Voices from the Left

This series highlights the political philosophies of the left over the past fifty years. In their own voices, activists such as Paul Robeson, Angela Davis and W.E.B. DuBois share their experiences from the McCarthy Era to the Civil Rights movement and into the anti-war movement of the 1960’s. Voices including the labor movement and those seeking social reform spring into focus the debate between the right and the left of the path America should take in defining “the pursuit of happiness”.

The voices of Pacifica Radio serves as a reminder of the crucial role the left played in American politics to preserve freedom of speech and promote social and economic justice.

W.E.B. Du Bois (Feb 23, 1868–1963) b. Great Barrington, Massachusetts

The legendary African American historian, sociologist, and educator William Edward Burghardt Du Bois received his PhD from Harvard in 1895. He was a co-founder of the NAACP and founded it’s Crisis magazine. He is the author of The Souls of Black Folk. In a rare recording of a speech given to the Southern California Chapter of Peace Crusade on February 20, 1953, the legendary scholar expresses the meaning of socialism

Gus Hall (Oct. 8, 1910–Oct. 30, 2000)

Gus Hall was the son of Finnish immigrants who were charter members of the American Communist Party. He joined the Youth Communist League in the late 1920’s, organized Ohio steelworkers and served in the navy during WWII. Hall became General Secretary in 1960 and his term was punctuated with controversy. As one of the preeminent spokespersons of the Communist Party USA, Hall was arrested and jailed under the Smith Act. In this address from September 27, 1959 Hall points to the government’s crackdown on the party as proof of its progress in an optimistic view “state of the movement.”

Michael Harrington (Feb. 24, 1928–1989)

Harrington was one of America’s leading thinkers of the democratic left. As a spokesperson for the socialist movement in the U.S., Harrington argued that socialist renewal is the only hope for progress and freedom in the 20th century. Harrington authored sixteen books, including The Politics of Poverty (1965), The Other America (1971), Decade of Decision (1980), The New American Poverty, (1984), and Socialism: Past and Future (1989). Speech given to a meeting of the Democratic Socialist at Commodore Hotel in New York City, 1975.

Dorothy Healy (Sept. 22, 1914–1990) b. Denver, Colorado

Known as “ a tough lady red”, Dorothy Healy’s activist career spans six decades. She joined the American Communist Party in 1928 and was organizing on the farms and in the canneries of California in the 1930’s. she was one of the few women to rise to leadership in the Party. During the McCarthy era, Healy was accused of being a subversive and was arrested under the Smith Act. She and fellow defendants took their case to the Supreme Court, and the Court subsequently declared key provisions of the Smith Act unconstitutional. In 1962 Healy’s commentary spot on KPFK, a Pacifica radio station, was questioned by the Senate Internal Security Committee. Healy continued to broadcast on Pacifica station WPFW, an din June 1996 was awarded the stations first Soap Box award. On July 27, 1990 she shared her vision for the future of socialism on KPFK’s Voices of the Left with host Donna Wilkenson. In an interview with open phones she began by responding to the question, “How would you define the socialist perspective of the 1990’s?”

Howard Fast (Nov. 11, 1914– ) b. Harlem, New York

Writer Howard Fast was like many poor youth who helped support their family. He was fortunate to find work in a local library and this opportunity would shape his life. As a mature writer he was hailed as one of the great hopes of American literature until his membership in the Communist party put him on the blacklist. Among Fast’s famous works was Spartacus, a novel which was made into the Academy Award winning movie with the screenplay written by Dalton Trumbo. He also authored novels and non fiction works including, The Naked God, (1957), Being Red (1990), The Novelist: A Romantic Protrait of Jane Austin (1992), War and Peace: Observations on Our Times (1993), and Seven Days in June (1994). Fast explained the genesis of the McCarthy Era in an interview with Gil Jardine in 1970, a period of political repression he thinks could happen again.

Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898–1976) b. Princeton, New Jersey

Paul Robeson is one of the best known artists to have been effectively banned from performing as a result of anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950’s. The son of a minister, Robeson excelled in athletics and was a world-renowned singer and actor. His portrayal of Othello in1943 was the longest running Broadway Shakespearean play. To curtail his travels, the State Department in 1950 revoked his passport. In 1956 he was called before The Hose on Un-American Activities Committee. In 1958 Robeson was interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson, renowned journalist and program director at KPFA and Harold Winkler, one of the early Presidents of the Pacifica Foundation.

John Henry Faulk (1913–1990) b. Texas

A nationally syndicated radio and television commentator, John Henry Faulk was put on a “blacklist” by oneo f the self appointed vigilante groups of the 1950’s, Aware Inc. He sued Aware and ultimately won a judgement of $3.5 million. His down home sense of humor, much like a modern day Jim Hightower, runs throughout his speeches. The vigilante nature of the “red-scare” and its impact on a democratic society are the focus of a talk given by John Henry Faulk to students at the University of Texas at Austin on November 6, 1969.

Angela Davis (June 26, 1944– ) b. Birmingham, Alabama

Angela graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brandeis University in 1965 and was hired to teach at the University of California. She became involved with the politics of Berkeley and spoke openly about her beliefs. Although the witch hunts of the 50’s were supposed to be over, Davis was fired by the UC Regents in 1969 for refusing to sigh a loyalty oath. Davis has authored If They Come in the Morning (1971) and Angela Davis: With My Mind of Freedom (1974). This is an interview with Sherman Pearl, Davis tells the story of her struggle, She is joined by her UCLA colleague, Wade Savage Davis.

I.F. Stone (Dec. 24, 1907–June 18, 1989) b. Philadelphia, PA

As a journalist, editor and commentator, I.F. Stone’s career spanned six and a half decades. Aligning with the old left during the 1930’s, Stone participated in political movements associated with American radicalism and later served as an inspiration for the New Leftists of the 60;s. Self defined as a Marxist, Socialists and Jeffersonian, Stone published I.F. Stone’s Weekly for 19 years. He was also a regular contributor to the Nation Magazine and authored The Trial of Socrates (1988). His life story is told in Izzy: A Biography of I.F. Stone written by Robert C. Cottrell, and published by Rutgers University Press, 1992. When Stone spoke to an audience at Loyola Marymount University on Veteran’s Day in 1981, he said it should still be called Armistice Day. In Stone’s opinion it was the military-industrial complex that succeeded in changing the name and gave the nation over to the politics of greed.

Dorothy Day (Nov. 8, 1897–1980) b. Brooklyn, New York

In the forefront of the early world peace efforts came the Catholic Workers’ Movement, founded by Dorothy Day. Day was committed to causes of the poor, to peace and to nonviolence. She was eulogized by the New York Times as a “…leader for more than fifty years in numerous battles for social justice.” She served as inspiration for activists such as Cesar Chavez, Thomas Merton, and Michael Harrington. She penned her biography The Long Loneliness in 1952. Day was interviewed by Eugene Boyle in 1960 about how the Catholic Worker began.

William Kunstler (July 7, 1909–1995) b. New York