Foner, Henry
Henry J. Foner (1919- ), longtime activist leader of the Joint Board, Fur, Leather and Machine Workers Union (FLM), grew up in New York, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. His father had a seltzer delivery route, and later owned a garage. In high school, Foner started playing saxophone with a band at hotels in the Catskills. He also started composing comic verses, played to the tunes of popular songs. By the late 1930s, Foner had acquired an interest in history and politics from his older brothers, Moe, Philip and Jack, and began developing the commitment to progressive activism that would shape his life. After graduating from City College with a degree in Business Administration in 1939, Foner organized "Student Caravans for America," which sent groups around the country to perform puppet shows promoting an anti-war message. The puppets were made by Pete Seeger. Foner's own group had their puppets and stage destroyed by a group of vandals in Bristol, VT and had to be rescued by the local sheriff.
In 1940, Foner's three brothers were all working at City College when the Rapp-Coudert Legislative Committee-investigating Communism in New York public schools and colleges, and employing tactics that later became a template for the House Un-American Activities Committee investigations-suspended them, along with fifty other employees of New York City colleges.
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Publication Date | Publishing Account | Status | Note | View |
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2016-08-10 05:08:00 am |
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published |
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2016-08-10 05:08:00 am |
System Service |
ingest cpf |
Initial ingest from EAC-CPF |
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