Gilbert came of age during the Civil Rights movement, which he explains, “showed me more of a sense of humanity and nobility of purpose than I found in the white suburbs where I had grown up.” In 1962 he joined the Congress of Racial Equality, and in 1965 began working against the war in Vietnam at Columbia University where he co-founded the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter that helped lead the famous student strike of 1968.

In the early 1970s he helped form the Weather Underground Organization (WUO). According to Gilbert, they took up arms “in response to the murderous government assault on the Black Liberation Movement and the unending, massive bombing of Vietnam.” He spent ten years underground until he was arrested in 1981 following a failed armored car robbery in upstate New York.

A unit of the Black Liberation Army and allied white revolutionaries had attempted to rob a Brinks truck. An ensuing shoot-out left a guard and two police officers dead. Several alleged participants were arrested and given long sentences whether they played an active part or not.

Gilbert is at his best when giving frank responses to questions about his past actions and lessons for today. A primary example is his expressed regret and sadness about the killing of the security guard, and the two police officers and comrades who were killed in the course of events.

“Coming of Age Politically at Columbia” and his short essays on SDS and WUO are excellent examples of the kind of reflection that is needed in organized resistance. His critiques of the Leninist model of organization, male supremacy, egotism and sectarianism in the Weather Underground are crucial for thinking about activism today.

Gilbert provides insight and sharp analysis about AIDS, popular social movements, challenging male supremacy and imperialism, and ending white supremacy.

As a white male struggling to negotiate what it means to fight with love for all people, challenge privilege and develop an affirming and healthy identity, David Gilbert holds a special place in my heart -- not because I unquestioningly view him as a role model, but for his commitment to liberation and ability to openly evaluate his own work.