Mark Rudd - Later Developments

Later Developments

In the summer of 1978, Mark and his then-girlfriend, Sue LeGrand, moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. During his time there he became an instructor of mathematics at Central New Mexico Community College (Then known as the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, or TVI for short). At the time he was hired and during his early employment at the college his years as a student radical and Federal fugitive were almost unknown to his students and other faculty members who seldom asked if he was “that” Mark Rudd. Most of these individuals were of a different generation and the name “Mark Rudd” had ceased to be a household word and he regarded this lack of critical attention with some disdain.

In 1990 he published a memoir called “Truth and Consequences: The Education of Mark Rudd” which detailed his life with SDS, the Columbia University riots, and his time as a fugitive. The book was not a commercial success and has been criticized by other Weather Underground members as being too apologetic. Many of his contemporaries, including activist Tom Hayden, have concluded that Rudd helped destroy SDS by his violent and Communist affiliations and in the end his involvement in the anti-Vietnam war movement was more negative than positive.

Rudd was interviewed in the 2002 documentary, "The Weather Underground," in which he stated that although the group's motivations, to end the Vietnam War and to oppose US imperialism, were justified, the violent actions performed in pursuit of those beliefs were questionable. He was the only former Weather member featured in the film that regretted his involvement in the group.

Today Rudd lives in western New Mexico on his ranch near the Continental Divide. Rudd maintains a website called MarkRudd.com where he frequently posts essays and other writings, including his opinions on contemporary issues, and a personal appearance schedule. He travels around the country in support of the newly reborn Students for a Democratic Society. Rudd, along with Brian Kelly of Pace SDS, have helped establish ties between the new SDS and the Kent State University movement. He recently published another book on his time with SDS and The Weathermen called “Underground: My Life with the SDS and the Weathermen” which was published by Harper Collins in 2009 and is more a personal memoir on his life and times rather than a political statement as was his first book.

Documentary filmmaker Sam Green made a 2008 short entitled "Clear Glasses", which focuses on a pair of glasses Rudd sent him.