Raised in the radical, Jewish culture of New York and educated in progressive schools of the 1950’s, the left has always been an important part of Barbara Epstein’s life.

She became truly political in the 9th grade while writing an assignment on the 1958 gubernatorial elections that required her to interview Republicans, Democrats, and Socialists, during which she confronted the Republicans with the idea that Socialism seemed better than Capitalism. Rebuffed by the Republicans, she joined a socialist study group and spent the year interviewing leftists and reading Marxist works.

She joined the student chapter of SANE (Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy) and eventually became chair of high school SANE. Conflict emerged within SANE as adult members pushed an anti-Communist pledge against which students held out for four years. Epstein, on principle, refused to say whether she was a Communist or not despite the reaction within SANE. She left high school feeling that the anti-Communists were destroying the movement and joined the Communist Party in college.