Oral history interview with Edwin Ross Lewinson, 1999

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Name: Lewinson, Edwin R., 1930-2012 (Interviewee); Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017 (Interviewer)
Title: Oral history interview with Edwin Ross Lewinson, 1999
Other Titles: Reminiscences of Edwin Ross Lewinson, 1999; Oral history of Edwin Ross Lewinson, 1999
Abstract: Edwin Ross Lewinson begins this interview by recalling his first experiences with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Lewinson describes attending a primarily Black high school in Detroit. He elaborates on the school's availability of braille and its segregation of extracurriculars before mentioning his mother's ambivalence to race issues. He describes his experience in the National Student Ass ociation at the University of Michigan and his participation in the project to desegregate the Greyhound Bus Terminals in Washington, DC in the late 1940s. Lewinson goes on to characterize CORE members and early projects. Lewison explains his reintroduction to CORE in 1960 while attending Columbia University, and his election to the National Action Council. He goes on to describe the growing tensions in CORE between Evelyn Rich and Gladys Harrington from 1962 until 1965. He recalls the lead up to the 1964 "stall-in" demonstration to disrupt the New York World's Fair and the work of Brooklyn CORE members Isaiah Bronson and Arnold Goldwag. Finally, Lewinson describes a brief visit to Jackson, Mississippi, his international work after leaving CORE, and the eventual disintegration of the organization
Collection Name: Sheila Michaels civil rights organization oral history collection
Subjects: Civil rights movements--History--20th century.--United States; Civil rights demonstrations--United States; Blind--Education--United States; United States Race relations 20th century; Lewinson, Edwin R., 1930-2012; Congress of Racial Equality; Congress of Racial Equality. Brooklyn Chapter; United States National Student Association; New York World's Fair New York, N.Y.) (1964-1965
Format: oral histories
Genre: Interviews
Date: 1999

Physical Description: 62 pages
Note (Biographical): Edwin Ross Lewinson was born in 1930 and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Edwinson first encountered the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) during a 1949 National Student Association conference while a student at the University of Michigan. Lewinson went on to attend graduate school at Columbia University, where he received a PhD in history. During his graduate studies, Lewinson came across CORE again and became a member of both National and Brooklyn chapters. He served on CORE's National Action Committee from 1962 until 1964. Lewinson launched a lawsuit against New York City in 1965, when he was deemed unqualified as a juror due to blindness. He served as a professor of American history and political science at Seton Hall University, and has traveled to Iraq and Cuba several times. Lewinson is the author of John Purroy Mitchell, Symbol of Reform (1961) and Black Politics in New York City (1974)
Note: Interviewed by Sheila Michaels on March 11, 1999
Note (Provenance): Sheila Michaels, Gift circa 1999-2005
Language: English
Library Location: Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
Browse Location’s Digital Content
Catalog Record: 11604189
Also In: Oral History Archives at Columbia; Time-Based Media; Time-Based Media
Persistent URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-y8fk-1292
Related URLs: Available digital content for this interview.