Mitch Snyder
Encyclopedia
Mitch Snyder was an American
advocate
for the homeless
. He was the subject of a made-for-television 1986
biopic
, Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story, starring Martin Sheen
.
, Brooklyn
, New York
, where at age 9 his father abandoned the family. After a stint in a correctional facility for breaking into parking meters, Snyder worked in job counseling on Madison Avenue in New York City
, as well as selling appliances and construction work. In 1969 he left his wife and children and started hitchhiking
west. Police found him in a stolen vehicle, and he was arrested and convicted of grand theft auto. He served two years in federal prison, 1970–1972, for violating the Dyer Act, which outlaws the interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. Snyder ended up in Danbury Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury
, Connecticut
, where he served time with Philip
and Daniel Berrigan
. Following meetings with them and prolific reading, especially of the Bible
, Snyder started participating in hunger strikes and work stoppages over prison rights issues.
CCNV was at that time operating a medical clinic, a pretrial house, a soup kitchen, a thrift store and a halfway house. CCNV came out of a discussion group about the Vietnam War
at George Washington University
. CCNV was also very active in non-violent direct action
in opposition to the Vietnam War
. Snyder became the driving force of CCNV but worked with many deeply committed people including his wife and professional partner, Carol Fennelly; Mary Ellen Hombs
, with whom he co authored Homelessness in America: A Forced March to Nowhere; and Ed and Kathleen Guinan.
He and CCNV pushed and prodded the District of Columbia, the local churches and temples and mosques, as well as the federal government
to open space at night for homeless people, and worked to staff the space that was made available. Through demonstrations
, public funerals for people who had frozen to death on DC streets, breaking into public buildings, and fasting, CCNV forced the creation of shelters in Washington and made homelessness a national and international issue.
In the 1980s Snyder, Fennelly, and other CCNV activists entered and occupied an abandoned federal building at 425 2nd Street N.W. (now Mitch Snyder Place) and housed hundreds overnight while demanding that the government renovate the building. Under intense pressure, the Reagan administration agreed to lease the Federal property to CCNV for $1 a year. Later the Federal government transferred the property to DC. It remains the largest shelter in Washington to this day. Snyder fasted twice to force the Reagan administration
to renovate the building. The first fast ended on the eve of Reagan's second election when Reagan promised to execute necessary repairs. Reagan failed to follow through on this promise, and litigation ensued. An Oscar-nominated documentary
, Promises to Keep, narrated by Martin Sheen
, follows that story and tells why a second fast was conducted. Sheen
also played Mitch Snyder in the made-for-TV movie, Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story.
Angered that Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown
planned an expensive renovation of that historic church, and maintaining that the money involved should be given instead to the poor, Snyder stood in the middle of the congregation throughout the Sunday Mass for many weeks as a protest, while other congregants knelt or sat during the service as was customary.
In 1985, Snyder and CCNV hired sculptor James Reid
to create a display for the annual Christmastime Pageant of Peace in Washington which would dramatize the plight of the homeless. The display, titled "Third World America," featured a nativity scene in which the Holy Family
was represented by contemporary homeless people huddled around a steam grate. The figures were atop a pedestal that stated "And Still There is No Room at the Inn." In 1986, Snyder and CCNV wanted to take "Third World America" on tour, but Reid refused. Snyder and CCNV sued Reid, claiming that "Third World America" was a work for hire
under § 101 of the United States Copyright Act. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the sculpture was not a work for hire
because Reid was not an employee under the general common law of agency
(490 U.S. 730). Thus, the work was not subject to the § 201(b) rule that when a work is made for hire, the employer is considered the author.
, Snyder walked out of his arraignment, went directly to the White House, climbed over the fence and was rearrested.
He is survived by his former partner Carol Fennelly, his ex-wife and his two sons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
advocate
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
for the homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
. He was the subject of a made-for-television 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
biopic
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
, Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story, starring Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
.
History
Snyder grew up in FlatbushFlatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
, 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...
, where at age 9 his father abandoned the family. After a stint in a correctional facility for breaking into parking meters, Snyder worked in job counseling on Madison Avenue in 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...
, as well as selling appliances and construction work. In 1969 he left his wife and children and started hitchhiking
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
west. Police found him in a stolen vehicle, and he was arrested and convicted of grand theft auto. He served two years in federal prison, 1970–1972, for violating the Dyer Act, which outlaws the interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. Snyder ended up in Danbury Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, where he served time with Philip
Philip Berrigan
Philip Francis Berrigan was an internationally renowned American peace activist, Christian anarchist and former Roman Catholic priest...
and Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan, SJ is an American Catholic priest, peace activist, and poet. Daniel and his brother Philip were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for their involvement in antiwar protests during the Vietnam war....
