Penn Kemble: Difference between revisions
→References: {{cite journal|first=Joshua|last=Muravchik|authorlink=Joshua Muravchik|url=http://www.aei.org/article/23700|title=Comrades|journal=[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/comrades/ Commentary Magazine]|month=1 January|year=2006|ac |
→Biography: Describe protest in which Kemble had 76 Vietnamese protest Jane Fonda's dinner for CNFMP; try NPOV summary of 1980s politics, which deserves development by an editor less horrified by Contra terrorism |
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===Early years=== |
===Early years=== |
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Penn Kemble was born in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] in 1941 and grew up in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Holley" >{{cite article|title=Political activist Penn Kemble dies at 64|first=Joe|last=Holley| |
Penn Kemble was born in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] in 1941 and grew up in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Holley" >{{cite article|title=Political activist Penn Kemble dies at 64|first=Joe|last=Holley| |
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newspaper=Washington Post|day=Wednesday|date=October 19|year=2005|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801743_pf.html|ref=harv}}</ref><ref name="times">{{cite article|newspaper=[[The Times (London)]]|title=Penn Kemble: Dapper Democratic Party activist whose influence extended across the spectrum of US politics (21 January 1941 – 15 October 2005)|date=October 31|year=2005|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article584709.ece|ref=harv}}</ref> He studied at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]] in the early 1960s, where he helped to organize a local branch of the [[Young People's Socialist League (1907)|Young People's Socialist League]], the youth section of the [[Socialist Party of America]].<ref name="Holley"/> While at the University of Colorado, Kemble was influenced by the thinking of Alex Garber, a professor of [[sociology]], who was a [[social democrat|social democratic]] |
newspaper=Washington Post|day=Wednesday|date=October 19|year=2005|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801743_pf.html|ref=harv}}</ref><ref name="times">{{cite article|newspaper=[[The Times (London)]]|title=Penn Kemble: Dapper Democratic Party activist whose influence extended across the spectrum of US politics (21 January 1941 – 15 October 2005)|date=October 31|year=2005|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article584709.ece|ref=harv}}</ref> He studied at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]] in the early 1960s, where he helped to organize a local branch of the [[Young People's Socialist League (1907)|Young People's Socialist League]], the youth section of the [[Socialist Party of America]].<ref name="Holley"/> While at the University of Colorado, Kemble was influenced by the thinking of Alex Garber, a professor of [[sociology]], who was a [[social democrat|social democratic]] [[anti-Stalinist left|anti-communist]].<ref name="Muravchik">{{cite journal|first=Joshua|last=Muravchik|authorlink=Joshua Muravchik|url=http://www.aei.org/article/23700|title=Comrades|journal=[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/comrades/ Commentary Magazine]|month=1 January|year=2006|accessdate=15 June 2007|ref=harv}}</ref> |
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After moving to New York, Kemble stood out as a neatly dressed, muscular Protestant youth, in a urban political setting that was predominantly Catholic and Jewish. He worked at ''[[The New York Times]]'' but was fired for refusing to cross a [[picket line]] during a typesetters' [[strike action|strike]].<ref name="Holley"/> A leader in the East River chapter of the [[Congress of Racial Equality]], Kemble helped to organize a non-violent [[sit in|blockade]] of the [[Triborough Bridge]] during rush hour, to raise consciousness among [[suburbanite]]s of the lives of Harlem residents.<ref name="Holley"/> |
After moving to New York, Kemble stood out as a neatly dressed, muscular Protestant youth, in a urban political setting that was predominantly Catholic and Jewish. He worked at ''[[The New York Times]]'' but was fired for refusing to cross a [[picket line]] during a typesetters' [[strike action|strike]].<ref name="Holley"/> A leader in the East River chapter of the [[Congress of Racial Equality]], Kemble helped to organize a non-violent [[sit in|blockade]] of the [[Triborough Bridge]] during rush hour, to raise consciousness among [[suburbanite]]s of the lives of Harlem residents.<ref name="Holley"/> |
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===Political career=== |
===Political career=== |
