Tom Hayden: Author and Activist

After being indicted on federal charges of conspiracy as part of the "Chicago Seven", Tom Hayden took on a pseudonym, moved briefly to Venice, and dropped out of politics. The change however, was short lived, and Tom soon became a vocal opponent of the war in Vietnam and solidified his image as a counterculture maverick. In the late 1970's, he was increasingly involved in local and state politics, serving in the California State Assembly and the State Senate and was a keen observer of the social movements affecting the inner cities. Hayden has regularly taken the Constitution to task when it comes to issues of gang violence, gentrification, property rights and racial equality.

Human Scale
"Everything in Venice is small in human scale, so even segregation is 'touchable'. You know, it's right there."

Cradle of Gang Activity
"If you go outside the balloon, and ask anybody in London or Tokyo what they think of the fact that the US has more people in jail than any country in the world, they would say that it is pathological."

Constitutional Rights
"No one has raised the question of whether this process makes beach access out of the reach of people of color, and whether that is a violation of their constitutional rights."