Frank Wilkinson, Defiant Figure of Red Scare, dies at 91 (NYT)

[ovidsen]

J. Edgar Hoover, Joe McCarthy and other red baiters tried to destroy this guy's life. They lost. What happened to him shows what could happen to anyone if the government is allowed to spy on citizens indiscriminately

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/national/04wilkinson.html

Wilkinson, Defiant Figure of Red Scare, Dies at 91


By RICK LYMAN
Published: January 4, 2006

Frank Wilkinson, a Los Angeles housing official who lost his job in the Red Scare of the early 1950's and later became one of the last two people jailed for refusing to tell the House Un-American Activities Committee whether he was a Communist, died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 91. (snip)

The relentless, decades long hounding of Wilkinson by the US was only exceeded by his tenacity in fighting it. He spend 9 months in federal prison for contempt of Congress after he refused to tell the HUAAC if he was a member of the Communist Party. In 1986, he sued under the Freedom of Information Act for documents on the federal surveillance of him. What a can of worms he dug up!

Eventually, there were 132,000 documents covering 38 years of surveillance, including detailed reports of Mr. Wilkinson's travel arrangements and speaking schedules, and vague and mysterious accusations of an assassination attempt against Mr. Wilkinson in 1964.

A federal judge ordered the F.B.I. to stop spying on Mr. Wilkinson and to never do it again.

Hats off to Frank Wilkerson, who illuminated just what government is capable of if it is left unchecked.

Edit: spelling

[myrna minx]

1. Wow, what a story. This is a chilling reminder of unchecked

government run amok. :scared:

[Maat]

2. They spied on him for 38 years!

And he brought the whole thing into court! What a brave man - I don't see many people who are so unrelenting in standing up for their principles!

May he transition in peace and may he remain an example of courage for generations to come!

I'm NO fan of totalitarian government (whether packaged as "communism" or whatever), but sticking up for the First Amendment trumps all; we should all be able to read and explore whatever philosophy we desire - without harassment! As long as a person is not aware of and participating in overthrowing the government via illegal activities, then leave them alone! That is what the U.S. Supreme Court has stated.

[David__77]

3. A model of fortitude.

No one should cooperate with today's McCarthyites either.

[DBoon]

4. The LAist blog had this to say:

Frank Wilkinson, longtime Los Angeles lefty activist, has died at 91. The NY Times has his obit (via LA Observed) but the LA Times — which we'd wager, with its historical conservatism, was never a friend to Frank — does not.

Like other leftists with good intentions, Frank's actions sometimes had tragically unintended consequences. Looking at the ramshackle, underdeveloped — and idyllically remembered — Chavez Ravine, Frank, head of the city's housing authority, set in motion a plan to build thousands of units of public housing there. He was accused of being a communist, lost his job, and was jailed after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Meanwhile, Chavez Ravine captured the attention of Dodger Stadium's developers who would get it on the cheap, evicting and displacing the very people Frank had hoped to provide with decent housing.

He was one of the last two men jailed for refusing to testify at the HUAC hearings. He was a member of the Communist Party, and the FBI would follow him for 38 years, filing 132,000 surveillance documents. Is there a reason to still care about this stuff? Well, George Clooney thinks so.

Frank was a big man, and had a sense of himself holding a big place in history. In other words, he was kind of a pain in the ass. But he was also kind and geniunely dedicated to both protecting the poor and protecting free speech. He was deeply involved in the ACLU of Southern California well into the 1990s; in 1999 they gave him a lifetime achievement award.

From: http://www.laist.com/

I had the pleasure of hearing him speak about his experiences with public housing at the LA Socialist School (sponsored by NAM) in the late 1970's. He was amazing.

The Hispanic comedy troupe Culture Clash did a recent theatrical performance based on the story of Chavez Ravine - see http://www.cultureclash.com/splash2.html