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Twelve
pages of the FBI's Einstein File concern the American Crusade to
End Lynching-considerably more space than most of his affiliations.
Perhaps this was because Hoover and his Bureau viewed the anti-lynching
campaign-much as they would later view the civil rights movement
of the 1960s-as a threat to America's national security.
The
Einstein File's ACEL section begins with a report from Army Intelligence
(G-2), described by the FBI as "a completely reliable source":
.When
in Washington, the delegation planned to call on the White House
and national figures to demand action by the administration. A
parade was scheduled to be led by colored and white veterans who
were to march to the Lincoln Memorial where a national religious
ceremony would be held and persons who escaped lynch mobs were
to be presented.Dr. Albert Einstein was scheduled to appear.
As with most of
Einstein's political activities, the FBI's reports on ACEL rely heavily
on news stories and other published material:
The
Philadelphia Inquirer.dated 9/23/46.stated EINSTEIN wrote a letter
to President HARRY S. TRUMAN assailing lynching. This letter was
to be delivered to President TRUMAN by a group headed by PAUL ROBESON.
The People's Voice dated 10/5/46 stated in part that EINSTEIN
and PAUL ROBESON were co-chairmen of the ACEL.
The
government's anti-Communism policy, most extreme during (but not
at all limited to) the 1950s, relied on the argument that the Communists
were threatening to take over the world, and a crack-down-with
the FBI as watch-dog and pointer-was necessary to stop them. The
only thing that mattered in the Bureau's evaluation of a suspect
organization-or a suspect individual like Einstein-was whether
or not they collaborated with "Reds" like Robeson. The suggestion
that the FBI might investigate lynching itself as a subversive
threat to democracy would have been considered a diversion from
Hoover's (and his Bureau's) main task: catching Communists.
When
his illness prevented him from attending the Washington anti-lynching
rally, Einstein sent a letter to be delivered to the President
by Robeson and the other ACEL leaders, but in view of what occurred
at the White House, it's uncertain that Einstein's letter was ever
handed to Truman.
After
the rally, which drew some 3,000 protesters, a multi-racial delegation,
including Robeson, Rabbi Irving Miller of the American Jewish Congress
and Mrs. Harper Sibley, president of the United Council of Church
Women and wife of the former president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
met with Truman in the Oval Office. The gentlest term that might
describe their meeting is confrontational. The following exchange
emerges from a variety of newspaper accounts, the most detailed
in the African American press: Almost as soon as Robeson began reading the group's statement
calling for immediate Executive action to stop the lynch mobs,
the President interrupted: The timing was not yet right for an
anti-lynching law, he said, and the delegation ought to appreciate
the fact that America and Great Britain were "the last refuge of freedom in the world." Somewhat less than appreciative,
Robeson answered that Britain was one of the world's "great enslavers
of human beings." Truman insisted that the moment was not propitious for a forthright statement from the
Chief Executive, according to a report in the leading black weekly, the Chicago Defender, which
added:
In
terms which left no doubt in the minds of the delegation from the
American Crusade to End Lynching, President Truman today emphatically
refused to take the initiative to end mob violence and the spread
of terrorism in America.[declaring] the whole question of lynching
and mob violence was one to be dealt with in political terms and
strategy.and patience must attend the final solution.
When Mrs. Sibley made a comparison between fascism against the Jews
in Europe and fascism in America as levied against Negroes, the
President showed impatience and a flare of temper.
Robeson said returning [black] veterans are showing signs of restiveness and indicated that they are determined to get the justice
here they have fought for abroad. Robeson warned that this restiveness might produce an emergency
situation which would require Federal intervention. The President, shaking his fist, stated this sounded
like a threat.
Robeson's
implied ultimatum that if the government would not provide protection,
black people would defend themselves was, apparently, too much
for Truman who promptly ended the meeting. (Robeson later told
the press that his remarks were "not a threat, merely a statement
of fact about the temper the Negro people.")
