Jack D. Foner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jack Donald Foner (1910-12-14)December 14, 1910 |
| Died | December 10, 1999(1999-12-10) (aged 88) Manhattan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | City College of New York;Columbia University |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Notable work | Blacks and the Military in American History (1974) |
| Children | 2, inc.Eric Foner |
| Relatives | Philip S. Foner (brother) Henry Foner (brother) Moe Foner (brother) Nancy Foner (niece) |
Jack Donald Foner (December 14, 1910 – December 10, 1999) was an American historian best known for his work on the labor movement and the struggle for African-American civil rights. A professor ofAmerican history with a doctorate fromColumbia University, he established one of the first programs inblack studies in the United States atColby College.
He was fired from his job atCity College of New York andblacklisted in academia from the 1940s through much of the 1960s after being investigated in 1941 by a New York State legislative committee for his suspected former membership in theCommunist Party, which he officially refused to either confirm or deny.[1] In 1979, theNew York State Board of Education officially apologized to Foner and other teachers and staff who were fired and whose lives were disrupted by the activities of theRapp-Coudert Committee, which it described as having egregiously violatedacademic freedom.[2] He was the twin brother of historianPhilip S. Foner and the father of historianEric Foner.
Jack Foner was born inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1910 toJewish parents who had immigrated from the Russian empire. He was one of four brothers: his twin brother,Philip Foner, would later become aMarxist labor historian and political activist, while their younger brothersHenry Foner andMoe Foner would both becomelabor union organizers. Jack Foner attended Eastern District High School and graduated fromCity College of New York in 1929. He and Philip both studied under historianAllan Nevins there.[3] Foner earned a master's degree in 1933 and a doctorate in 1967 in American history, both fromColumbia University.[1]
Jack Foner taught history in 1935 atBaruch College (then called the downtown branch of theCity College of New York). He actively supported theSecond Spanish Republic against theNationalist faction, and stood for the rights ofAfrican Americans.
In 1941, Foner was forced out of his teaching job, along with 60 other faculty members, in the wake of an investigation of alleged communist influences in higher education by theNew York state legislature's anti-communistRapp-Coudert Committee. It was officially known as the "Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate the Educational System of the State of New York. One of the complaints against Jack Foner was that his teaching devoted excessive attention to the role of African Americans in history.[citation needed] He declined to testify before the commission and was blacklisted, which meant that he was unable to obtain academic employment for almost three decades.[1]
In 1979, theNew York State Board of Higher Education apologized to Foner and others who were investigated and lost jobs due to the activities of the Rapp-Coudert Committee. It described the events of 1941 "an egregious violation ofacademic freedom."[2]
In 1993, Foner toldColby magazine that he considered the episode to be an "honorable experience". He said, "there was really no evidence to support it," referring to his being fired and blacklisted.[4]
From 1942 to 1945, duringWorld War II, Foner served in theUnited States Army. He was stationed in the United States. His assignments were menial.[1]
After the war, Foner supported his family by doing freelance lecturing. He and his three brothers also had aswing music band, in which he played drums, known as the "Foner Orchestra". The group played at resorts in theCatskills.[1] Foner also worked withPaul Robeson andHarry Belafonte, and maintained a friendship withW. E. B. Du Bois, all of whom similarly suffered blacklisting.
Colby College in Waterville, Maine, hired Foner in the spring of 1969 to teachhistory.[4] He taught there from 1969 to 1976, establishing one of the first black studies programs in the nation. After retiring from Colby, he returned as a visiting scholar in 1983 and 1985.[4]
His best-known book isBlacks and the Military in American History (1974).[1]
Foner returned to New York City. He died inManhattan on December 10, 1999, four days before his 89th birthday.
Foner and his wife, Liza, were married for 57 years and lived mostly in New York City. They had two children,Eric Foner and Thomas Foner. Eric Foner has become recognized for his work in Civil War, Reconstruction and African-American history and is a professor of history at Columbia University. Thomas died in 1999, the same year as his father.
