This detailed interview with Archie Green, the faculty sponsor of the Folksong Club, begins by documenting Green’s upbringing in an immigrant enclave of California and his burgeoning class-consciousness. Although he would have preferred to work as a laborer in California, he was encouraged to become an intellectual at the University of Illinois. During his tenure as a librarian for the Institute of Industrial Relations, he helped the Folksong Club bring folk artists and folklorists to campus. A large focus of the interview is the intersection of politics and folk music. Green also discusses his relationships with various folk artists.
Joseph Hardin attended the U of I between 1965 and 1970. He was active in the counterculture and alternative scenes on campus and helped found the Walrus underground newspaper. Hardin was also active in the Students for Free Speech, and he attended the national Democratic Convention in 1968. Hardin describes his work with Earthworks Garage and the offshoot of underground newspapers that appeared after the founding of the Walrus.
Vern Fein graduated from the University of Illinois in the early 1970s. Since that time he has stayed in the community and taught. In this interview, he talks about his political activism as a student and how those experiences have shaped his life. Fein served as president of the Students for a Democratic Society and was involved in Students for Free Speech. Fein worked for the on-campus underground newspaper, Walrus, helped establish the Red Herring, and was pivotal in campus organizing.
