A new picture has emerged showing a 21-year-old Bernie Sanders being arrested during an Aug. 1963 civil rights demonstration on the south side of Chicago.
The black-and-white photo, which was discovered in The Chicago Tribune’s archives, shows a bespectacled man being dragged away by two Chicago police officers during an Aug. 12, 1963 demonstration being held against the Chicago public school system, which was planning to open a school for black students using mobile units known as “Willis Wagons.” Sanders was at the time a chapter president of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) at the University of Chicago.
1963 arrest photo of young activist Bernie Sanders emerges from Chicago Tribune archives https://t.co/0zYArWlYwx pic.twitter.com/bnWonq0nwn
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) February 20, 2016
It was already known that Sanders was arrested during a protest in Aug. 1963. He was found guilty of resisting arrest and was given a $25 fine. Other photos have been released showing Sanders leading demonstrations and other civil rights activities. But those were not as dramatic as the arrest picture. The discovery of the photo will likely go a long way to bolster Sanders’ civil rights credentials, which have been subtly scrutinized by some Hillary Clinton surrogates.
“Bernie identified it himself,” Tad Devine, a senior adviser to Sanders’ campaign, told The Tribune of the picture.
“He looked at it — he actually has his student ID from the University of Chicago in his wallet — and he said, ‘Yes, that indeed is [me)].'”
Devine also confirmed to The New York Times that Sanders is the man seen in a short video released earlier this week by the Chicago film company Kartemquin Films. It also shows Sanders being dragged away by police. The images in the film are not as clear as The Tribune’s photo, but it does provide a close up of Sanders as he’s being led away in handcuffs. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Bernie Sanders Being Arrested During 1963 Demonstration?)
Devine told The Times that Sanders recalled owning a watch similar to the one the man seen in the picture and video is wearing.
A man closely resembling Bernie Sanders being arrested during a Chicago demonstration in Aug. 1963. (Kartemquin Films)
