- Person
- Joel Spingarn
- Lived
- 1875–1939
- Field
- Civil rights & criticism
- From
- American
The story
Joel Spingarn had studied and taught at Columbia University for most of his adult life. After graduating in 1895 and earning his doctorate in 1899, he joined the new Department of Comparative Literature under his mentor George E. Woodberry, rising to full professor in 1909 and department head in 1910. From 1904 his role in university affairs marked him as an independent spirit at Columbia, too independent for its powerful president, Nicholas Murray Butler. Their differences ranged from clashes of personality to disagreements over educational philosophy.
Matters came to a head in 1910 when Butler summarily dismissed Professor Harry Thurston Peck over a public scandal involving a breach-of-promise lawsuit. At a faculty meeting Spingarn offered a resolution in Peck's support. Five weeks later Spingarn himself was dismissed. EBSCO's biography describes the clash as a dispute over free speech at the university.
Spingarn joined a distinguished line of progressive scholars, including Woodberry, Charles Beard and James Harvey Robinson, who resigned or were dismissed during Butler's presidency. Independently wealthy, he continued his scholarship, occasionally teaching at the New School for Social Research. He never returned to a permanent academic post, but he went on publishing criticism, including The New Criticism in 1911 and Creative Criticism in 1917.
His dismissal coincided with the formation of the NAACP, and he poured much of his energy into the fight for racial justice. Early in 1911 he was already acting for its New York Vigilance Committee, and he went on to chair its board, serve as treasurer and become its president. In 1911 he also bought the Amenia Times, a local newspaper near his country estate in New York's Dutchess County, and later he helped found the publisher Harcourt, Brace.
Losing his professorship freed Spingarn to become a public figure rather than a campus one. The independence that had troubled Columbia's president became an asset in the civil rights movement, where he was willing to take unpopular positions and stand by them.
Why it matters
Spingarn's willingness to sacrifice his post for a principle foreshadowed the courage he would bring to the civil rights movement.
About Joel Spingarn
Literary scholar who became one of the NAACP’s first Jewish leaders, its chairman, treasurer and second president, and founder of the Spingarn Medal for African American achievement.
More about Joel Spingarn
- Joel Spingarn helped found Harcourt, Brace and CompanyIn 1919 Joel Spingarn helped found the publishing house Harcourt, Brace and Company, served as its literary adviser and edited its 25-volume European Library.
- Joel Spingarn called for a “new criticism” in 1910In a 1910 Columbia lecture called The New Criticism, Joel Spingarn argued that each work of art should be judged afresh, on its own terms.
- Joel Spingarn gave $100 to defend a tortured farmerIn 1910 Joel Spingarn read of a Black tenant farmer in Arkansas tortured to force a confession, gave $100 to his defense fund, and soon joined the NAACP.
- Joel Spingarn led the NAACP and created the Spingarn MedalJoel Spingarn, a Jewish literary scholar, led the NAACP for decades and in 1914 created the Spingarn Medal for Black achievement, still awarded today.
- Joel Spingarn launched the New Abolition campaignIn 1913 Joel Spingarn began a campaign he called the New Abolition, reviving the spirit of the abolitionists and spreading the NAACP to new cities.
- Joel Spingarn helped win a suit against a segregated theaterIn 1911 Joel Spingarn accompanied Black men to a New York theater that refused them tickets, then helped the NAACP's Vigilance Committee win a lawsuit against the management.
- Joel Spingarn outfitted Howard students who enlistedDuring World War I Joel Spingarn trained as an officer, served as a major and donated uniforms for one hundred Howard University students who enlisted.
Sources
- Joel Elias Spingarn Wikipedia
- Joel Spingarn Jewish Virtual Library
- Joel Elias Spingarn EBSCO Research Starters
Another act of tikkun olam. This is part of tikkun olam, the Jewish idea of repairing the world, and every one of us can add to it.