Oral history interview with Albert Gordon, 2001

Biographical Note

Albert Gordon was born June 16, 1934 in Antwerp, Belgium. In May 1940, his family escaped Nazi rule, traveling through France, Spain, and Cuba before arriving in Forest Hills, Queens. Gordon attended City College of New York from 1951 to 1955 and Columbia University in 1959. Gordon also attended the Sorbonne for one semester and traveled across Europe and Northern Africa from 1962 to 1968. He was a history teacher at Tilden High School when he decided to participate in the 1961 CORE Freedom Rides. Following this, Gordon became involved in Brooklyn CORE and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). In 1968, Gordon retired from teaching to open Tribal Arts Gallery, which he ran until 1985. In 1998 Gordon became co-owner of Origins Gallery in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. At the time of this interview, Gordon lived in Stephentown, New York and Manhattan

Scope and Contents

Albert Gordon begins with a discussion of his upbringing and early political consciousness. Gordon explains his family's flight from Belgium in the 1940s to France, Spain, and Cuba before settling in Forest Hills, Queens. Gordon describes his parents' political attitude and cultural identity, including their relationship with Israel. He credits his education at City College of New York (CCNY) and the Young Marxist Club from 1951-1955 as politicizing influences. Gordon goes on to explain his master's work at Columbia University in 1959. Gordon recalls teaching at Van Buren High School and starting to follow the Civil Rights demonstrations of the early 1960s. After attending one meeting of Brooklyn CORE, Gordon resolved to participate in the 1961 Freedom Rides. Gordon describes his experience busing to Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the leadership of Tom Gaither. He discusses the police, Jewish American culture, and his Jackson arrest. Gordon was held at the Jackson City Jail before being sentenced to six months in Parchman Farm (Mississippi State Penitentiary). Gordon concludes his discussion of the 1961 Freedom Rides with recollections on his thirty-nine day imprisonment, describing the activism of Catholic workers, Rutgers Professor Ralph Robert Rogers, and daily life at Parchman Farm. After returning to New York, Gordon became active in Brooklyn CORE. In the summer of 1965, Gordon registered Mississippians to vote. He describes his relationship with Fannie Lou Hamer, who was his next door neighbor. Gordon summarizes the politics of the United Federation of Teachers, Al Shanker, and UFT's first strikes for collective bargaining rights. Gordon attended the Selma to Montgomery Marches in 1965 with Susan Butler and retired from teaching in 1968. Gordon describes his decision to retire and begin Tribal Arts Gallery with Leonard Kahan in 1969. After retiring in 1985, Gordon served in the Peace Corps. At the end of the interview, Gordon articulates his frustrations with teaching and reminisces on CORE and his travels.

Subjects

• Civil rights demonstrations--United States.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Civil rights workers--Mississippi--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality. Brooklyn Chapter.
• Gordon, Albert--Interviews.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Mississippi State Penitentiary.
• Oral histories.
• United Federation of Teachers.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.