. Following meetings with them and prolific reading, especially of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, Snyder started participating in hunger strikes and work stoppages over prison rights issues.
Affiliation with CCNV
Upon being released in 1973 Snyder came home to rejoin his family. Less than one year later he left his family again and joined the Community for Creative Non Violence (CCNV) in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
CCNV was at that time operating a medical clinic, a pretrial house, a soup kitchen, a thrift store and a halfway house. CCNV came out of a discussion group about the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. CCNV was also very active in non-violent direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
in opposition to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Snyder became the driving force of CCNV but worked with many deeply committed people including his wife and professional partner, Carol Fennelly; Mary Ellen Hombs
Mary Ellen Hombs
Mary Ellen Hombs was the Deputy Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, a governmental entity that is made up of the heads of various federal departments and agencies with the mission of developing a comprehensive federal approach to end homelessness...
, with whom he co authored Homelessness in America: A Forced March to Nowhere; and Ed and Kathleen Guinan.
He and CCNV pushed and prodded the District of Columbia, the local churches and temples and mosques, as well as the federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
to open space at night for homeless people, and worked to staff the space that was made available. Through demonstrations
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...
, public funerals for people who had frozen to death on DC streets, breaking into public buildings, and fasting, CCNV forced the creation of shelters in Washington and made homelessness a national and international issue.
In the 1980s Snyder, Fennelly, and other CCNV activists entered and occupied an abandoned federal building at 425 2nd Street N.W. (now Mitch Snyder Place) and housed hundreds overnight while demanding that the government renovate the building. Under intense pressure, the Reagan administration agreed to lease the Federal property to CCNV for $1 a year. Later the Federal government transferred the property to DC. It remains the largest shelter in Washington to this day. Snyder fasted twice to force the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
to renovate the building. The first fast ended on the eve of Reagan's second election when Reagan promised to execute necessary repairs. Reagan failed to follow through on this promise, and litigation ensued. An Oscar-nominated documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Promises to Keep, narrated by Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, follows that story and tells why a second fast was conducted. Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
also played Mitch Snyder in the made-for-TV movie, Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story.
Angered that Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
planned an expensive renovation of that historic church, and maintaining that the money involved should be given instead to the poor, Snyder stood in the middle of the congregation throughout the Sunday Mass for many weeks as a protest, while other congregants knelt or sat during the service as was customary.
In 1985, Snyder and CCNV hired sculptor James Reid
James Reid
James Reid is the name of:*James Randolph Reid , American soldier and Continental Congressman*James Reid , member for British Columbia in the House of Commons, and member of the Senate of Canada...
to create a display for the annual Christmastime Pageant of Peace in Washington which would dramatize the plight of the homeless. The display, titled "Third World America," featured a nativity scene in which the Holy Family
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family...
was represented by contemporary homeless people huddled around a steam grate. The figures were atop a pedestal that stated "And Still There is No Room at the Inn." In 1986, Snyder and CCNV wanted to take "Third World America" on tour, but Reid refused. Snyder and CCNV sued Reid, claiming that "Third World America" was a work for hire
Work for hire
A work made for hire is an exception to the general rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally recognized author of that work...
under § 101 of the United States Copyright Act. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the sculpture was not a work for hire
Work for hire
A work made for hire is an exception to the general rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally recognized author of that work...
because Reid was not an employee under the general common law of agency
Law of agency
The law of agency is an area of commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual, or non-contractual set of relationships when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another to create a legal relationship with a third party...
(490 U.S. 730). Thus, the work was not subject to the § 201(b) rule that when a work is made for hire, the employer is considered the author.
Controversies
The ardor of Snyder's beliefs sometimes led to encounters with law enforcement. He once claimed to have the longest arrest record in D.C. On one infamous occasion, after being arrested at the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Snyder walked out of his arraignment, went directly to the White House, climbed over the fence and was rearrested.
Death
After setbacks in his personal and public life Snyder hanged himself in his room at the CCNV shelter in July 1990.He is survived by his former partner Carol Fennelly, his ex-wife and his two sons.
Sources
- New York Times obituary. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DC123CF935A35754C0A966958260
- Gay, Kathlyn and Martin K. Gay. Heroes of Conscience: A Biographical Dictionary. Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
: ABC-CLIO Inc., 1996. - Levitt, Steven D. and Steven J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything New York: William Morrow, 2005.
- Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989).
- A Guide to the Mitch Snyder Papers, Gelman Libray System, Special Collections and University Archives. http://dspace.wrlc.org:8080/view/XMLViewer?xml=http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/EADRetrieve/2041/6739/MS2018.xml