Among the different groups at the antiwar and radical gatherings here during the late 60s and early 70s, one contingent stood out in marked contrast to the rest. Instead of the standard uniform–tie-dye, bell-bottoms, sandals, and buckskin–they wore dark T-shirts, leather jackets, baggy slacks, and pointed boots. Carrying a banner proclaiming “Revolutionary Grease,” they looked more likely to bust up a demonstration for peace than to participate in one.
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Though some in these neighborhoods of the north, northwest, southwest, and southeast sides called them “commies” and “nigger lovers,” organizers did not back off. Through their politics–part Mac, part James Dean, part Huey Newton, and part Jane Addams–they sought to convince white working-class youths to stop fighting other youths and unite with the Black Panthers and others “to fight the real enemy.” At the very least, they hoped to keep them from joining the other side.
Some others in the New Left saw them as adventurers whose leather jackets and pointy-toed shoes parodied the working-class kids they sought to organize. But the RUA organizers were an engaging, enthusiastic bunch who could turn out hundreds at picnics, rallies, and “people’s dances.” They won converts and friends using working-class or white street language, symbols, and clothing. “They didn’t dress like turkeys; they dressed like us,” recalls Rich “Pipe” Kroth, who as a kid hung out on the corner of Paulina and Barry in west Lakeview. “They dressed and talked like us. They’d drink beer on the corner with us, and they liked to party like we did. Their ideas were new to us but didn’t seem that far out.” Kroth, now an electrician, married Diane Pager, one of the organizers who descended on his neighborhood.
“The old Simon City is back together and most of us are digging the revolution. There are some problems with some fights against other gangs . . . . It’s hard to stop the old style gang-bopping so that all the people can get together to fight the real enemy.”
