Oral history interview with Bradford Lyttle, 2000
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Members of the Columbia University community may log in here to access this content.
Terms of Use: The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than your own private study, scholarship, or research. Any subsequent copying, downloading or distributing materials accessed by you in the Columbia University Libraries Digital Libraries Collection that are subject to copyright protection may constitute copyright infringement. In addition, Columbia University Libraries may employ technical measures to prevent any further copying, downloading, or distribution of the materials. A violation of these terms may subject you to potential liability for copyright infringement. For more information about copyright, fair use and permissions, refer to Columbia University Library’s Copyright Advisory Services at https://copyright.columbia.edu, and the Copyright & Permissions for Online Exhibitions & Digital Collections.
- Name
- Lyttle, Bradford (Interviewee)
- Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017 (Interviewer)
- Title
- Oral history interview with Bradford Lyttle, 2000
- Other Titles
- Reminiscences of Bradford Lyttle, 2000; Oral history of Bradford Lyttle, 2000
- Abstract
- Lyttle begins this interview by discussing his father, a Unitarian minister from Cleveland, Ohio and his mother, an activist from Brooklyn, New York. Lyttle cites stories of his mother's experience with Frederick Douglass, the Underground Railroad, and the radical humanitarian movement as early influences. Lyttle goes on to describe his childhood and adolescence in Hyde Park, Chicago. Lyttle explai ns his engagement with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which began in high school and increased throughout his undergraduate studies at Earlham College, Indiana. Lyttle discusses the nature of protests in Indiana, the Ku Klux Klan, and the influence of his roommate, conscientious objector James Otsuka. In the next portion of the interview, Lyttle delves into his decision to participate in anti-war activism of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He describes being held in the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners as a conscientious objector to the Korean War, and discusses his experience traveling abroad after being released. He discusses his work for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as well as his participation in anti-nuclear demonstrations and the San Francisco-to-Moscow Walk for Peace. The remainder of this interview pertains to Lyttle's postgraduate pursuits and later life. Lyttle describes the publication of the Speak Truth to Power pamphlet and his experiences in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Lastly, Lyttle describes the policing and gentrification of Chicago as it relates to the University of Chicago, and his founding the United States Pacifist Party
- Collection Name
- Sheila Michaels civil rights organization oral history collection
- Subjects
- Pacifism; Peace movements--History--20th century.--United States; Imprisonment--United States; Draft resisters; Lyttle, Bradford; Committee for Nonviolent Action; Congress of Racial Equality; American Friends Service Committee
- Format
- oral histories
- Genre
- Interviews
- Date
- 2000
- Physical Description
- 125 pages
- Note (Biographical)
- Bradford Lyttle is an American peace activist. Lyttle was born 1927 in Chicago, Illinois to a politically active family and attended Hyde Park High School and Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. He studied American Literature and Political Science i n postgraduate programs at the University of Chicago. Lyttle joined the Committee for Non-Violent Action (CNVA) in the 1950s. Through the CNVA, Lyttle led several peace walks: the San Francisco-to-Moscow Walk from 1960-1961; from Nashville, Tennessee to Washington, D.C. in 1962; and the Quebec-to-Guantanamo Walk of 1963. In 1974, Lyttle moved to New York City. In 1983, Lyttle founded the United States Pacifist Party, with which he ran for president in 1984 and 1996. By the 2020s, he again lived in Chicago
- Note
- Interviewed by Sheila Michaels on September 1, 2000
- Note (Provenance)
- Sheila Michaels, Gift circa 2000-2005
- Language
- English
- Library Location
- Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
Browse Location’s Digital Content - Catalog Record
- 11604195
- Also In
- Oral History Archives at Columbia
- Time-Based Media
- Time-Based Media
- Persistent URL
- https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-ncp6-9427
- Related URLs
- Available digital content for this interview.