Oral history interview with Arnold Goldwag, 2001

Biographical Note

Arnold ("Arnie") Goldwag was born on January 18, 1938. In the late 1950s, Goldwag became involved with the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and attended Brooklyn College. As Brooklyn CORE's Community Relations Director, Goldwag was responsible for press relations, publicity, and coordination with communities and demonstrators on the organization's direct actions. Goldwag participated in demonstrations in New York and Maryland to desegregate public facilities and restaurants. Goldwag's activism led to several arrests and a thirteen-month prison sentence in 1964; he served one month of the sentence in the Rikers Island Prison Complex. Brooklyn CORE was one of the most radical chapters of the organization due to Goldwag's leadership and planning. Goldwag participated in one of Brooklyn CORE's controversial Stall-In at the opening of the 1964 New York World's Fair. After CORE, Goldwag worked for the New York City Human Resources Administration and subsequently for Social Service Employees Union (SSEU) Local 371. Goldwag died on August 9, 2008

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Goldwag discusses his work with the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and race relations in New York City and in the northeastern United States during the civil rights movement. Goldwag describes his family and upbringing, including politics in his family and the development of his political philosophy. He shares his opinions on nonviolent protest tactics, recalls his time at Brooklyn College, and discusses his experiences with law enforcement. He addresses police brutality and the discriminatory police practices of the 1960s. Goldwag compares these memories to the 1999 police shooting of Amadou Diallo, a recent event at the time of the interview. Goldwag describes Brooklyn CORE's relationship to National CORE and the surrounding community. He explains his role as the community relations director. Goldwag describes Brooklyn CORE's main concerns, including: the limited availability of fresh food in black neighborhoods; the inadequate garbage removal services in Bedford-Stuyvesant; the sale of apartheid-era South African products; gerrymandering along racial lines by the Board of Education; blockbusting and white flight; Elaine Bibuld's legal case against the Board of Education; and the actions planned for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Goldwag details the controversy of the World's Fair protests, including: how the idea arose; how it gained momentum; its repercussions within CORE; and how it was both a success and failure. He addresses his work in Eastern Maryland to desegregate restaurants in Baltimore and along Maryland's Route 40. Goldwag discusses Roy Innis's leadership of CORE, the changes Innis made, and how the movement dissolved. Finally, Goldwag discusses his thoughts on the state of racial equality in America at the time of the interview

Subjects

• Bibuld, Elaine.
• Civil rights demonstrations--United States.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality. Brooklyn Chapter.
• Discrimination in education--New York (State)--New York.
• Goldwag, Arnold--Interviews.
• Innis, Roy, 1934-2017.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• New York World's Fair (1964-1965 :--New York, N.Y.)
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Police brutality--United States.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.