Dolores Huerta Stands Strong. Marlene Targ Brill

      Author’s Note

      GROWING UP in the 1960s was often confusing. Television and newspaper reports switched from good to bad, sometimes within hours—sort of like today. But I was still too young to make sense of a world beyond my immediate community, especially one that seemed so topsy-turvy.

      On the surface, the decade shouted, “Fun!” Teens celebrated peace, love, and rock and roll. Often when those peace-and-love people danced in the streets, adults registered shock or disapproval. But the economy was strong, and people had money to spend. The time seemed right for experimenting.

      When the decade began, most kids looked buttoned down and acted within the assumed rules of the day. Girls dressed in bobby sox and skirts and wore their hair in ponytails or pixie cuts. Boys sported pants and loafers and favored crewcuts or slicked-back hairstyles. By the late 1960s, many girls had switched to mod tunics, miniskirts, and tie-dyed or peasant tops. Conservative clothing in solids and plaids evolved into multicolored and wildly tailored garments that showed considerably more skin. Almost everyone wore jeans and sneakers, something out of the question years earlier. Both boys and girls grew their hair long, and males wore long, sculpted sideburns, too.

      A war was raging in Vietnam. But that was far away. At home, music and the arts championed the idea that we should all try to get along. Then war would end. Life would become less angry and complicated. Everything would be groovy, a popular term at the time.

      In 1960, Americans elected their youngest president to date. At age forty-four, John Kennedy was smart and handsome, full of new ideas. He had the personality to convince citizens to put his ideas into action. At his 1961 inauguration, he challenged the nation to “ask not what your country will do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” That simple statement dared me to think about my future and what it might bring.

      One of President Kennedy’s most popular achievements was the launch of a space program. He hoped to put a man on the moon. At first, I thought it was crazy talk. Still, it was a positive sign in a world of upheaval. That scientific triumph, which eventually took place in 1969, raised hopes of great possibilities for the future—maybe my future. I could dream.

      Besides good vibes, the decade brought radical change to nearly every segment of the population. Young people marched for civil rights for women, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and African Americans. I felt forced to think about life in a different way. Why were certain people treated as harshly as they were? Who decided that only men could obtain credit cards and bank loans? What law said that women needed to marry and raise families to be fulfilled? Why were people with disabilities locked in institutions and Native Americans forced onto barren reservations? Moreover, why were African Americans and other minorities treated as second-class citizens?

      I lived in a northern Midwestern state. I had trouble understanding why southern towns forced black people to attend separate schools, drink

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