Leslie Cagan
Encyclopedia
Leslie Cagan is an American
activist, writer, and socialist organizer involved with the peace
and social justice
movements. She is the former national coordinator of United for Peace and Justice
, the former co-chair of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
, and the former chair of Pacifica Radio
.
, New York City
, in what she described as a "red diaper
" family. She attended her first political rally
as a young child in the 1950s, accompanied by her parents, who were former members of the Communist Party
. Her grandmother, a seamstress
, was a founding member of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union
. She graduated from New York University
in 1968 with a degree in art history
.
, groups of young adults who visited Cuba
under the auspices of harvesting sugar cane. During her journey to Havana
, Cagan told an Associated Press
reporter, "All of us support the Cuban Revolution and feel that by going and working with the Cubans we can show that support."
After choosing to skip graduate school, Cagan began her lifetime career of promoting various causes, predominately in the anti-war
movement, the anti-nuclear
movement, the LGBT rights movement, the feminist
movement, and normalization of relations
with Cuba. Cagan has been described by The New York Times
as one of the "grandes dames of the country's progressive movement" and a "national figure in the antiwar movement."
During the late 1960s–early 1970s, Cagan was actively involved with the Black Panther Party
. Cagan has protested the incarceration of Mumia Abu-Jamal
, a Black Panther Party member convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner
.
On June 12, 1982, Cagan was a lead organizer of the anti-nuclear rally held in New York City, attended by hundreds of thousands of activists. She was co-chair of the 1987 protest
for gay and lesbian rights.
In 2002, Cagan was among the founders of United for Peace and Justice, a left-wing
coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to what they describe as "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building." The organization was founded in the months preceding the 2003 invasion
of Iraq
. Cagan is strongly opposed to U.S. military forces
staying in Iraq. Her view of Iraqi insurgents
fighting U.S.-led coalition forces: "What I do think is legitimate is that people who are being occupied would find a way to work against that occupation. If you call that an insurgency, then so be it." In regards to U.S. relations with Israel
, Cagan had described U.S. funds as going “to help maintain the deadly Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.”
Cagan co-founded the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, a socialist group that left the Communist Party, following the dissolution
of the Soviet Union
. In 1997, she was an organizer for the 14th annual World Festival of Youth and Students
. Cagan is a member of the New York Committee to Free the Cuban Five, an advocacy group seeking the release of five Cubans convicted
in 2001 of spying
on Cuban American
exiles and U.S. military bases for Fidel Castro
. In reference to peace activism, Cagan has said, "We have so much to learn from the history of the Communist Party about how this work has been done."
In 2004, Cagan was included in Out
magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential LGBT
people. She lives in Brooklyn
, New York, with her partner
, author and activist Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
, founding director of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
activist, writer, and socialist organizer involved with the peace
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
movements. She is the former national coordinator of United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."...
, the former co-chair of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism is a democratic socialist group in the United States which originated in 1991 as the Committees of Correspondence, a moderate, reformist wing of the Communist Party USA...
, and the former chair of Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
.
Early life
Cagan was born in 1947 to a Jewish couple in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in what she described as a "red diaper
Red diaper baby
Red diaper baby describes a child of parents who were members of the United States Communist Party or were close to the party or sympathetic to its aims.-History:...
" family. She attended her first political rally
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
as a young child in the 1950s, accompanied by her parents, who were former members of the Communist Party
Communist 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....
. Her grandmother, a seamstress
Sewing
Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...
, was a founding member of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations...
. She graduated from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1968 with a degree in art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
.
Career
In 1969, Cagan was among the first participants of the Venceremos BrigadeVenceremos Brigade
The Venceremos Brigade is a politically motivated international organization founded in 1969 by members of the Students for a Democratic Society and officials of the Republic of Cuba...
, groups of young adults who visited Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
under the auspices of harvesting sugar cane. During her journey to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cagan told an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporter, "All of us support the Cuban Revolution and feel that by going and working with the Cubans we can show that support."
After choosing to skip graduate school, Cagan began her lifetime career of promoting various causes, predominately in the anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
movement, the anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
The anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups which have acted to oppose nuclear power or nuclear weapons, or both, in the United States. These groups include the Abalone Alliance, Clamshell Alliance, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research,...
movement, the LGBT rights movement, the feminist
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
movement, and normalization of relations
United States embargo against Cuba
The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...
with Cuba. Cagan has been described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as one of the "grandes dames of the country's progressive movement" and a "national figure in the antiwar movement."
During the late 1960s–early 1970s, Cagan was actively involved with the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Cagan has protested the incarceration of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. He has been described as "perhaps the world's best known death-row inmate", and his sentence is one of the most debated today...
, a Black Panther Party member convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner
Daniel Faulkner
Daniel J. Faulkner was a police officer in the American city of Philadelphia who was shot and killed in the line of duty. Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting and sentenced to death...
.
On June 12, 1982, Cagan was a lead organizer of the anti-nuclear rally held in New York City, attended by hundreds of thousands of activists. She was co-chair of the 1987 protest
Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 1987...
for gay and lesbian rights.
In 2002, Cagan was among the founders of United for Peace and Justice, a left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to what they describe as "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building." The organization was founded in the months preceding the 2003 invasion
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Cagan is strongly opposed to U.S. military forces
United States military in Iraq
The United States military has played a major role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent Iraq War. Its missions and activities there have brought a range of new challenges, and various impacts on military personnel, equipment and procedures...
staying in Iraq. Her view of Iraqi insurgents
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
fighting U.S.-led coalition forces: "What I do think is legitimate is that people who are being occupied would find a way to work against that occupation. If you call that an insurgency, then so be it." In regards to U.S. relations with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Cagan had described U.S. funds as going “to help maintain the deadly Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.”
Cagan co-founded the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, a socialist group that left the Communist Party, following the dissolution
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In 1997, she was an organizer for the 14th annual World Festival of Youth and Students
World Festival of Youth and Students
The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth , a left-wing youth organization, jointly with the International Union of Students since 1947....
. Cagan is a member of the New York Committee to Free the Cuban Five, an advocacy group seeking the release of five Cubans convicted
Cuban Five
The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five are five Cuban intelligence officers convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, and other illegal activities in the United States...
in 2001 of spying
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
on Cuban American
Cuban American
A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...
exiles and U.S. military bases for Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
. In reference to peace activism, Cagan has said, "We have so much to learn from the history of the Communist Party about how this work has been done."
In 2004, Cagan was included in Out
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people. She lives 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, with her partner
Domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
, author and activist Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz is a lesbian essayist, poet, activist and academic, born in 1945 in Brooklyn, New York.-Early life:Her grandparents emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe, Poland and Russia....
, founding director of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice.
External links
- Leslie Cagan Papers, by the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner ArchivesTamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner ArchivesThe Tamiment Library is a research library at New York University that documents radical and left history, with strengths in the histories of communism, socialism, anarchism, the New Left, the Civil Rights Movement, and utopian experiments. The Robert F. Wagner Archives, which is also housed in...
- Archive of commentary by Leslie Cagan, by Z MagazineZ CommunicationsZ Communications is a radical left-wing media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent. It advocates participatory socialism as a replacement for capitalism. Its publications include Z Magazine, ZNet, Z Media, and Z Video.Z Communications is based outside Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
- Video interview with Leslie Cagan, featured on the 2004 documentary film, Waging Peace
- Audio speech by Leslie Cagan, following the 2008 U.S. presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 2008The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
- Video speech by Leslie Cagan, via Free Speech TVFree Speech TV-External links:...
- Audio interview with Leslie Cagan, by WBAIWBAIWBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
's Beyond The Pale