Michael Harrington

Michael Harrington

For the Congressman, see Michael Harrington (Representative).

Michael Harrington (February 24, 1928 — July 31, 1989) was an author, educator, and political activist. His most influential book, The Other America, exposed the prevalence of poverty in the midst of America's post-WWII affluence and is widely acknowledged as the inspiration for the war on poverty during the 1960's. Michael Harrington was a Distinguished Professor of Political Science on the faculties of Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Early socialism

Bogdan Denitch recruited Michael Harrington to the Young Peoples Socialist League in the Spring of 1952.

Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee

Some 150 delegates and 100 observers met at Houston's Airport Holiday Inn, February 16-19, 1979, for the fourth national convention of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC).

DSOC's leadershipat the 1979 convention included-Michael Harrington, chairman, Julius Bernstein vice chairman, Victor Reuther vice chairman, Jack Clark national secretary.

the national board consisted of-Julian Bond, Harry Boyte, Bogdan Denitch, Harry Fleischman, Irving Howe, Alex Spinrad, Gloria Steinem, Harry Walsh, Nat Weinberg, Richard Wilson

New American Movement 10^th convention

In 1981 Michael Harrington, National Chair, Democratic Socialists Organizing Committee; Roberta Lynch, NAM National Leader; Eqbal Ahmed, Transnational Institute and Joanne Barkan, NY NAM spoke on a mini-plenary entitled New Dangers, New Opportunities: Building a Socialist Politics for the '80's at the 10^th Convention of the New American Movement. The convention was held in a union headquarters in Chicago and ran from July 29 - August 2, 1981.

Anti-anti-communism

In a report to the New American Movement National interim committee, Frank Ackerman, a member of the NAM/DSOC merger negotiating team, commented on Harrington's growing anti-anti-communism;

My sense of it is that what DSOC really insists on is the explicit criticism of the Soviet Union; when that is agreed to,

many of them, including Harrington, are willing to be quite clearly critical of U.S. imperiralism, of domestic anti-communism (the attempt to discuss anti-communism here fails, I think,to capture the extent of Harrington's current .. anti-anti-communism," a change in his positions over the last few years).

District 1199 Cultural Center

In 1982 Advisers to the District 1199 Cultural Center, Inc. New York were:

• Moe Foner, Executive Director
• Miriam Colon
• Ossie Davis
• Ruby Dee
• Madeline Gilford
• Jack Golodner
• Micki Grant
• Herbert H. Gutman
• Michael Harrington
• Patricia Hills
• Irving Howe
• Harold Leventhal
• Stanley Levison
• Harold Lewis
• Eve Merriam
• Walter Rosenblum
• John Schultz
• Brendan Sexton
• Piri Thomas
• Arthur Waldhorm

DSA co chair

In 1984 Democratic Socialists of America co chairs were Michael Harrington and Barbara Ehrenreich.

Opposing loans to Chile

In 1987, Joanne Landy, Thomas Harrison and Gail Daneker, Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy/East and West, New York, circulated a statement Against Loans to Chile calling upon the Reagan Administration to oppose all loans to Chile.

It has been signed by leading "peace, labor, human rights, religious and cultural figures from the United States, Western Europe and Latin America." They were "joined by a large number of activists and writers from the USSR and Eastern Europe, many of whom have been persecuted in their own countries for work in independent peace and human rights movements."

Michael Harrington endorsed the call.

The majority of signatories were affiliated with Democratic Socialists of America.

Michael Harrington Center

The Michael Harrington Center was founded in honor of Michael Harrington. The website states,

The Center exists to promote public, democratic discussion of social issues, to advocate for social change and to work in partnerships with others to build a more just, equitable and democratic society.