The
ACEL delegation left the White House without having presented their
complete statement-or Einstein's letter. None- theless, Truman
or his aides had to have known about the letter. A copy had been
mailed to the White House, and it had been quoted in the previous
day's New York Times:
The
delegation will deliver to Mr. Truman a letter from Dr. Albert
Einstein stating that security against lynching is "one of the
most urgent tasks of our generation.
"In the conviction that the overwhelming majority of the people favor
security for all against illegal violence," Dr. Einstein wrote:
"There is always a way to overcome legal obstacles whenever there is an inflexible will at work in the service of so just a cause."
Although
Robeson and the other organizers had hoped for a much larger turnout,
the ACEL contributed to the growing movement for anti-lynching
legislation. The protest rally received extensive media coverage:
the N.Y. Times and Washington Post both headlined
their stories with Robeson's implied ultimatum that the government
must act to end lynching "Or
Negroes Will." The African American press, on the other hand, emphasized
Truman's weakness: The Chicago Defender headlined its story, "Truman
Balks at Lynch Action" and the Baltimore Afro-American proclaimed: "Robeson
Proves Ability to Handle Situation." The anti-lynching protest and the publicity seemed to spur the NAACP
to intensify its own efforts against "Mob Violence." Refusing to
work with Reds like Robeson, the NAACP had boycotted the ACEL protest,
but afterwards accelerated a separate, more subdued lobbying effort-including
a more cordial meeting with Truman and other top Washington officials.
Despite
its ambitious name, the American Crusade to End Lynching was essentially
a one-protest organization and ceased activity after its Washington
demonstration. But it was a vital part of the ongoing tradition
of confrontational struggle-as opposed to total reliance on legal
suits and appeals-for civil rights in America. It would be another
ten years before Rosa Parks and other working women of Montgomery
took on that town's segregated buses and several more years before
tens of thousands of young people joined in mass anti-racist actions,
but in 1946 the rumblings had begun that would erupt into the civil
rights movement of the 1960's.
For
Einstein and Robeson, although they had met before, the ACEL marked
their mutual discovery that they shared a common wavelength. Their
bond would grow into an ongoing alliance and a friendship-albeit
little known for two such public figures.
The
legion of Einstein's biographers has totally ignored his close
ties to W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. Hens have more teeth than
Einstein's biographies have references to these two giant figures.
In
early February, 1951 a federal Grand Jury indicted Du Bois and
four other officials of the Peace Information Center for failure
to register with the Justice Department as Soviet agents (under
the Foreign Agents Registration Act). It was two weeks before the
renowned historian reached the age of 83. Einstein's FBI file reports
on his birthday party:
DINNER
TO HONOR W.E.B. DU BOIS
Counter
Attack, a weekly newsletter published by the American Business
Consultants, Inc. of New York City, on February 16, 1951 stated .that
accused "Foreign Agent Du Bois" would be honored at a hotel banquet;
that Dr. Du Bois' "long record of pro-Communist activities had
not deterred approximately 200 people (referred to as 'notables' in
Communist Party press) from tendering him a banquet in honor of
his 83rd birthday"; that the dinner was scheduled to be held at
the Essex House in New York City on February 23.
Counter
Attack stated further that the "notable" sponsors included
Dr. Albert Einstein and others.
The
February 23 dinner was, obviously, a defense rally for Du Bois
as much as a birthday party, and those who attended were making
a clear-and bold-political statement. While Einstein's sponsorship
of the dinner/protest was recorded in the FBI's catalogue of "derogatory
information," the scientist committed another act Hoover would
have considered even more un-American had he known about it: Einstein
planned to testify at Du Bois' trial. The prosecution's
presentation was so weak that the judge dismissed the case in mid-trial-Einstein
had been scheduled as the first witness for the Du Bois defense.
