Terry Robbins - Weathermen (1969)

Weathermen (1969)

In a special edition of the New Left Notes for the upcoming 1969 SDS National Convention, Robbins and ten other SDS members had created a manifesto for students to become revolutionaries. Taking inspiration from Bob Dylan’s track Subterranean Homesick Blues, Robbins had played with the meanings of the line “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” which later became the title for the Weathermen’s founding statement for their organization and developed the Weathermen Organization’s identity.

In response to the resignation of Mike Klonsky (National Secretary for SDS in 1968–1969 and RYM leader) and his opposition to the Weather’s theoretical paper and their dismissal of the white working class as "hopelessly reactionary," both Robbins and Mark Rudd challenged Klonsky’s approach by insisting that the first and most urgent obligation of whites was to fight in support of the peoples of the world who were “rising up against them” and that they needed to create movements that fight, not just talk about fighting. "The aggressiveness, seriousness, and toughness of militant struggle will attract vast numbers of working class youth."

Being one of the people in charge of the organizing and planning the national action for the organization, Robbins was based in Chicago, Illinois. During one of his visits to the local collectives and attending one of their meetings he had responded to a comment of a female SDS member in a very offensive tone. Some female members, including Chicago SDS/Weathermen Cathy Wilkerson, challenged him and accused Robbins of being sexist and disrespectful of a woman’s opinion. After a scuffle had broken out, Robbins and the women sat down to try and resolve their issues. In the end Robbins and the women agreed to disagree. A kinship between Wilkerson and Robbins began to develop, which eventually led to an intimate relationship.