Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington (1928 - 1989) was a socialist activist, member of the League for Industrial Democracy, and generally credited with inspiring LBJ's War on Poverty.[1][2][3]
Democratic Socialists of America
Harrington is one of the original organizers and founders of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).[4][5] DSA membership is non-democratic, and not available to non-Marxists. "Democracy" and voting rights within the group only exist for dedicated Marxists to further the group's Marxist platform and agenda.
DSA founding convention
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee founding convention Socialism'73 took place in New York City, October 12 and 13, 1973, NY University. Speakers included;
- David Lewis, leader, New Democratic Party of Canada, "US economic imperialism".
- Michael Harrington
- Workshops on the unions, feminism, racial equality, Democratic Party, equality and Detente with David Selden, Rose Laub Coser, Doug Ireland, Michael Walzer, Bogdan Denitch, Christopher Lasch
- Panel on "socialism and the welfare state" with Irving Howe, Erazim Kohak, Norman Birnbaum.[6]
In These Times sponsors
In 1976 founding sponsors of the Institute for Policy Studies/New American Movement linked socialist journal were;
- Robert Allen
- Julian Bond
- Noam Chomsky
- Barry Commoner
- Al Curtis
- Hugh DeLacy (1910-1986
- William Domhoff
- Douglas Dowd
- David Du Bois
- Barbara Ehrenreich
- Daniel Ellsberg
- Frances Putnam Fritchman
- Stephen Fritchman
- Barbara Garson
- Eugene D. Genovese
- Emily Gibson
- Michael Harrington (1928-1989)
- Dorothy Healey (1914-2006)
- David Horowitz
- Paul Jacobs (1918-1978)
- Arthur Kinoy
- Ann J. Lane
- Elinor Langer
- Jesse Lemisch
- Salvador Luria (1912-1991)
- Staughton Lynd,
- Harry Magdoff (1913-2006)
- Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979)
- Carey McWilliams (1905-1980)
- David Montgomery
- Carlos Munoz, Jr.
- Harvey O'Connor (1897-1987)
- Jessie Lloyd OâConnor (1904-1988)
- Earl Ofari
- Ronald Radosh
- Paul Schrade
- Derek Shearer
- Stan Steiner (1925-1987)
- Warren Susman (1927-1985)
- Paul Sweezy (1910-2004)
- E.P. Thompson (1924-1993)
- Namoi Weisstein
- William A. Williams (1921-1990)
- John Womack, Jr.[7]
Democratic Agenda/Socialist Caucus
For groups and organizations seeking radical social change within the Democratic Party, the National Convention of 1980 had at least one historic first - formation of a Socialist Caucus of delegates. Organized by the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and by the Democratic Agenda which was DSOC's cadre and supporters within the Democratic Party and was based in DSOC' s New York office and at 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC. Some 31 delegates and alternates from twelve states and Democrats Abroad attended the Socialist Caucus.
As a preliminary to the convention's Socialist Caucus meeting, indeed as a "building event" and as a continued show of support for Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the Democratic Agenda sponsored a convention rally at New York's Town Hall. The speakers included Herman Badillo, Julian Bond, Fran Bennick, Harry Britt, Cesar Chavez, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI}, Douglas Fraser, Murray Finley, Michael Harrington, Terry Herndon, Ruth Jordan, Ruth Messinger, Eleanor Smeal, Gloria Steinem and William Winpisinger.
DSOC works within the Democratic Party, said Harrington, because of the party's relationships with organized workers, blacks, feminists, environmentalists and other "progressive[[ groups."
The Socialist Caucus circulated a list of convention delegates who were caucus members, including;[8]
- Alice Papon, AZ
- Debbie Anderson, CA
- Helen Barrios, CA
- Harry Britt, CA
- Muriel Brownstein, CA
- Mickey Flacks, CA
- Vivial Hall, CA
- Dolores Huerta, CA,
- Amy King, CA
- Ted Neima, CA
- Mike Nye, CA
- Raoul Teilhet, CA
- Richard Sklar, CA
- Patricia Dillon, CT
- Kristine Blackwood, DC
- Steve Ramirez, DC
- Bill Simons, DC
- Jerry Wurf, DC
- Julian Bond, GA
- William Winpisinger, MD
- Vivian Hall, MA
- Brian Maranhoa, MA
- Ms. Su Finkbinder, MI
- Martin Gerber, MI
- Millie Jeffrey, MI
- Isabel Laluz, MI
- Gerald Maginelli, MI
- Bernice Selden, MI
- David Selden, MI
- Earl Bourdon, NH
- Henry Berger, NY
- Jim Chapin, NY
- David Dinkins, NY
- Elaine Drucker, NY
- Ed Gray, NY
- Patrick Kelly, NY
- Ruth Messinger, NY
- Libby Moroff, NY
- Cleveland Robinson, NY
- Gerry Cohen, NC
- Margaret Lynch, OH
- Judy Watts, OR
- Harold Rosenthal, PA
- Sue Rosenthal, PA
- Craig Murphy, TX
- Ray Majerus, WI
- Louise Uphoff, WI
- David Fleishman (foreign)
Harrington symposium
On November 15 2007, the Tamiment Library in NYC held a symposium celebrating the life and work of Democratic Socialists of America Founding Chair Michael Harrington (1928-1989) and the official opening of the Harrington Papers. Invited speakers included DSA National Director Frank Llewellyn.[9]
References
- â Kurtz, Stanley (2010). Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism. Simon and Schuster, 31.Â
- â Horowitz, David (2006). The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party. Simon and Schuster, 85.Â
- â Everything you need to know about the war on poverty. Washington Post (January 8, 2014). â"Many historians, such as Harrington biographer Maurice Isserman, credit Harrington and the book [The Other America] (which John F. Kennedy purportedly read while in office, along with the MacDonald review) with spurring Kennedy and then Johnson to formulate an anti-poverty agenda"â
- â Newsletter of the Democratic Left, October 1973, page 3
- â Democratic Left, Sep. 1975, page 2
- â [1] Newsletter of the Democratic Left, October 1973, page 6
- â [2] In These Times home page, accessed March 6, 2010
- â Information Digest, September 19, 1980, p 333
- â TYR, Jan. 2008