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Sunday, June 21, 2020

GO DOWN MOSES | Rhodes Statues Removed... Next, Robert Moses?

A statue of Cecil Rhodes in Capetown being removed
to an undisclosed location. 
June 21, 2020—The shocking killing of George Floyd has had national and global implications. It reenergized the Black Lives Matter campaign and then the long-time "Rhodes Must Fall" campaign for the removal of statues to Cecil Rhodes.

The campaigns, which have recruited from a wide range of voters, are now coming after the statue to Robert Moses in front of the Village Hall in Babylon, New York. More about that after three paragraphs of background.

Rhodes, of course, was the Brit who had a dream of a "Capetown to Cairo" British Empire in Africa. He helped realize that dream and had two countries named after him for many decades—Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, and Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He created the famed Rhodes Scholarships to Oxford, won by such American political successes as Senators Richard Lugar (Univ College, Oxford) and William Fulbright (Pembroke College, Oxford), and President Bill Clinton (Univ College, Oxford).

The Rhodes Must Fall campaign was successful in Capetown, South Africa, where the statue of Rhodes was lifted from its pedestal. However, the campaign to remove a statue of Rhodes at Oriel College, Oxford came to a screeching halt when several alumni threatened to end their giving to Oriel if it acceded to the demands of the campaigners. At the time, the Rhodes Must Fall banner was not one that the Oriel Provost wanted to fight under. The resolution seemed reasonable—balancing the importance of keeping historical valuable monuments while facing up to the moral or other shortcomings of people who were once lionized.

What a difference the video of Floyd's killing has made! On June 9, a thousand RMF protesters descended on Oriel College. On June 17, the governing body of Oriel College voted to remove the statue to its alumnus, Cecil Rhodes. The next day (the 78th birthday of Sir Paul McCartney), Husayn Kassai, founder of the verification company Onfido, revealed that he promised to replace any funding commitments withdrawn by "racist" alumni donors who object to the removal of the memorial to Rhodes.

So, now, what about Robert Moses? His biographer, Robert Caro, has famously documented the man's aggregation of power. Moses was a New York City Parks Commissioner for 26 years. He built parks and parkways all over New York City and Long Island. He used his power to promote the automobile and higher-income residents. For example, he built bridges on his parkway with low clearance, to prevent busloads of poor people coming to use his park. There is a Rhodes connection. After Yale, Moses went to Oxford (Wadham College), graduating with a degree in jurisprudence in 1911. He was not himself a Rhodes Scholar, but he had some strong opinions about those who were Rhodes Scholars. The new campaign to remove his statue in Babylon gives new meaning to Paul Robeson's singing of Go Down Moses.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Virginia is determined to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee on his horse in Richmond. Which raises the question: What happens to statues that are taken down?


Saturday, June 20, 2020

LONGHOUSE RESERVE | Reopening

Who is that masked visitor behind the King? (Alice Tepper Marlin at the
Yoko Ono chess board, LongHouse Reserve. Photo by JT Marlin. 
June 20, 2020—LongHouse Reserve is the top attraction in East Hampton. It has been closed during the coronavirus scourge. 

Now it is reopening, in stages. It's now open Wednesdays and Saturdays, with limited visiting hours, reservations required and  timed visits of 75 minutes. Only half the parking spaces are being used, to allow social distancing. Masks are required.

Four of us went today to see recent changes. I described our visit there in 2014 as part of a mini-reunion in the lead-up to the 50th Reunion of the Wellesley Class of 1966. We go back pretty much every year and it's always a new experience because new sculptures are added, old ones are moved around and the landscaping is always changing.
Cross in the Pond. This is reminiscent of the 9/11 memorial pool in New York
City. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Loehr, who was with us on the visit.
The interlude when the coronavirus kept everyone away was used to good effect by bringing the landscaping to an even higher level of perfection than we have seen in earlier years.


Fly Vision, 360. Photo courtesy of
Caroline Tepper-Marlin. 
Some of the sculptures seemed to be new, but were possibly there in previous years but I overlooked them. At left is one with the photographer looking back from a pole full of convex mirrors. It gave me the feeling of looking at the eye of a fly.

