Vietnam Summer Records

The idea for Vietnam Summer originated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, among a group of clergymen, university professors, students and individuals from Boston area peace and civil rights groups. Their initial pamphlet called for student volunteers for a “Vietnam Teach Out.” A press conference on April 23, 1967, in Cambridge launched Vietnam Summer nationally when Martin Luther King, Jr., Benjamin Spock, and others called for a national Vietnam Summer Project which would reach out to concerned citizens in their communities and neighborhoods across the nation and weld them into an organized and active constituency against the war in Vietnam.

National headquarters were first established at 129 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge. Early in June, the national office was moved to larger quarters in the Cambridge Friends School, 5 Cadbury Road, Cambridge, where it remained until September when a few staff members moved to Christ Church, Garden Street, Cambridge, for the close-out period. Vietnam Summer officially ended on September 20, 1967. Richard R. Fernandez and Lee D. Webb were Co-Directors of Vietnam Summer; Gergory H. Finger served as Assistant to the Co-Directors.

By the end of August, Vietnam Summer had over 26,000 volunteers working in about 700 local projects throughout the U.S. There were 500 full-time staff members: 125 hired by the National Office (35 in the Cambridge headquarters), 60 by the six regional offices, 65 by projects with seed grant money (about $50,000 was given to over 100 local projects, primarily for staff salaries), and 250 by local projects with locally-raised funds. Vietnam Summer was intended to be a short-term project rather than a new organization. It was committed to growth and results within a limited time period and was less concerned with organizational structure, resolutions, or political rhetoric. Volunteers worked with existing peace and civil rights groups and with community organizations on projects which were locally designed and locally controlled. Vietnam Summer sought to strengthen the peace movement by reaching groups not previously involved and by expanding into new geographic areas. The national and regional offices strengthened the local peace activity by providing organizational and technical skills and a variety of support services. Two Vietnam Summer Training Institutes were held in late June in Cleveland and San Francisco for about 500 volunteers from a broad spectrum of socio-economic groups.

Throughout the U.S., volunteers (many of them students) participated in Vietnam Summer by canvassing door-to-door, counseling on draft resistance, holding teach-ins, conducting local demonstrations, and disseminating anti-war literature. The national office, through use of WATS lines, regular mailings, and a variety of publications provided ideas and information and served as a communications center. Vietnam Summer News, and a biweekly newspaper, provided coverage of Vietnam Summer projects and peace activities in general. By the sixth issue in late August, circulation had risen to 65,000 copies. Other significant publications include the Vietnam Summer Organizers' Manual, Project Profiles, and and Vietnam in the Classroom, and a curriculum guide prepared by the Teachers' Project. Lists of contacts throughout the U.S. were also compiled and updated throughout the summer.

The national office of Vietnam Summer closed officially on September 20, 1967. Many of the local projects fostered by Vietnam Summer continued beyond that date, working independently or with other national peace organizations.