Between
watching Robeson and watching Einstein, Hoover's agents were able
to report on a number of their cooperative "subversive" activities,
besides the American Crusade to End Lynching in 1946. Earlier that year, the Einstein
File records:
Newark
Confidential Informant [number blacked out] advised that the JAFRC
[Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee] had a meeting on 1/23/46
at Madison, Wisc., at which time PAUL ROBESON, National sponsor,
spoke in behalf of the refugees in Spain. Literature distributed
at this meeting set forth the name of EINSTEIN as a national sponsor.
And, in 1947, when
Einstein and Robeson worked together on the Presidential campaign
of Henry Wallace:
The
Chicago Star, daily newspaper of Chicago, Illinois, dated 10/4/47,
page 2, contained a photograph of EINSTEIN together with HENRY
A. WALLACE, DR. FRANK KINGDON of the Progressive Citizens of America,
and PAUL ROBESON. (See photo.)
But
there is more to the Einstein-Robeson story. And despite his extensive
watchdog apparatus, Hoover appears to have missed the most significant
episode.
The
two men first met at a concert Robeson gave in Princeton during
the war. Einstein had gone backstage to proffer his congratulations,
and they discovered they shared both a love for music and hatred
for fascism. These were bonds which would grow stronger in the
coming years. In September 1947, there was relatively little risk
for Einstein to invite Robeson for tea-or even a photo-op with
Henry Wallace. To be sure the Red-scare campaign against Robeson
had begun-he had been denounced as a subversive by HUAC and the
American Legion and barred from auditoriums in Peoria, Illinois
and Albany, New York. But he remained one of the country's most
popular figures, and his concerts continued to sell out. The Peoria
and Albany bans appeared as just a couple of gray clouds barely
foreshadowing the coming storm.
But
things changed dramatically with the 1949 assault in Peekskill
where hundreds of New York State Police stood by, some smiling,
as rock-throwing mobs shouting racist epithets attacked cars and
buses leaving a Robeson picnic-concert. After Peekskill, Robeson
was denied employment-stage and film offers vanished, commercial
concert halls were shut to him, and even high schools and universities
barred his appearances. In 1950, the State Department decided that
Robeson's travel abroad was "contrary to the best interests of
the United States" and for the next eight years refused to issue
him a passport. His friend Lloyd Brown reports that Robeson was
even denied auto insurance, and whenever a black church invited
him to appear, the minister received a stream of threatening phone
calls.
Hoover's
agents shadowed him, tapped his phone, opened his mail, and fed
anti-Robeson allegations to HUAC and the Senate Internal Security
Sub-Committee. His mammoth FBI dossier contains a long list of
his "subversive" affiliations, and reports from Informants on his
public speeches. Radio commentators and editorials regularly denounced
Robeson as ungrateful to America-which-gave-him-so-much. By the
early 1950s, if you read the headlines and listened to news broadcasts
anywhere in America, you might well have thought the unbending
bass baritone was Public Enemy Number 1.
It
was despite-or more likely because of-that atmosphere, that Einstein
decided to invite Robeson to visit him again. What was relatively
safe in 1947 when Einstein had arranged for the photo at his home
with Wallace and Robeson, had become dangerous five years later.
Friendship with Robeson was now enough to put you on Hoover's "un-American" list.
So it was anything but a casual, off-hand gesture when Einstein
sent him a message saying he'd be delighted if Robeson would drop
by.
"Einstein's
invitation was a definite act of solidarity, especially coming
after Peekskill," Lloyd Brown remembers. A writer and Robeson's
longtime friend and colleague, Brown accompanied him on the visit
to Einstein's home in October, 1952. Arriving at the house
on Mercer Street after lunch, they were greeted by Helen Dukas
who led them upstairs where Einstein was reclining on a bed. His
health was deteriorating but, Brown says, his mind was sharp and
witty. Recalling how much he had enjoyed Robeson's concert years
earlier, Einstein asked Robeson to be sure to let him and Helen
Dukas know about his next appearance in Princeton so they could
attend.
