Our Blood, Our Proof | David Kader

Our Blood, Our Proof

David Kader

As I approach the 50th anniversary of my graduation from law school and now past 5 years since receiving Emeritus status from the law school at Arizona State University I wish to share a poem I wrote in 1972. It was a poem that appeared on my law school graduation program and sought to capture the celebration of that day by commemorating the events of the prior few tumultuous years during my law study class.

In an effort to provide historical context for the poems text here is a sample of just a few of the events from the Fall of 1969 until the summer of 1972. Events that informed me and thus the poem I here wish to share.

FALL/WINTER 1969: Members of the Manson Family slaughter Sharon Tate and others. The Woodstock Music Festival takes place. Lt. William Calley charged for the 1968 My Lai Massacre of over 100 Vietnamese civilians. The Chicago Eight trial begins. The Zodiac Killer kills once more. Anti-Viet Nam War demonstrations take place throughout the U.S. American Indians take Alcatraz Island and begin a long occupation. The second Apollo mission to the moon occurs. Draft military lottery instituted, first since W.W.II. 1970: Chicago Seven found not guilty of major charges. First Earth Day takes place. Beatles break up. Apollo 13 heads to the moon, but is forced to abort mission and return to Earth. U.S. invades Cambodia as apart of the Viet Nam War, provoking large anti-war movement protests. Four Kent State University students are killed and others wounded, by the Ohio State National Guard, during protests against bombing of Cambodia. Two students at Jackson State University in Mississippi are killed and others wounded by law enforcement in response to demonstrations. Commercial aircraft are hijacked by terrorists for the Liberation of Palestine. Jimi Hendrix dies. PBS begins broadcasting. Janis Joplin dies. Trudeau’s comic strip Doonesbury debuts. Environmental Protection Agency begins, as does the Occupational Safety and Health Act. 1971: Apollo 14 and the third lunar landing mission heads to the moon and returns safely to Earth. Lt. Calley found guilty of 22 murders. Marches continue against the Viet Nam war. The Pentagon Papers are published by the N.Y.Times. Jim Morrison of The Doors dies. Voting age lowered to 18 by the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Apollo 15 to the moon and back to Earth.

First half of 1972: The space shuttle program was inaugurated early that year and Shirley Chisholm became the first African American member of Congress to seek the presidency of the country. President Nixon visited China, as peace talks in Viet Nam stalled. The Equal Rights Amendment succeeded in the Congress and began the ratification process in the states. Governor Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed in an assassination attempt. The Watergate break-in occurs. The first U.S. female rabbi is ordained. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty is unconstitutional. Bobby Fischer defeats Boris Spassky to become the first U.S. world chess champion.

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