initiated a guerrilla theater women’s group called W.I.T.C.H.
W.I.T.C.H.
W.I.T.C.H. is an Italian fantasy/Magical girl comic series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa. It tells the story of five teenage girls who are chosen to be the new Guardians of Kandrakar, protectors of the center of the universe from people and creatures who wish...
(Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell) along with Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan is a former child actor turned American radical feminist activist, writer, poet, and editor of Sisterhood is Powerful and Ms. Magazine....
, Sharon Krebs, and Roz Payne. When Jerry appeared in front of HUAC (House on Unamerican Activities Committee) dressed as an international guerrilla, she joined him, appearing as a witch and put a hex on HUAC employing a secret ingredient in her incense. At the conclusion of the “Chicago Conspiracy Trial,” when all the defendants were initially found guilty, Nancy and Anita Hoffman
Anita Hoffman
Anita Hoffman , born Anita Kushner, and was a Yippie activist, writer, prankster, and the wife of Abbie Hoffman.Hoffman helped her husband plan some of the most memorable pranks of the Yippie movement...
burned judges’ robes during a press conference as a denunciation of the guilty verdict (which was later reversed on appeal). Photos of this action appeared on front pages all across the world.
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan is a former child actor turned American radical feminist activist, writer, poet, and editor of Sisterhood is Powerful and Ms. Magazine....
wrote about Nancy in her famous essay entitled “Goodbye to All That.” Morgan suggested that Nancy, and many other women (Morgan among them), needed to free themselves from the male domination of the left and their respective partners. In 1970 Nancy traveled to North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
on an all-women’s trip that included Judy Clavir and Jeanne Plamandon of the White Panther Party
White Panther Party
The White Panthers were a far-left, anti-racist, White American political collective founded in 1968 by Lawrence Plamondon, Leni Sinclair, and John Sinclair. It was started in response to an interview where Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, was asked what white people could do...
.
Not long after, Nancy left Rubin. She then went on to join the Weather Underground as a public member until its demise. She participated for many years thereafter in the efforts to free political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s such as the Puerto Rican political prisoners, Sundiata Acoli
Sundiata Acoli
Sundiata Acoli is a former member of the Black Liberation Army. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1974, for killing a New Jersey state trooper.-External links:* *...
, Geronimo Pratt
Geronimo Pratt
Geronimo Ji Jaga , also known as Geronimo ji-Jaga Pratt born: Elmer Pratt, was a high ranking member of the Black Panther Party...
, and many others. She was active in the fight against control unit prisons as a founding member of the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown. She has also authored a popular analysis called “Women And Imprisonment in the United States,” which has appeared in countless texts and books about prisons and repression.
Along the way, Nancy raised two children, got a master's degree in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
and worked for 20 years as a social worker in the Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...
.
Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik
Mayim Hoya Bialik is an American actress who also holds a PhD in neuroscience.Her most notable TV roles have been as Blossom Russo on NBC's Blossom and as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:...
plays Kurshan in the film Chicago 8
Chicago 8
Chicago 8 may refer to:*The original name for the Chicago Seven*Chicago VIII, an album by American rock group Chicago...
External links
- "CHI-Town Lowdown: Memories of the 1968 Democratic Convention" from CounterPunchCounterpunchCounterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
- "CHI-Town Lowdown: Memories of the 1968 Democratic Convention" from ZNet
- "Take Action: Freedom Fighters" from Time Out Chicago
- Women and Imprisonment in the U.S.: History and Current Reality"
- Rich Samuels from WTTWWTTWWTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
's Chicago TonightChicago TonightChicago Tonight is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on WTTW in Chicago. Chicago Tonight reports primarily on local news and presents features showcasing local artists and events. The show started in 1984 and for 15 years popular Chicago broadcast journalist John Callaway...