A Fugitive Childhood: Memoir of Life Underground with Weather Underground Parents

“My mother’s radicalization stemmed from the assassinations of Black civil rights leaders and the escalation of the Vietnam War.”

Zayd Ayers Dohrn, son of former Weather Underground leaders Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, has published a memoir titled Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground. The book recounts his childhood spent underground and on the run as the FBI pursued his parents.

The Parent's Radical Past

Dohrn’s mother, Bernardine Dohrn, was a leader of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and co-founded the Weather Underground, a group that advocated armed resistance against the U.S. government. The organization planted bombs in locations such as empty police cars and the Pentagon—issuing advance warnings to avoid casualties. Bernardine Dohrn was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for years.

A Life in Hiding

Dohrn received fake identities using birth certificates of deceased children from rural cemeteries. The family lived a precarious existence, constantly moving to evade law enforcement.

Bernardine Dohrn surrendered to authorities in 1980, served nearly a year in prison, then became a lawyer. Bill Ayers earned a doctorate in education. The family later settled in Chicago, where Dohrn attended school and played Little League.

Family Ties and Prison Visits

Dohrn’s parents took custody of Chesa Boudin, whose parents were imprisoned for their role in the 1981 Brinks robbery, which resulted in the deaths of a police officer and two guards. Dohrn described visiting his mother in prison and smuggling small books to her.

Mission and Motivation

Dohrn noted that the Weather Underground's mission was "to overthrow the United States government." He stated that his mother's radicalization stemmed from the assassinations of Black civil rights leaders and the escalation of the Vietnam War.

A Complicated Legacy

Dohrn said he disagrees with much of his parents’ actions but respects their opposition to the Vietnam War and racism. The memoir’s title references the Jefferson Airplane song "We Can Be Together," capturing the tension between revolutionary fervor and family life.