My favorite sculpture was and is Yoko Ono's colorless chess set.  It's a No-Logo experience, i.e., blank battle standards, borderless territory. With no way of being sure who The Enemy is or where the borders are, the game loses its point. Which is... The point. Imagine. The Fog of Peace.

Which reminds me that Paul McCartney celebrated his 78th birthday on Thursday. Happy Birthday, Sir Paul.

Monday, June 15, 2020

FDR'S SENATE ALLY | Joseph T. Robinson (1872-1937)

Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. 
Robinson. (Official Senate Portrait
from the Senate website.) 
As we look back to the astonishingly fast restoration of public confidence in Washington in 1933, we should look beyond FDR to the support he had from his Cabinet and from his Capitol Hill allies.

My special interest is the first Secretary of the Treasury, Will Woodin. In the Congress, the Congressional architect of the Federal Reserve System headed the Senate Banking Committee, Carter Glass (D-Va.).

But as I look at the record, I see another early ally in the Senate, Joseph T. Robinson (D-Ark., 1872-1937), Majority Leader.

Robinson was first elected a U.S. senator in 1913 under Wilson. He was elected by his fellow Senators minority (Democratic) leader in 1923, and became the first formally titled Senate majority leader in 1933 after FDR swept both houses of Congress. Robinson’s grandest moment was probably when he pushed FDR’s emergency banking bill through both houses in seven hours (Senate Leaders) and through the Senate, one report says, in just 40 minutes. A newspaper described the process as "brute animal strength.” He was FDR’s strongest ally in the Congress. (Senate bio.)

Born on a farm near Lonoke, Lonoke County, Arkansas, on August 26, 1872, he attended the local public schools and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He went on to the law school of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville; he was admitted to the bar in 1895 and commenced practice in Lonoke, Ark. (House bio.)

He was elected to the State general assembly in 1895, then as a Democrat to the 58th and four succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1903, to January 14, 1913, when he resigned, having been elected Governor. When he resigned he was chairman the Committee on Public Lands of the 62nd Congress. (House bio.)

He served only 55 days as Governor of Arkansas because he was elected Senator in 1913 to fill the seat vacated by the death of Senator Jeff Davis. He was reelected in 1918, 1924, 1930 and 1936 and served from March 10, 1913, until his death. (House bio)

In the Senate, besides serving minority leader and Democratic caucus chairman 1923-1933 and majority leader and Democratic caucus chairman 1933-1937, he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Treasury Department (63rd and 64th Congresses), Committee on Claims (65th Congress), and unsuccessful candidate for Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1928. (House bio)

From the outset, Robinson impressed other Senators with his careful speeches that could incorporate a killer’s instinct for debate. He mastered the Senate's complex rules and practices; he possessed tenacious loyalty to friends and party and a passion for detail. Wedded to his job, he arrived early each day, stayed late, and studied legislation at home. (Bacon, 64.)

Robinson was regarded as a southern progressive, like Woodrow Wilson (Arkansas Governors), and he supported Wilson even when other Democrats faltered. He championed the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act and worked to regulate railroads and other key industries. He led the Senate to arm merchant ships and voted to declare war on Germany. (Bacon, 69.) He also led the unsuccessful effort in the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. (Senate Leaders.)

Robinson gained influence in the Senate and later served as Chairman of the 1920 Democratic National Convention. In 1923, the Senate Democratic floor leader Oscar Underwood, who served as the Senate Minority Leader, resigned due to illness. By unanimous acclamation, Robinson replaced him as Democratic leader, a position he would hold until his death in 1937. (Senate Leaders.)

As minority leader, Robinson took over the distribution of patronage appointments and reformed the committee assignment process, decreeing that no senator would hold the top Democratic position in more than one important committee, a rule that survives to the Obama and Trump eras. A resident of Capitol Hill, he kept constant watch on any dissension within the Republican ranks, making deals on both sides of the aisle and helping to facilitate negotiations with the era's succession of GOP presidents. (Senate Leaders.)