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From the middle 1960s, Kemble was active in the youth section of the Socialist Party of America, the [[Young Peoples Socialist League]] (YPSL). Kemble was allied with the dominant caucus of the Socialist Party, along with Paul Feldman, editor of the party paper ''[[New America (newspaper)|New America]]'' and [[Tom Kahn]], chief of the [[League for Industrial Democracy]].<ref name="Muravchik" /> This caucus was social democratic and therefore anti-communist.<!-- In every country in the world, there was a split between social democrats and and communists, and this split was marked by a "river of blood" in the words of [[Irving Howe]]. --> It rejected the "anti-anticommunism" and later communism of the "new left", like the [[Students for a Democratic Society]] (which later degenerated into such [[Maoism|Maoist]] groups as [[The Weathermen]] and the [[Progressive Labor Party]] (which later became the [[Revolutionary Communist Party]]).<ref>{{cite book|first=Steven|last=Kelman|title=Push comes to shove: The escalation of student protest|isbn=0-395-07844-X, ISBN 9780395078440|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co|year=1970|month=June|ref=harv|id=<small>Account of conflict with totalitarian new left at Harvard by a member of YPSL</small>}}</ref> Kemble was a founder of [[Negotiation Now!]], a group which called for an end to the bombing of [[North Vietnam]] and a negotiated settlement of the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="Holley" /> |
From the middle 1960s, Kemble was active in the youth section of the Socialist Party of America, the [[Young Peoples Socialist League]] (YPSL). Kemble was allied with the dominant caucus of the Socialist Party, along with Paul Feldman, editor of the party paper ''[[New America (newspaper)|New America]]'' and [[Tom Kahn]], chief of the [[League for Industrial Democracy]].<ref name="Muravchik" /> This caucus was social democratic and therefore anti-communist.<!-- In every country in the world, there was a split between social democrats and and communists, and this split was marked by a "river of blood" in the words of [[Irving Howe]]. --> It rejected the "anti-anticommunism" and later communism of the "new left", like the [[Students for a Democratic Society]] (which later degenerated into such [[Maoism|Maoist]] groups as [[The Weathermen]] and the [[Progressive Labor Party]] (which later became the [[Revolutionary Communist Party]]).<ref>{{cite book|first=Steven|last=Kelman|title=Push comes to shove: The escalation of student protest|isbn=0-395-07844-X, ISBN 9780395078440|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co|year=1970|month=June|ref=harv|id=<small>Account of conflict with totalitarian new left at Harvard by a member of YPSL</small>}}</ref> Kemble was a founder of [[Negotiation Now!]], a group which called for an end to the bombing of [[North Vietnam]] and a negotiated settlement of the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="Holley" /> In 1972, Kemble organized a protest of the [[Coalition for a New Foreign Policy|Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy]], featuring a [[picket line]] of 76 Vietnamese.<ref>Kemble's protest infuriated its master of ceremonies, [[Bruce P. Cameron]]. {{harv|Cameron|2007|p=6}}: {{cite book|title=My life in the time of the Contras|first=Bruce P.|last=Cameron|authorlink=Bruce P. Cameron|publisher=UNM Press|year=2007|isbn=0826342515, ISBN 9780826342515|pages=340|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=a-eB2PduzxUC&dq=Bruce+Cameron%2C+Penn+Kemble&q=Jane+Fonda#v=snippet&q=Jane%20Fonda%2C%20Penn%20Kemble&f=false|ref=harv}} |
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A decade later, Cameron joined Kemble in the 1980s in lobbying to support the [[Christian Democratic]] President of [[El Salvador]] [[José Napolean Duarte]], during a bloody civil war; this lobbying also supported aid to the [[Contras]] of [[Nicaragua]]. Kemble's 1980s Central American politics were unpopular among liberals and democratic socialists. </ref> He was opposed to a unilateral withdrawal of U.S forces from Vietnam. He was also active in the [[Congress of Racial Equality]].<ref name="Holley" /> |
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In 1972, Kemble was a founder the [[Coalition for a Democratic Majority]] (CDM), an association of centrist Democrats that opposed the "new politics" liberalism exemplified by [[U.S. Senator|Senator]] [[George McGovern]], who suffered the worst defeat of a Presidential candidate in modern times, despite the widespread dislike of Nixon.<ref name="times"/> Kemble was Executive Director of CDM from 1972-76, at which time he left to become a special assistant and speechwriter for Senator [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]].<ref name="Holley" /> He remained with Moynihan until 1979. |
In 1972, Kemble was a founder the [[Coalition for a Democratic Majority]] (CDM), an association of centrist Democrats that opposed the "new politics" liberalism exemplified by [[U.S. Senator|Senator]] [[George McGovern]], who suffered the worst defeat of a Presidential candidate in modern times, despite the widespread dislike of Nixon.<ref name="times"/> Kemble was Executive Director of CDM from 1972-76, at which time he left to become a special assistant and speechwriter for Senator [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]].<ref name="Holley" /> He remained with Moynihan until 1979. |
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Revision as of 22:49, 7 September 2011
Richard Penn Kemble (January 21, 1941 — October 15, 2005), commonly known as "Penn," was an American political activist and a founding member of Social Democrats, USA. He supported democracy and labor unions in the USA and internationally, and so was active in the civil rights movement, the labor movement, and the social-democratic opposition to communism. He founded organizations including Negotiations Now!, Frontlash, and Prodemca. Kemble was appointed to various government boards and institutions throughout the 1990s, eventually becoming the Acting Director of the U.S. Information Agency under President Bill Clinton.
