TED JOY: The real influence was Red Rudi Dutschke who came to prominence during the French student rebellion of the late 1960s.

I'm going to put something together on Alinsky and his role in Chicago, with the Archdiocese of Chicago being a center of power in the context of the Interfaith Movement.

I position Alinsky as a Gramsci Marxist in recognition that, at least operatively, that's how he rolled. If… pic.twitter.com/4uiOptmgqV

— Stephen Coughlin (@S_Coughlin_DC) April 13, 2026

From Ted Joy,

Having been around during the Movement days of the '60s and '70s I agree with you that this started with Antonio Gramsci during the time of World War I.

But, at least amongst the Movement people that I knew, Alinsky was not especially influential. The real influence was Red Rudi Dutschke who came to prominence during the French student rebellion of the late 1960s.