Many readers of Alte know about the Boudins, a legendary family of leftists, intellectuals, and even, a son who is a Republican-appointed Federal judge. I’ve always wanted to write about them, but somehow never felt I could do them justice. The Boudins shaped my life in thousands of ways. Because Kathy Boudin’s memorial is in a few weeks, I thought I’d try telling my small story now.
In the late seventies and early eighties, I was working for a paper called American Report, a publication of Clergy and Laity Concerned, illustrious organization formed by Rabbi Heschel, Dr. King, and many others to end the war in Vietnam. The paper’s editor in chief was Robert Hoyt, former press secretary to Eugene McCarthy when McCarthy ran for president. He talked to me about how I’d cover the Pentagon Papers trial, and I said I’d heard Leonard Boudin, Ellsberg’s lawyer, was married to a wonderful poet named Jean who was sitting right there with him in the courtroom. Larry Birns, a friend who lived in the village, was a friend of the Boudins. He had Jean’s number. She answered, and agreed to write a piece about the trial and it was wonderful: full of insight, poetic, funny, entirely original. We agreed to meet when they returned to New York and Jean invited me to dinner at their apartment, half a floor on St. Luke’s place next door to Robert DeNiro. I walked into their apartment and wanted to stay forever. Jean didn’t cook, but she always had many interesting people for dinner and I was lucky enough to be there all the time. There was food, but it was a sidebar – maybe Chinese, maybe Italian, often from somewhere else. What was wonderful was the conversation, lively, and never ending. The unspoken requisite was that every guest could talk a lot. I met so many amazing people there, including Jean’s sister Esther’s husband, Izzy Stone, another hero then and now.
In the early eighties, when I was coming home from my first book fair in Frankfurt, the Boudin’s daughter Kathy, part of the Weather Underground, was arrested in a robbery in Nyack. Kathy went to jail for 23 years where she continued her work as an women’s prison organizer. I went to St. Luke’s Place the day after Kathy’d been arrested. Surrounded by supportive friends, the Boudins weathered the pain of Kathy’s arrest with persistence and grace. Kathy had a child with David Gilbert, a boy named Chesa, Swahili for dancing feet. Sometimes I would pick up Chesa from pre-school, and Jean would come to retrieve him. Eventually he was raised by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, two other incredible people, and against all odds, Chesa was elected DA of San Francisco a few years ago. Mainstream Democrats didn’t like his restorative justice politics, and he was recalled last spring. But that’s far from the end of his story.
When Kathy was released from prison, she and Cheryl Wilkins, a friend from Bedford Hills prison, went to Columbia University and created an institute with the law school and school of social work called Beyond the Bars, for formerly incarcerated women. She left prison full of plans, full of energy, optimism and love. She gave love and she received it. Once again I was Boudin lucky and got to teach writing with the women in Beyond the Bars, and spend some time with Kathy. We would celebrate Jean’s birthday (Jean was born on leap year Feb 29) by reading her charming poems together.
After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Kathy died in the spring. In two weeks there will be a large public celebration of Kathy’s inspired and inspiring life. People from all over the world will be there. But no one can do her or her family the justice they deserve.
More about Kathy, and the official invitation, are here. Just the way she lived her life, all our welcome.
Official Notice:
There will be a remembrance and celebration of our dear Kathy Boudin on Saturday September 10th in New York
You can rsvp here:
https://rememberingkb.eventbrite.com
Our beloved Kathy Boudin died on May Day 2022 with her son Chesa Boudin and her life partner David Gilbert by her side. After a seven-year fight with cancer she died surrounded by lifelong friends and family members.
Kathy lived an incredible life and leaves behind a living legacy of justice, community and care. So many of us are lucky to be a part of the vast constellation of community that Kathy wove throughout her life and we hope that you will join us to remember and to celebrate her.
You can read more about the life and legacy of Kathy Boudin here.
The remembrance and celebration is being held on Saturday September 10th beginning at 1pm est in Morningside Heights in New York City. The address will be sent to everyone who registered a few days before the memorial and celebration. There is a virtual option for those who aren't able to attend in person.
In lieu of flowers, we ask that people donate to the Kathy Boudin Freedom Fund to support the Center for Justice at Columbia University. You can donate using the link below or through the eventbrite registration.
Donate to the Kathy Boudin Freedom Fund
We are taking several COVID-19 precautions. Vaccines and masks will be required and we request that everyone attending in person take a rapid test within 24 hours prior to the remembrance.
Moving and intimate
This is wonderful and led me to many of my own memories of that time. Thanks for writing it in your distinctly graceful way.