The District Goes Radical in the 1960s
Michael Lerner
Lerner, born in 1943, was active in the FSM, and later president of the Berkeley chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He was also one of the leaders of Stop the Draft Week and member of the Seattle Seven defendants (he was acquitted of all charges).
J. Edgar Hoover described him as "one of the most dangerous criminals in America." Lerner became a Rabbi and started the magazine Tikkun, A Bimonthly Jewish Critique of Politics, Culture and Society in 1987.
Lerner is the spiritual leader of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in Berkeley, where he still lives and works. He recalls the District as quiet: "My dog was sleeping in the street because it was that safe and quiet and non-hassled," in stark contrast to the confrontations I was involved in.