Prominent Professorships Attained by Three Figures Connected to Chesa Boudin's Upbringing and Radical Past

Figures closely associated with the upbringing of former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, including his legal guardians and a family member raised alongside him, went on to achieve prominent academic positions at universities. This development has drawn attention to their controversial past as leaders of the Weather Underground, a militant organization active in the 1960s and 1970s. Social media personality Garry Tan recently highlighted this, stating, > "Three out of four guardians of Chesa Boudin were or became prominent professors. You could make the strong argument none of them would have become professors without their violent extremism."

Chesa Boudin's biological parents, Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert, were convicted for their roles in a 1981 armored car robbery. Following their incarceration, Boudin was raised by Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, both former leaders of the Weather Underground. The organization was responsible for a series of bombings aimed at protesting the Vietnam War and other perceived injustices, though they claimed to avoid targeting individuals.

Bernardine Dohrn, who was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in the early 1970s, later became a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law, serving from 1991 to 2013. Her appointment faced scrutiny, and she was notably denied admission to the Illinois bar despite passing the exam, reportedly due to her criminal record.

Similarly, Bill Ayers, a co-founder of the Weather Underground, transitioned into academia, becoming a distinguished professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His academic career and past activities became a subject of national debate, particularly during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign due to his tangential association with then-candidate Barack Obama. Ayers was denied emeritus status by the University of Illinois board upon his retirement, a decision influenced by his radical past.

Adding to the academic lineage, Zayd Ayers Dohrn, the son of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn and raised alongside Chesa Boudin, also became a professor at Northwestern University. His career further illustrates the academic success achieved by individuals from this historically controversial circle. The professorships of these three individuals underscore a complex narrative where past radical activism intersects with mainstream professional life.