Guide Note

William C. Ayers is a professor and former member of the militant Weatherman organization. He currently teaches education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Fast Facts

1. Born: 1944
2. Lives in Hyde Park, Chicago with his partner, Bernardine Dohrn, and his father
3. 2001: Published Fugitive Days
4. 1970-1974: Weathermen took responsibility for 12 bombings
5. University of Illinois: teaches interpretive and qualitative research, urban school change, teaching and the modern predicament
6. His articles featured in many journals including the Harvard Educational Review

As a member of the left wing Weatherman organization, he had a role in the 1970 bombings of New York City Police Headquarters, the Capitol building in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972. He came from an affluent background, living in an upper-class Chicago suburb. According to his autobiography, Ayers became a political activist after being radicalized at the University of Michigan. During his years there, he became involved in the New Left and Students for a Democratic Society.

Ayers has been a supporter and campaign contributor to Obama since the mid-1990s, when Obama spoke at a political event at Ayers' home. There is consistent debate as to the relationship between the two men, with both John McCain and one-time Obama opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton mentioning the connection. Obama has distanced himself from Ayers, arguing that "he's not somebody who I exchanged ideas from on a regular basis."¹

"I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough."—Bill Ayers²

"The notion that … knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn’t make much sense."—Barack Obama, on his relationship with Ayers¹

Obama Know Enough Ad | Weather Underground | American Issues Project | Barack Obama | John McCain | Stanley Kurtz