Linda Evans (radical)
This article has an unclear citation style. (September 2009) |
Linda Sue Evans | |
---|---|
Born | |
Other names | Linda Evans, Rebecca Ann Morgan, Christine Johnson, and Louise Robinett |
Known for | SDS, Weather Underground Organization, May 19th Communist Organization |
Linda Sue Evans (born May 11, 1947) is an American
Students for a Democratic Society
Evans began her life as an activist by organizing demonstrations at Michigan State University during 1965.
Evans' leadership role in SDS began after a conference held on July 15, 1969, at
Soon after Evans return from Hanoi, SDS held various conferences so that she could relate her experiences in Hanoi. During these conferences Evans stated that "SDS is on the side of North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front", called out the U.S. as the aggressor, and spoke of the "extremely humane treatment" given to captured American GIs.
Two of these conferences were notable for their high attendance. One took place at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in
In 1970, Evans was arrested for conspiracy and crossing state lines to incite a riot while organizing for SDS's National Action, more commonly known as the Days of Rage. The charges were dropped after it was disclosed that the government had used illegal wiretaps to obtain evidence.[11] Evans was released on a $75,000 bond.[11]
After Evans was released from prison in 1970, she moved to Texas where she continued to participate in radical causes.
Weather Underground Organization and M19CO
Evans became involved in
On April 15, 1970, Evans and Dianne Donghi were arrested for trying to forge checks using false identification.[14] The FBI was able to arrest them because of a tip they received from ex-Weatherman Larry Grathwohl, who was working as an undercover informant for the FBI.[14] Grathwohl's testimony was later used in Evans' final arrest by the FBI to prove that she had repeatedly been involved in illegal activities.[14]
Evans' final arrest was on May 11, 1985, for harboring
While incarcerated at the Federal Corrections Institution in Dublin, Evans advocated for an AIDS educational program for women and lesbian inmates.[18][19] She helped raise funds for the program by creating quilts and served as a peer AIDS counselor and educator.[18][20] Evans advocated for inmates' rights,[19] claiming that "When I was in jail in Louisiana we were able to win a jail house lawyer's legal suit forcing the jail to give women glasses and false teeth".[19]
On January 20, 2001, President Bill Clinton commuted Evans' sentence, commuting her 40-year sentence to the 16-years already served.[21]
Life since prison
Along with her partner, Eve Goldberg, Evans travels around the United States advocating for lesbian and female inmates' rights.[22] Evans is involved with the activist organization the Center for Third World Organizing.[23] In March 2002, she helped convene a conference with other formerly incarcerated people, entitled "Tear Down the Walls," in an attempt to gain support for giving amnesty to people she identified as political prisoners,[24] claiming that "These political prisoners of war are women and men incarcerated because of their involvement in political activities which challenged the unjust nature of the U.S socioeconomic system."[24] In 2003, Evans gave an interview in which she identified her sexuality as an influence for her political activities,[25] stating that "Being a lesbian has always been an important part of the reasons why I am a revolutionary – even before I was self-conscious about how important this is to me"[25] and "Because I experience real oppression as a lesbian and as a woman, I am personally committed from the very core of being to winning liberation for women, lesbians, and all oppressed people."[25]
See also
- Bill Clinton pardons controversy
- Underground, documentary film
- Weather Underground Organization
- May 19th Communist Organization
- List of Weatherman actions
Writings
- The Prison Industrial Complex and the Global Economy, with Eve Goldberg ISBN 9781604860436
- Statement from Women Political Prisoners on the Takeover of KPFA, July 14, 1999
Notes
- ^ BRINK'S SUSPECT HELD WITHOUT BAIL AFTER SHE REFUSES TO ENTER A PLEA The New York Times, May 14, 1985
- ^ Former Terrorist Is Among Those Pardoned or Freed in Clinton's Final Acts in Office The New York Times, January 21, 2001
- ^ PARC
- ^ a b c d FBI files, 284
- ^ Armed the Spirit
- ^ James, 274
- ^ a b FBI files, 283
- ^ a b c Jacobin Books, 378
- ^ FBI files, 285
- ^ a b FBI files, 109
- ^ a b Abilene Reporter
- ^ Berger, 57
- ^ Jacobs, 49
- ^ a b c Berger, 132
- ^ a b c d e f "United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Linda Sue Evans, Defendant-Appellant., 848 F.2d 1352 (5th Cir. 1988)". 5th Federal Circuit Court. vLex. June 23, 1988.
- ^ Nation Master
- ^ Prison Activist
- ^ a b Staajabu, 1
- ^ a b c James, 276
- ^ PARC, 262
- ^ Nordlinger, 6
- ^ Horowitz
- ^ Perazzo
- ^ a b Front Magazine
- ^ a b c James, 270
References
- Arm the Spirit. Interview With Lesbian Political Prisoners at the Wayback Machine (archived March 2, 2003) (November 30, 1995)
- Joy James. "Linda Evans, Susan Rosenberg, and Laura Whitehorn, Biographies." In Imprisoned
Intellectuals: America's Political Prisoners Write on Life, Liberation, and Rebellion, (Lanham, 2003)
- David Horowitz. Pardoned, but Unforgiving (September 6, 2001)
- Prison Activist. Linda Evans, Anti-imperialist political prisoner
- Harold Jacobs, "Weatherman", (Ramparts Press, 1970)
- Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC). "Goldberg, Eve and Linda Evans. The prison industrial complex and the global economy," (California Agit Press, 1998)
- Ron Jacobs, "The Way The Wind Blew; A History of the Weather Underground", (New York: Verso, 1997)
- Dan Berger, "Outlaws of America: The Weather Underground and the Politics of Solidarity," (Ak Press, 2006)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, "Weather Underground Organization (Weatherman)", (Illinois: Chicago Field Office, 1976)
- Staajabu. It’s About Time: A Visit with Political Prisoners Linda Evans and Marilyn Buck(2001)
- United States of America, Plaintiff. Appellee, Linda Sue Evans (1988)
- Jay Nordlinger, "Before We Move on." Clinton’s Rosenberg Case (March 19, 2001)
- The Abilene Reporter News. "Agents Search for 10 Indicted Members of Group". (Texas: July 24, 1970)
- Jacobin Books. "Hauling Up the Morning: Izango la Manana," (The Red Sea Press, 1990)