Note: This is the first appearance of the BC In
Struggle Spotlight column. We have been thinking about such
a feature for some time. Last week's Keeping
It Real column by Larry Pinkney which put the life work
of Lynne Stewart And Ralph Poynter in the spotlight provided
the inspiration to get going on this project. Any BC reader
is invited to write a profile of someone who should be recognized
for their work in the struggle for economic and social justice
and peace. Subjects can be current or passed individual(s)
or organizations and do not have to be nationally known. Please
let us hear from you. Thanks. Click
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This obituary is courtesy of the NY
Transfer News Collective.
Victoria H. Garvin, African-American liberation activist and
dedicated internationalist, died at the age of 91 on June 11,
2007, after a long illness.
Vicki, as she was affectionately known, was born in Richmond,
Virginia and grew up in a working class family in Harlem. Her
mother was a domestic in rich white homes; her father a plasterer
who often was unemployed due to racism in construction unions.
Vicki spent her summers working in the garment industry to supplement
her family's income.
From high school on, she became active in Black protest politics,
supporting efforts by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. to obtain better
paying jobs for African-Americans in Harlem and creating Black
history clubs dedicated to building library resources. After
earning her B.A. in political science from Hunter College, she
became the first African-American woman to earn a Master's degree
in Economics from Smith College, and did graduate work in French
literature. She spent World War II working for the National War
Labor Board in New York, organizing a union there and serving
as its President. When the wartime agencies ended, she became
National Research Director of the United Office and Professional
Workers of America and co-chair of its Fair Employment Practices
Committee. During the postwar purges of the Left in the CIO,
she was a strong voice of protest and a sharp critic of the CIO's
failure to organize in the South.
She was married briefly to a trade union organizer, and although
they divorced, she kept his last name. In 1951 she took part
in the formation of the National Negro Labor Council (NNLC),
and became a national Vice President and Executive Secretary
of the New York City chapter. With the NNLC, she worked closely
with Coleman Young, later Mayor of Cleveland, and she organized
cultural programs featuring Paul Robeson, then under persecution.
He was a close friend until his death. In 1955, under pressure
from the House Un-American Activities Committee and other repression,
the NCLC disbanded.
In the wake of McCarthyism, Vicki traveled to Africa in the
late 1950s, worked in Nigeria, and then went to Ghana, where
she worked closely with Dr. W.E.B. DuBois and Shirley Graham
DuBois, Alphaeus and Dorothy Hunton, and others on the African
Encyclopedia and anti-colonialist efforts. In Ghana she lived
with Maya Angelou and Alice Windom. When Malcolm X, whom she
had known in Harlem, visited Africa, Vicki introduced Malcolm
to the ambassadors from China, Cuba, and Algeria whom she knew
from teaching English at their embassies. Using her French language
skills, she interpreted for his meeting with the Algerians.
In 1964 Vicki was invited to China by the Chinese ambassador.
Both Malcolm X and Dr. DuBois encouraged her to go. She taught
English for six years in Shanghai. She became close friends with
many of her young students and kept in touch with them over the
years. In China, she also became close to then political exiles
Robert F. Williams and Mabel Williams. When Mao Tse-Tung issued
his proclamation in support of the Afro-American movement in
1968, Vicki made a speech about the statement to a rally of millions.
Also in China she met and married Leibel Bergman in a Red Guard
ceremony during the early days of the Cultural Revolution, and
became a loving stepmother to his daughter and two sons.
On their return to the U.S, they lived in
Newark, where Vicki was Director of the Tri-City Citizens’ Union, a community
organization for children and teenagers. In Manhattan, Vicki
worked for four years as Area Leader for Community Interaction
at the Center for Community Health Systems of the Faculty of
Medicine of Columbia University. Later they moved to Chicago,
but when the marriage ended Vicki returned to her parents’ home
in Brooklyn and cared for them until their deaths.
She remained active in political and international
circles, traveling back to China several times, and making
many trips
to Africa and the Caribbean, often with her dear friend Adelaide
Simms. She was an active supporter of many organizations, including:
Sisters Against South African Apartheid/Sisters to Assist South
Africa (SASAA); the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to
African People (CEMOTAP); Black Workers for Justice; and the
Center for Constitutional Rights. Vicki spoke at community events
and joined rallies in support of Mumia Abu Jamal and other political
prisoners. She was recognized by many organizations as an "honored
elder" for her contributions to the freedom struggle of
her people and the world's peoples. In speeches made just before
her serious health decline, Vicki urged the younger generations
forward. She wrote: "Of course there will be twists and
turns, but victory in the race belongs to the long-distance runners,
not sprinters. Everywhere the just slogan is reverberating --'no
justice, no peace!'"
She is survived by two stepchildren, Miranda and Lincoln Bergman.
A memorial celebration of her life will be scheduled in New York
City later this year.
For information on this event, please contact Lincoln Bergman
by email at [email protected] or
phone 510 367-8922.
Click
here to hear Vicki Garvin's speech at a 1991
International conference on Malcolm X held in New York City
at the Bourough of Manhattan Community College.
NY Transfer
News Collective - All the News that Doesn't
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