Tom Hayden

Fall 2003
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Tom Hayden was a leader of the student, civil rights and anti-war movements in the Sixties, and the environmental and anti-nuclear movements in the Seventies. As one of the early leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Tom Hayden struggled to bring about equal rights for African Americans and later, to end the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Tom became a public servant and politician, elected to the California State legislature in 1982. Tom's legislative record includes groundbreaking legislation on behalf of women, African-Americans and Latinos, Holocaust survivors and this generation's immigrants working in sweatshops. Tom was honored as "legislator of the year" by the American Lung Association for his battles against the tobacco industry, by the California League Conservation Voters for his environmental leadership, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for his civil rights achievements, the UC and Cal State student associations for his commitment to affordable higher education, the Jewish National Fund for his commitment to Israel, and the Irish-American "Top 100" by Irish America magazine. He is married to the actress Barbara Williams, with whom he has a son Liam. Tom has two grown children from an earlier marriage to Jane Fonda.

Disclaimer: This information is accurate for the time period that this person was affiliated with the Institute of Politics.

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