I recently read the Pete Seeger biography How Can I Keep From Singing and learned this banjo playing folk singer has experienced a very controversial career. What I'd always thought was the innocuous song "If I Had a Hammer" was part of the package that got him hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the purge of the arts community in the McCarthy period. When those lyrics are examined in light of the period in which they were written they spoke in honor of the downtrodden who wanted to climb out of their depths. Artists like Seeger found themselves "blacklisted" and found difficulty working at their craft.
An artist closer to home was Rhodes Scholar Tom McGrath, the poet of note from Sheldon. He lost work in the Los Angeles area in the 1950's because of the HUAC persecution of leftists. In studying their so-called subversive behavior it seems to me they were only guilty of bucking the entrenched power elite who saw them as a threat. I doubt there was anything unconstitutional in their thoughts or actions. In most cases I believe they were guilty only of trying to organize workers into unions so as to establish better working conditions and wages through negotiated contracts.
McGrath will be featured at the Dickinson State University Humanities Festival this weekend. Unfortunately, because of personal scheduling I will be unable to attend.
