Fred W. Halstead (April 21, 1927 – June 2, 1988) was the
Socialist Workers Party's candidate for
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
in
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
. His running mate was
Paul Boutelle
Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu (born Paul Benjamin Boutelle; October 13, 1934 – May 3, 2016) was an activist, politician, black nationalist, and member of the Socialist Workers Party. In 1979, he changed his name to Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu.
...
.
Halstead played a significant role in the movement against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, outlined in his book ''Out Now!'' He also was a staff writer on ''
The Militant
''The Militant'' is an international socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Pathfinder Press. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Aus ...
'', the publication of the Socialist Workers Party.
Halstead was a 6′6″, 350-pound ex–garment cutter who worked briefly as a bouncer in a
country-and-western saloon in the 1950s, when he was on the
blacklist
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
.
Fred Halstead
, University of Utah Archives
Bibliography
* ''GIs Speak Out Against the War: The Case of the Ft. Jackson 8'' (1970)
* ''Out Now!: A Participant's Account of the American Movement against the Vietnam War'' (1978)
* ''What Working People Should Know About the Dangers of Nuclear Power'' (1979)
* ''The 1985-86 Hormel Meat-Packers Strike in Austin, Minnesota'' (1987)
References
1927 births
1988 deaths
Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election
20th-century American politicians
Socialist Workers Party (United States) presidential nominees
American anti–Vietnam War activists
Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians from California
Activists from California
{{California-politician-stub