Bernie Sanders Happy to See Photo of That Time Chicago Cops Arrested Him

CHICAGO, IL – The sudden appearance of a decades-old photo showing a young man turned presidential hopeful being dragged away by two cops would, under many circumstances, be devastating to a campaign.

For Bernie Sanders, this black-and-white image offers welcome proof of his civil rights chutzpah.

As a 21-year-old University of Chicago student, Sanders participated in an August 1963 protest on the South Side over black schoolchildren being segregated into trailer classrooms instead of being allowed in white schools with plenty of room. Sanders was dragged away by two Chicago police officers who tossed him into a paddy wagon. The protest took place in Englewood, near South 73rd Street and Lowe Avenue.

A Chicago Tribune photographer recorded an image of Sanders’ arrest. A Tribune news story notes he was charged with resisting arrest, found guilty and fined $25.

A video of the arrest was also recorded and is included in a documentary project by Kartemquin Films about the 1963 protests.

• Learn more about the 1963 Protests in Chicago

Both Sanders and Hillary Clinton are courting the African-American vote and trying to bolster their credentials on civil rights issues.

• Sandra Bland’s Mom Joins Hillary Clinton in Chicago

Recently, Sanders’ rep took a hit when civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis, said he never saw Sanders during the 1960s when Sanders was working on Lewis’ Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He made the remarks during a press conference announcing the Congressional Black Caucus PAC’s endorsement of Clinton.

The Tribune offered further perspective on Sanders’ time as a student in Chicago:

Sanders’ activism at the University of Chicago has been in the news recently, after questions arose about a different photo that appeared to show Sanders addressing students at a 1962 campus sit-in. At first, several alumni identified the speaker as another man, according to the University of Chicago Library’s Special Research Center. The other man is no longer alive.

However, photographer Danny Lyon, who took that photo, contacted the research center and made available more photos from the same sequence, confirming Sanders’ identity, the center said.

MotherJones.com notes that Sanders’ GPA suffered at the University of Chicago because of his student activism. Sanders was also involved in a 15-day sit-in on the university campus over the school administration’s refusal to allow black students to rent off-campus housing.