KFAI’s Indian Uprising for Oct. 7th, 2007 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. CDT #234

William Moses Kunstler (1919-1995) was an American jurist, self-described "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist. He represented Russell Means in the Wounded Knee AIM Leadership Trial , and also Dennis Banks and Leonard Peltier. When he died in 1995, The New York Times called him "the most hated and most loved lawyer in America."

He was a director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1964 to 1972, when he became a member of the ACLU National Council. In 1969 he co-founded the Center for Constitutional Rights. Kunstler also worked with the National Lawyers Guild. To many, Kunstler's image was that of a flamboyant radical. He defended many controversial clients, including Salvador Agron, Lenny Bruce, H. Rap Brown, Jack Ruby, Abbie Hoffman, Assata Shakur, Angela Davis, Jerry Rubin, Martin Luther King, Lemuel Smith, Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali, Ibrahim A. Elgabrowny, Gregory Johnson, Wayne Williams, Larry Davis and Gary McGivern.

He gained national renown for defending the "Chicago Seven" (originally "Chicago Eight") against charges of conspiring to incite riots in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. During the trial, he and the other defense attorney, Leonard Weinglass, were cited for contemp (the convictions were later overturned). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kunstler

A new documentary feature, a work-in-progress, Disturbing the Universe, about William Kunstler, is being co-produced by his daughters Emily and Sarah who explore their father’s life, from middle-class family man, to movement lawyer, to “the most hated lawyer in America.” For more information visit the film's website http://www.disturbingtheuniverse.com

EMILY KUNSTLER, a filmmaker, and SARAH KUNSTLER have a production company, Off Center Media. It produces documentaries exposing injustices in the criminal justice system. Emily graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film and Video. She worked as a video producer for Democracy Now! Sarah graduated from Yale University with a BA in photography and from Columbia Law School with a JD. She is currently a criminal defense attorney. Their mother, Margaret Ratner, is the president of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice

"Our father believed that every generation has its time to struggle, and that every person has a moment in life when they are challenged to act and must choose whether to stand up and disturb the universe, or to quietly blend into the crowd and lead an unexceptional life. Why did he choose the life he did? Was he a hero? Was he a menace? And where do we, his daughters, fit into that choice? This is our first look beyond the legend, at the life he led before we were born, as well a chance to take another look at the man we knew."

WILLIAM 'BILL' MEANS (Oglala Lakota) a Vietnam combat and Wounded Knee (1973) veteran, is the Executive Director of the Opportunities Industrialization Center State Council of Minnesota. Bill is a founder of the International Indian Treaty Council and currently President of the Board. During his 9 years as Executive Director, he was responsible for the establishment of a system for documenting human rights violations against Indians. He is Co-founder of the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations and an expert on U.S. & Indian Treaty relations. Russell Means is his brother.
~ ~ ~ ~
Note: KFAI's Fall Pledge Drive runs through October 12th. Doners of $50 or more receive a copy of The Emerging Police State, a book of speeches by William Kunstler on the erosion of our civil rights. Read more. Other premiums to be announced. To donate visit http://www.kfai.org/pledge.
* * * *