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 States ...

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. * Janu ...

. 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 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 Vietnam a ...

, outlined in his book ''Out Now!'' He also was a staff writer on '' The Militant'', 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, ...

.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