Bettina Aptheker
Encyclopedia
Bettina Fay Aptheker is an American
activist, author, feminist, and professor.
to the first cousins Fay Philippa Aptheker and Herbert Aptheker
, a radical activist and Marxist historian. She was raised in Brooklyn
, New York
. Her first job as a teenager was in the home of W. E. B. Du Bois, a good friend of her father's.
-sponsored youth organization, held in San Francisco.
Aptheker was a member of the governing National Committee of the CPUSA and was remembered by California party leader Dorothy Healey in her 1990 memoir as "one of the liveliest of the young people who rose to prominence in the party in the 1960s and also one of the warmest human beings I've ever met."
In 1968, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia divided the leadership of the CPUSA, with a majority of the National Committee, headed by party leader Gus Hall
, backing the intervention of Soviet tanks into Czechoslovakian internal affairs. A meeting of the National Committee held over the Labor Day
weekend backed Hall by a margin of five-to-one. Bettina Aptheker denounced the invasion, however, and voted with the minority — standing in opposition to her father Herbert, one of the CPUSA's leading intellectuals.
During the 1970s, Aptheker was actively involved in the high-profile trial of Angela Davis
, a long-time friend and fellow Communist Party member.
, where she was a leader in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement during the Fall of 1964 as an activist in the W.E.B. DuBois Club there. At the time, neither she nor anyone else in the FSM, made public any official connection with the Communist Party, but her parentage and political beliefs were well known. "Tina" was the subject of California Senator William F. Knowland's famous remark at the time, made as he went about fighting what he saw as a conspiracy of Communists and their dupes at Berkeley, "If it walks like a Duck and talks like a Duck, it's probably a Duck"
She completed her Master's degree
at San José State University
, where she later taught African-American and Women's Studies. In the early 1980s, Aptheker completed her graduate studies in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz
.
Aptheker has been teaching in the University of California at Santa Cruz Feminist Studies department since 1980.
In her 2006 memoir, Intimate Politics, she claims that she was sexually molested
by her father from the age of 4 to the age of 13. Her charges are based on recovered memory
and dissociation
and so have been called into doubt by some. Mark Rosenzweig writes "the truth about Herbert and Bettina is inaccessible to us." She also tells about their highly emotional reconciliation several years before his death. In addition, she claims that her father's celebrations of black resistance were attempts "to compensate for his deep shame about the way, he believed, the Jews had acted during the Holocaust" (for which she has been criticized as "possibly antisemitic".)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
activist, author, feminist, and professor.
Early years and education
Aptheker was born in Fort Bragg, North CarolinaFort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
to the first cousins Fay Philippa Aptheker and Herbert Aptheker
Herbert Aptheker
Herbert Aptheker was an American Marxist historian and political activist. He authored over 50 volumes, mostly in the fields of African American history and general U.S. history, most notably, American Negro Slave Revolts , a classic in the field, and the 7-volume Documentary History of the Negro...
, a radical activist and Marxist historian. She was raised in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Her first job as a teenager was in the home of W. E. B. Du Bois, a good friend of her father's.
Political career
Aptheker was a delegate to the June 1964 founding convention of the W.E.B. DuBois Clubs, a Communist PartyCommunist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
-sponsored youth organization, held in San Francisco.
Aptheker was a member of the governing National Committee of the CPUSA and was remembered by California party leader Dorothy Healey in her 1990 memoir as "one of the liveliest of the young people who rose to prominence in the party in the 1960s and also one of the warmest human beings I've ever met."
In 1968, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia divided the leadership of the CPUSA, with a majority of the National Committee, headed by party leader Gus Hall
Gus Hall
Gus Hall, born Arvo Kustaa Hallberg , was a leader and Chairman of the Communist Party USA and its four-time U.S. presidential candidate. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel...
, backing the intervention of Soviet tanks into Czechoslovakian internal affairs. A meeting of the National Committee held over the Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend backed Hall by a margin of five-to-one. Bettina Aptheker denounced the invasion, however, and voted with the minority — standing in opposition to her father Herbert, one of the CPUSA's leading intellectuals.
During the 1970s, Aptheker was actively involved in the high-profile trial of Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
, a long-time friend and fellow Communist Party member.
Academic career
Aptheker obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where she was a leader in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement during the Fall of 1964 as an activist in the W.E.B. DuBois Club there. At the time, neither she nor anyone else in the FSM, made public any official connection with the Communist Party, but her parentage and political beliefs were well known. "Tina" was the subject of California Senator William F. Knowland's famous remark at the time, made as he went about fighting what he saw as a conspiracy of Communists and their dupes at Berkeley, "If it walks like a Duck and talks like a Duck, it's probably a Duck"
She completed her Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at San José State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
, where she later taught African-American and Women's Studies. In the early 1980s, Aptheker completed her graduate studies in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
.
Aptheker has been teaching in the University of California at Santa Cruz Feminist Studies department since 1980.
Family
Aptheker has been with Kate Miller, her life partner, since October 1979. They have three children (both from previous marriages), and Aptheker is a grandmother. Prior to this partnership, during her undergraduate years at UC Berkeley, Aptheker was married to fellow student and Communist Jack Kurzweil.In her 2006 memoir, Intimate Politics, she claims that she was sexually molested
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
by her father from the age of 4 to the age of 13. Her charges are based on recovered memory
Recovered memory
Recovered memory is the description given to the apparent resurrection of the memory of events that had been forgotten or suppressed for a relatively long time. Retrograde amnesia secondary to physical or emotional trauma , or the suppression of painful memories from any cause, is an accepted concept...
and dissociation
Dissociation
Dissociation is an altered state of consciousness characterized by partial or complete disruption of the normal integration of a person’s normal conscious or psychological functioning. Dissociation is most commonly experienced as a subjective perception of one's consciousness being detached from...
and so have been called into doubt by some. Mark Rosenzweig writes "the truth about Herbert and Bettina is inaccessible to us." She also tells about their highly emotional reconciliation several years before his death. In addition, she claims that her father's celebrations of black resistance were attempts "to compensate for his deep shame about the way, he believed, the Jews had acted during the Holocaust" (for which she has been criticized as "possibly antisemitic".)
Works
- Columbia Inc. New York: W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America, May 1968.
- The Morning Breaks: The Trial of Angela Davis. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1976.
- The Unfolding Drama: Studies in U.S. History. With Herbert Aptheker. New York: International Publishers, 1979.
- Woman's Legacy: Essays on Race, Sex and Class in American History. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1982.
- Tapestries of Life: Women's Work, Women's Consciousness and the Meaning of Daily Life. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.
- Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech, and Became a Feminist Rebel. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2006.