Reminiscences of Algernon David Black

More serendipity.  This time someone asked me about Algernon D. Black.  I shared what I had (not a whole lot outside of the Bibliography), but I got curious and went looking for more.  Black was an alumnus of Harvard, which now houses many of his papers from 1932 - 1981.  Given his active public life, there are a number of records to be found in other places.  Interestingly, there is no Wikipedia page for Black (or most other Ethical Culture Leaders), but there is a page on KeyWiki:

a bipartisan knowledge base focusing primarily on corruption and the covert side of politics in the United States and globally. While particular interest is taken in the left, KeyWiki serves to expose covert politics on both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

Along the rabbit trail to find out more about Black, I also found ArchiveGrid, which lists archives of primary resources "held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies."  One happy find was an item held by Columbia University.  It was a happy find because the material was actually digitized and available for online reading.  The ArchiveGrid entry linked to the page on Columbia Library's website about "Reminiscences of Algernon David Black, 1978."

Merritt Russell interviewed Black over several weeks about his life, including:

Immigrant background, Ethical Culture School, Harvard; early interest in civil liberties; Roger N. Baldwin; settlement house work, 1926-1933; work with West Virginia mining families, 1933; teacher and leader at Ethical Culture from 1933; co-chairman, city-wide Committee on Harlem, 1941-1947; job opportunities for blacks; state committee on fair housing, 1949; chairman of board of National Committee on Discrimination in Housing, 1950-1967; black militancy in late 1960s; chairman of Civilian Complaint Review Board of Police Department, New York City, 1966; encampments for citizenship from 1939; writing and broadcasting on ethical issues; internal security investigations[.]

These interviews were tape recorded and then transcribed.  Black read the transcripts, made corrections and additions, and, given some of the controversies that he discussed, provided additional interviews to expand on those subjects.  These interviews were part of a larger oral history project at Columbia University. 

I couldn't stop myself from taking a peek at the transcript.  Then I couldn't stop myself from reading the whole transcript, all 251 pages of it.  It was fascinating.  From his earliest childhood memories to his work for human rights; from his early school experiences to his admission to the Ethical Culture School and what that meant for his life and understanding of human relations; from his civic roles to his handling of civil rights.  And more.  

Having done so, I was more disheartened than shocked when I ran across KeyWiki and its "guilt by association" post on Algernon D. Black.  How fortunate to have his own testimony to his work and his intentions and his ethics to throw some light on the matter.  How sad to see that the McCarthy Era hasn't ended and that good people--and the memory of good people--can still be subjected to such tactics.

Well, the interview is in the Bibliography now.  You should read it.