Biography
Early years
Penn Kemble was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1941 and grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[1][2] He studied at the University of Colorado in the early 1960s, where he helped to organize a local branch of the Young People's Socialist League, the youth section of the Socialist Party of America.[1] While at the University of Colorado, Kemble was influenced by the thinking of Alex Garber, a professor of sociology, who was a social democratic anti-communist.[3]
After moving to New York, Kemble stood out as a neatly dressed, muscular Protestant youth, in a urban political setting that was predominantly Catholic and Jewish. He worked at The New York Times but was fired for refusing to cross a picket line during a typesetters' strike.[1] A leader in the East River chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, Kemble helped to organize a non-violent blockade of the Triborough Bridge during rush hour, to raise consciousness among suburbanites of the lives of Harlem residents.[1]
Political career
From the middle 1960s, Kemble was active in the youth section of the Socialist Party of America, the Young Peoples Socialist League (YPSL). Kemble was allied with the dominant caucus of the Socialist Party, along with Paul Feldman, editor of the party paper New America and Tom Kahn, chief of the League for Industrial Democracy.[3] This caucus was social democratic and therefore anti-communist. It rejected the "anti-anticommunism" and later communism of the "new left", like the Students for a Democratic Society (which later degenerated into such Maoist groups as The Weathermen and the Progressive Labor Party (which later became the Revolutionary Communist Party).[4] Kemble was a founder of Negotiation Now!, a group which called for an end to the bombing of North Vietnam and a negotiated settlement of the Vietnam War.[1] In 1972, Kemble organized a protest of the Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy, featuring a picket line of 76 Vietnamese.[5] He was opposed to a unilateral withdrawal of U.S forces from Vietnam. He was also active in the Congress of Racial Equality.[1]
In 1972, Kemble was a founder the Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM), an association of centrist Democrats that opposed the "new politics" liberalism exemplified by Senator George McGovern, who suffered the worst defeat of a Presidential candidate in modern times, despite the widespread dislike of Nixon.[2] Kemble was Executive Director of CDM from 1972-76, at which time he left to become a special assistant and speechwriter for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.[1] He remained with Moynihan until 1979.
Support of democracy and opposition to totalitarianism
Concerned about the direct and indirect role of the Communist Party USA and of sympathizers of Marxist-Leninist politics in the US Peace Movement and in the National Council of Churches, Kemble helped found the Institute on Religion and Democracy. From 1981 until 1988 was the President of the Committee for Democracy in Central America (PRODEMCA), which opposed the Sandinistas and related groups in Central America.[2][1]
He supported the Bill Clinton's campaign for the Presidency. During the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Kemble served first in 1993 as the Deputy Director and then in 1999 as Acting Director of the U.S. Information Agency.[1][2] He was also made a special representative of Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright to the Council for a Community of Democracies initiative.[6]
In 2001, Kemble was appointed to the Board of International Broadcasting by President George W. Bush.[2] He also became the Washington, D.C. representative of Freedom House; in his last years, he was especially involved in supporting peace efforts in the Middle East.
He declined several offers of official positions in the Bush administration.[2] However, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell appointed Kemble to be the Chairman of the International Eminent Persons Group on Slavery, Abduction and Forced Servitude in Sudan.[2]
Death and legacy
Kemble died on October 15, 2005 at his home in Washington, D.C. after a year-long battle with brain cancer.[1] He was 64 years old at the time of his death and was survived by his wife, two sisters, and his brother.[1] Kemble referred to himself as a social democrat throughout his life, and always rejected neo-conservatism.[1]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Template:Cite article
- ^ a b c d e f g Template:Cite article
- ^ a b Muravchik, Joshua (2006). "Comrades". Commentary Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
{{cite journal}}: External link in|journal=|ref=harv(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Kelman, Steven (1970). Push comes to shove: The escalation of student protest. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-395-07844-X, ISBN 9780395078440. Account of conflict with totalitarian new left at Harvard by a member of YPSL.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help); Invalid|ref=harv(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Kemble's protest infuriated its master of ceremonies, Bruce P. Cameron. (Cameron 2007, p. 6): Cameron, Bruce P. (2007). My life in the time of the Contras. UNM Press. p. 340. ISBN 0826342515, ISBN 9780826342515.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help); Invalid|ref=harv(help)A decade later, Cameron joined Kemble in the 1980s in lobbying to support the Christian Democratic President of El Salvador José Napolean Duarte, during a bloody civil war; this lobbying also supported aid to the Contras of Nicaragua. Kemble's 1980s Central American politics were unpopular among liberals and democratic socialists.
- ^ Template:Cite article
References
- Template:Cite article
- Template:Cite article
- Template:Cite article
- Muravchik, Joshua (2006). "Comrades". Commentary Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
{{cite journal}}: External link in|journal=|ref=harv(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)
External links
- Gershman, Carl (2005), Eulogy for Penn Kemble, Washington D.C.: The National Endowment for Democracy
{{citation}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)