At the Chevy Chase Country Club, a fellow golfer asked to move ahead of the senator's foursome. Robinson refused. During an angry exchange, Robinson socked the doctor, knocking him to the ground. The club expelled Robinson and the press called him the "pugilist" senator. (Senate Leaders.)

Robinson was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1928, as the running mate of Alfred E. Smith. Robinson clashed with Senator James Thomas Heflin, a Democrat from Alabama, who frequently made anti-Catholic comments. Robinson took issue: "I have heard [the senator] denounce the Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome … until I am sick and tired of it, as a Democrat.” Helfin shot back: "The Senator from Arkansas can not remain leader of the Democrats and fight the Roman Catholics' battle every time the issue is raised in this body." Robinson held a vote of confidence and all senators present (Heflin was not) pledged support to their leader against religious bigotry. (Senate Leaders.)

After Smith lost to Republican Herbert Hoover, Robinson's impassioned speeches made him a national figure. He continued to score victories as the Senate's minority leader, even though his cooperative relationship with Hoover annoyed members of his party. However, since no other senator possessed Robinson's tenacity and influence, they relied on his leadership. (Senate Leaders.)

Robinson became Senate Majority Leader by a unanimous vote in 1933 when Democrats became the majority, the first Democrat to have the formal title. Some Senators resented his autocratic style and in debate he could be terrifying. (Senate Leaders.)

A Senate press gallery attendant, Richard Riedel, remembered: "When [Robinson] would go into one of his rages, it took little imagination to see fire and smoke rolling out of his mouth like some fierce dragon. Robinson could make Senators and everyone in his presence quake by the burning fire of his eyes, the baring of his teeth as he ground out the words, and the clenching of his mighty fists as he beat on the desk before him." (Riedel, 142.)

Franklin (L) and Eleanor Roosevelt with Joseph
Robinson, Washington, D.C. 1933. (National
Archives photo.)
As Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal "marshal," he ensured the passage of countless bills relating to the Depression and social policy, his most impressive victory being the Emergency Banking Act, which he pushed through both houses of Congress in seven hours, and the Senate in 40 minutes. (Senate Leaders.)

The press referred to him as "scrappy Joe." He fought with other Senators. For example, when the United States entered World War I, Robinson denounced senators who opposed the war effort. When La Follette opposed the war, Robinson questioned his patriotism on the Senate floor; La Follette had to be restrained. Robinson's response to a guard who questioned his credentials at the 1920 Democratic National Convention was a punch in the face. (Senate Leaders.)

FDR’s controversial Supreme Court packing plan proved too much for the leader. Before a final vote came to pass in 1937, Robinson suffered a fatal heart attack. Roosevelt's Court packing plan was defeated. (Senate bio.)

Robinson died in Washington, D.C., July 14, 1937. The funeral was held in the Chamber of the United States Senate. He was buried in Roselawn Memorial Park in Little Rock, Arkansas. (House bio.)

Thursday, June 11, 2020

ANTI-LYNCHING BILL | Cory Booker, Kamala Harris

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA).
June 11, 2020—Earlier this month, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) spoke urgently about passing this year's anti-lynching bill, which for the first time would make lynching a federal crime.

In 1900, 120 years ago, the only black representative in the Congress introduced anti-lynching legislation. Rep. George Henry White (R-N.C.) had witnessed the previous year's Wilmington, N.C., race riot, during which white supremacists overthrew the city’s multiracial government, killing perhaps 60 black people.

White tracked down lynching victims and asked why the federal government wasn't doing anything about the crime. The bill did not get past Committee.

During the rest of the 20th century, 200 such bills were introduced. Five years into FDR's administration, 83 blacks had been lynched in the south. Senator Robert Wagner (D-NY) introduced an anti-lynching bill. FDR didn't pay it much attention because his party depended on southern Democrats for votes in the House.

Blanche Wiesen Cook (Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 2, pp. 440-443) shows that Eleanor Roosevelt was the main Roosevelt family champion of the anti-lynching bill in 1937. It passed the House, but was filibustered to death in the Senate, where Democrats had a six-to-one majority.

Maybe this year?