Simon, Abbott, 1916-

Abbott Simon, Esq., was an activist in the American Student Union and chair of the American Youth Congress, in which capacity he met and corresponded with Eleanor Roosevelt. Simon was a peace activist in the latter 1940s and early 1950s, serving as executive director of the Peace Information Center and occupying a leadership position in the American Peace Crusade. Both organizations were chaired by W.E.B. Du Bois and opposed U.S. involvement in the Korean War. Simon later held a leadership role in the National Committee to Defend Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and Associates, which was formed when Du Bois was charged with failing to register the Peace Information Center with the federal government. Simon also served on the board of the W.E.B. Du Bois Foundation. He later assisted Freda Diamond (1905-1998) in her dispute with Paul Robeson biographer Martin Duberman regarding her relationship to Robeson.

From the guide to the Abbott Simon Papers, 1932-2002, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)