Jeffrey Haas: Civil Rights Attorney / Criminal Defense for Standing Rock Water Rights / Author of “The Assassination Of Fred Hampton”

The scene:
We are sitting in the office that Jeff’s wife Mariel built into the garage. It’s the most formal environment selected by my interviewees thus far, but it’s fitting coming from a lawyer ;) Jeff is a spry 80 yrs old and is seemingly stoic and intimidating, but he warms right up when I start prodding him to tell me what the 60s Summer of Love was all about. Join us for a very colorful storytelling of Jeff’s and US history - a memoir of sorts.

Highlights:
+ Board member of the Water Protector Legal Collective

+ Active in the National Lawyers Guild for over 50 years

+ Practiced law in Chicago from 1969-2002

+ Grew up in Atlanta, Georgia

+ Parents are Jewish and supported the Civil Rights Movement

+ Grandfather was an attorney

+ Dad worked with John Lewis on the voter education project 

+ Mom helped integrate hotels in Atlanta

+ Was the president of a fraternity

+ Volunteered for active duty to prevent getting drafted

+ Studied Law at the University of Chicago in the mid 60’s at the time of the riots and anti-war movements

+ First job was at Legal Aid helping the black community build affordable housing

+ Founded the People’s Law Collective

+ Spent 13 years in a civil suit to prove and prosecute the FBI and Chicago Police Dept for murdering Fred Hampton, the leader of the Black Panthers

+ Went back to school in his 60’s for an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction Writing in order to write his book like a memoir

+ Writing is an experience in self-revelation

+ Learning to write not just what happened but how you felt about it

+ Inspired by George Orwell’s memoirs

+ The value of group critiques for developing writing

+ Having a fundamental sense of justice

+ Having a mind for math, logic, and chess

+ Reacting to the time’s politics shaped the trajectory of his life

+ He’s a “reluctant revolutionary”

+ Not just a lawyer for the movement but also a part of the movement

+ There’s a difference between empathizing with or exploiting the prejudices of your crowd (manipulation)

+ When the long-reigning majority fears losing their power, totalitarian regimes tend to set in

+ Movie: Youth vs. the Government

+ The difference between empathy and sympathy, walking together vs. “saving”

+ It’s important to do things in life that make you uncomfortable

+ Using your privilege to benefit others without it

+ Are you part of the solution or are you part of the problem?

+ Office meetings on acid in the forest

+ Having a front-row seat on history

+ The camaraderie of working with a group

+ Climate change is a major issue

+ How do you show the governments’ complicity?

+ Top priority call to action: confronting the fossil fuel industry

Taste:
“If you recognize climate change, you recognize the collective need to deal with it - the governments and people acting together. Private enterprise/capitalism is not going to solve climate change. [...] Acknowledging climate change means you can’t make profit all the time.”

Saying:
“Evil doesn’t succeed because of the actions of evil people, it’s the non-actions of good people that allows evil to prevail.”