Special program on McCarthy period's impact on teachers

There was a time in not-so-long-ago Los Angeles when teachers risked their careers if they spoke openly about political beliefs that did not conform to mainstream views. They also were in danger if colleagues or officials merely suspected they harbored an unconventional outlook.

During the 1940s and 1950s, hundreds of local teachers may have lost jobs during the McCarthy-period campaigns to find and root out Communist sympathizers. A panel on that period, with archival photos and film, takes place tonight at the headquarters of United Teachers Los Angeles, the teachers union for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The program will include narratives of those who lost jobs as well as what organizers characterize as current threats to academic freedom. Participants include teacher blacklist expert Ellen Verdries and Martha Kransdorf, author of "A Matter of Loyalty," the story of blacklisted teacher Frances Eisenberg. Also on hand will be former teachers David Curland and Muriel Goldsmith, as well as Arlene Inouye, a teacher and activist who has opposed military recruitment efforts. The event is free.

Here are the details:

"The McCarthy Period and Its Impact on Teachers"

Date: Nov. 20, 2008  (Tonight)

Time: 6:00 p.m.: view materials, enjoy light snacks; 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.: program

Where: United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) headquarters, 3303 Wilshire Blvd. (Wilshire Boulevard and Berendo Street -- two blocks west of Vermont), 2nd floor auditorium

Free parking in lot behind the building, enter on Berendo.

-- Howard Blume

Comments

[Tomas]

"There was a time in not-so-long-ago Los Angeles when teachers risked their careers if they spoke openly about political beliefs that did not conform to mainstream views."

I'm a yes-on-8, republican teacher who thinks that the greatest threat to our students is the UTLA. I also happen to think (as do most independent scholars outside of the edusphere) that No Child Left Behind was the biggest step toward improving accountability and increasing minority educational achievement we have ever had. I think I am paid well and look forward to the three months off I have every year. I wonder what would happen to my career if I discussed my views with my students and fellow teachers?