Jane Fonda - Political Activism

Political Activism

During the 1960s, Fonda engaged in political activism in support of the Civil Rights Movement, and in opposition to the Vietnam War. Fonda's visits to France brought her into contact with leftist French intellectuals who were opposed to war, an experience that she later characterized as "small-c communism".

Along with other celebrities, she supported the Alcatraz Island occupation by American Indians in 1969, which was intended to call attention to failures of the government in treaty rights and the movement for greater Indian sovereignty.

She likewise supported Huey Newton and the Black Panthers in the early 1970s, stating "Revolution is an act of love; we are the children of revolution, born to be rebels. It runs in our blood." She called the Black Panthers "our revolutionary vanguard", and said "we must support them with love, money, propaganda and risk."

Fonda has also been involved in the feminist movement since the 1970s, which dovetails with her activism in support of civil rights.