Abraham Lincoln School
Encyclopedia
The Abraham Lincoln School for Social Sciences of Chicago
, Illinois
was a "broad,
nonpartisan school for workers, writers, and their sympathizers," aimed at
the thousands of African-American workers who had migrated to Chicago from the American South during the 1930s and 1940s.
It was founded by prominent civil rights activist and attorney William L. Patterson
, who had organized the defense of the Scottsboro Boys
.
The school was among the first to offer a jazz history course, taught by Frank Marshall Davis
, in 1945. In April 1947, it sponsored “Chicago Salutes Paul Robeson” at the Civic Opera House, where Lena Horne and others paid tribute to famed singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson
. Robeson's outspoken support of civil rights and the labor movement, and criticism of American foreign policy, had led to government scrutiny and resulting in his blacklisting by many concert halls.
Soon afterwards, the school was claimed to be an adjunct of the Communist Party USA
by Attorney General Tom C. Clark
in December 1947 and a target of HUAC during the years leading up to McCarthy Era.
Faculty members included Morris Backall, Michael Baker, Frank Marshall Davis
, Horace Davis
, David Englestein, Morton Goldsholl, Pat Hoverder, Alfonso Iannelli
, Leon Katzen, Ludwig Kruhe, Herschel Meyer, Henry Noyes, William L. Patterson
, Fred Ptashne, Eleanore Redwin, Boris M. Revsine, Frank Sokolik, William Rose, Herman Schendel, Bernice Targ, and Morris Topchevsky. A notice appearing in a catalog of the school stated that "prominent citizens participating in our efforts" include Paul Robeson
, Rockwell Kent
, Lee Pressman
, Howard Fast
, Albert E. Kahn
, and Henrietta Buckmaster.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
was a "broad,
nonpartisan school for workers, writers, and their sympathizers," aimed at
the thousands of African-American workers who had migrated to Chicago from the American South during the 1930s and 1940s.
It was founded by prominent civil rights activist and attorney William L. Patterson
William L. Patterson
William L. Patterson was a leader in the Communist Party USA and head of the International Labor Defense, a group that offered legal representation to communists, trade unionists, and African-Americans in cases involving issues of political or racial persecution...
, who had organized the defense of the Scottsboro Boys
Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
.
The school was among the first to offer a jazz history course, taught by Frank Marshall Davis
Frank Marshall Davis
Frank Marshall Davis was an American journalist, poet, and political and labor movement activist.-Early life:...
, in 1945. In April 1947, it sponsored “Chicago Salutes Paul Robeson” at the Civic Opera House, where Lena Horne and others paid tribute to famed singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
. Robeson's outspoken support of civil rights and the labor movement, and criticism of American foreign policy, had led to government scrutiny and resulting in his blacklisting by many concert halls.
Soon afterwards, the school was claimed to be an adjunct of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
by Attorney General Tom C. Clark
Tom C. Clark
Thomas Campbell Clark was United States Attorney General from 1945 to 1949 and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States .- Early life and career :...
in December 1947 and a target of HUAC during the years leading up to McCarthy Era.
Faculty members included Morris Backall, Michael Baker, Frank Marshall Davis
Frank Marshall Davis
Frank Marshall Davis was an American journalist, poet, and political and labor movement activist.-Early life:...
, Horace Davis
Horace Davis
Horace Davis was a United States Representative from California. He was the son of Massachusetts Governor John Davis and the younger brother of diplomat John Chandler Bancroft Davis.-Biography:...
, David Englestein, Morton Goldsholl, Pat Hoverder, Alfonso Iannelli
Alfonso Iannelli
Alfonso Iannelli was an Italian-American sculptor, artist, and industrial designer.Based in Chicago for most of his life, Iannelli was born in Andretta, Italy on February 17, 1888. He came to America in 1898...
, Leon Katzen, Ludwig Kruhe, Herschel Meyer, Henry Noyes, William L. Patterson
William L. Patterson
William L. Patterson was a leader in the Communist Party USA and head of the International Labor Defense, a group that offered legal representation to communists, trade unionists, and African-Americans in cases involving issues of political or racial persecution...
, Fred Ptashne, Eleanore Redwin, Boris M. Revsine, Frank Sokolik, William Rose, Herman Schendel, Bernice Targ, and Morris Topchevsky. A notice appearing in a catalog of the school stated that "prominent citizens participating in our efforts" include Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
, Rockwell Kent
Rockwell Kent
Rockwell Kent was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and writer.- Biography :Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York, the same year as fellow American artists George Bellows and Edward Hopper...
, Lee Pressman
Lee Pressman
Lee Pressman was a labor attorney and a US government functionary publicly exposed in 1948 for having been a spy for the Soviet foreign intelligence network during the middle 1930s...
, Howard Fast
Howard Fast
Howard Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
, Albert E. Kahn
Albert E. Kahn
Albert Eugene Kahn was an American journalist, photographer, author and nephew of modernist industrial architect Albert Kahn. Albert E. Kahn's father, Moritz Kahn, was senior engineer in the firm who set up the Kahn brothers Soviet Union operation in conjunction with Gosproekstroi...
, and Henrietta Buckmaster.