--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This 1965. We went to trial on our city…" description: "\"This 1965. We went to trial on our city. We were obviously borrowing tactics and strategy from the Black freedom movement, and we were echoing their ap..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/bill-ayers-1848_approach_this-1965-we-went-to-trial-on-our-city-w_1834373.png" --- # This 1965. We went to trial on our city. We were obviously… ![“This 1965. We went to trial on our city. We were obviously borrowing tactics and strategy from the Black freedom movement, and we were echoing their approach to things.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/bill-ayers-1848_approach_this-1965-we-went-to-trial-on-our-city-w_1834373.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/bill-ayers-1848_approach_this-1965-we-went-to-trial-on-our-city-w_1834373.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/bill-ayers-1848_approach_this-1965-we-went-to-trial-on-our-city-w_1834373.png) > “This 1965. We went to trial on our city. We were obviously borrowing tactics and strategy from the Black freedom movement, and we were echoing their approach to things.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker notes that their protest tactics were directly inspired by the Black freedom movement, indicating strategic borrowing and solidarity. **In simple terms:** Protest methods were borrowed from Black activists. Key Takeaway Learn from past movements to shape current activism. Themes activism solidarity strategy history Mood reflective motivational strategic Type activist educational When to use this quote - community organizing - political campaigns - education workshops Key Concepts nonviolent resistance civil rights movement tactics Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can we adapt without losing authenticity? - How can we honor original movements? A Different Perspective Copying tactics may ignore unique contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Tactics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactics/) [Tactics and strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactics-and-strategy/) [Trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trial/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [It's not Lyndon Johnson who makes the black freedom movement; it's the black freedom movement who makes Lyndon Johnson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-s-not-lyndon-johnson-who-makes-the-black-freedom-movement-it-s-the/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. 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Some scholars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theda-skocpol/the-timing-characteristics-of-state-intervention-affect-not-only/) Theda Skocpol ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. 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I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. 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