Brown
thought it only right to advise Einstein that FBI agents were showing
up outside Robeson's concerts to copy down the license numbers
of all the cars parked outside. Einstein turned to his secretary
and indicated they could attend the concert without being identified
since they didn't have a car. "Of course, we all laughed at the
thought of Einstein coming incognito," Brown says with a chuckle.
But behind Einstein's little joke was a serious commitment -he
would not be intimidated from supporting Robeson. It set the tone
for their afternoon together.
If
Einstein's invitation had been simply to make a political statement,
only an act of symbolic solidarity, the scientist could have ended
the discussion after an hour, quite gracefully. Instead, he and
Robeson spent the entire afternoon together, engrossed in ideas. "We
didn't leave until it started to get dark outside," Brown remembers.
They talked about everything from music (Einstein regretfully said
he was no longer able to play the violin) to what was happening
in Africa (Einstein was eager to hear about how people were responding
to colonialism), and, of course, resisting McCarthyism at home.
Robeson's
description of the visit-the only written account- provides an
insight into the mood of the two men and of the times:
It
was good, once again, to clasp the hand of this gentle genius.
Recalling our previous meetings when I'd appeared there in concert
and in Othello, Dr. Einstein asked about my life today as
an artist, and expressed warm sympathy with my fight for the right
to travel.
We chatted about many things-about peace, for Dr. Einstein is truly
a man of peace; about the freedom struggles in South Africa which
interested him keenly; and about the growing shadows... being cast
over freedom of thought and expression here at home.
Though he is physically frail and not in good health, one can feel the
strength of his spirit and the glowing warmth of his compassion
for humanity. There was a note of deep sorrow and concern underlying
his comments on what is happening in our land.
As
he spoke, one could sense something of what this must mean to Einstein,
the giant of science and culture, who was driven from his homeland
by the Nazi barbarians and who felt the immeasurable tragedy that
his people suffered at their hands...
The
two men obviously enjoyed each other's company. At one point when
Robeson left the room, Brown remembers trying to make conversation
by saying, "Dr. Einstein it's really an honor to be in the presence
of a great man." Einstein's response, with just a touch of annoyance,
was: "But you came in with a great man."
Notes
1. In
1953, Einstein urged witnesses to refuse to answer questions from
the McCarthy Committee, HUAC and other Congressional "inquisitions," as
he called them. Einstein's actions were reported on the front page
of the NY Times in June and again in December, and were also
major news stories around the world.
2. From
THE EINSTEIN FILE © 2002 by Fred Jerome. Reprinted by arrangement
with St. Martin's Press, LLC.
3. In
1919, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote: "This is the country to which we Soldiers
of Democracy return..But by the God of heaven, we are cowards and
jackasses if now that the war is over, we do not marshal every ounce
of our brain and brawn to fight a sterner, longer, more unbending
battle against the forces of hell in our own land." (The Crisis,
4/1/19.)
4. Hoping
the pressure of international opinion might spur Truman and the Congress
to stop the racist terror, two organizations, the National Negro
Congress in 1946 and the NAACP in 1947, submitted separate petitions
to the United Nations documenting lynchings often unreported by the
press. The NAACP had already begun to distance itself from those
on the left like Paul Robeson and the National Negro Congress. Ironically,
the NAACP's petition to the UN was written by W.E.B. Du Bois who
would soon also be expelled for his left leanings and willingness
to work with Communists.
5. The
worldwide campaign to save the nine African American teen-agers from
Alabama, falsely accused of rape and sentenced to death in 1931,
would continue for 19 years before they were all eventually freed.
For Einstein, the Scottsboro Case was a harbinger of campaigns to
come; for the FBI, it was his first "Communist Front."
6. One
of the trustees of Princeton was Breckenridge Long, anti-Semite and
one-time lobbyist for Franco.
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