[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2642-S2644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING ARNOLD ARONSON ON HIS 86TH BIRTHDAY

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am here along with a number of my 
colleagues to honor Arnie Aronson on his 86th birthday, which was March 
11. Arnie eminently deserves his reputation as one of the greatest 
founders of the civil rights movement.
  Throughout his long and brilliant career, he has been a leader in 
every stage of the struggle for equal justice for all Americans. Over 
half a century ago, in 1941, he headed the Bureau of Jewish employment 
problems, a one-person agency in Chicago that investigated 
discrimination against Jews. There were no fax machines, no cellular 
phones, no computers then, no television sets--just one person with an 
iron will to eradicate discrimination.
  Arnie recognized that the plague of discrimination would not be 
overcome unless victims of different races and religions joined 
together. As Arnie once said, ``the struggle for civil rights cannot be 
won by any one group acting by or for itself alone, but only through a 
coalition of groups that share a common commitment to equal justice and 
equal opportunity for every American.''
  At that time, Arnie also formed the Chicago Council Against Religious 
and Racial Discrimination, a coalition of religious, labor, ethnic, 
civil rights, and social welfare organizations. His organization was 
immensely successful in addressing the problems of discrimination.
  For over 30 years, from 1945 to 1976, Arnie was program director for 
the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, a coalition 
of national and local Jewish agencies. During this period, he worked on 
every major piece of civil rights legislation, and every major civil 
rights issue. In 1954, after the historic Supreme Court decision in 
Brown versus Board of Education, Arnie organized the Consultative 
Conference on Desegregation. This organization provided much-needed 
support to clergy members who were under fire for speaking out in favor 
of the decision. He coordinated the campaign that resulted in 1957 in 
the enactment of the first civil rights laws since reconstruction. He 
was also a leader in persuading Congress to enact the three great civil 
rights laws of the 1960's--the Public Accommodations Act of 1964,

[[Page S2643]]

the voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The 
list goes on and on.
  Arnie was also a principal founder of the Leadership Conference on 
Civil Rights. To this day, the Leadership Conference is a powerful 
force for progress on civil rights precisely because of Arnie's 
influence and example in the 1950's. When others were seeking to divide 
the Nation with prejudice and bigotry, Arnie was uniting the Nation 
through hope and opportunity. The statement of purpose he prepared for 
the Leadership Conference has as much power today as it did when Arnie 
drafted it in 1967. The statement reads:

       We are committed to an integrated, democratic, plural 
     society in which every individual is accorded equal rights, 
     equal opportunities and equal justice and in which every 
     group is accorded an equal opportunity to enter fully in the 
     general life of the society with mutual acceptance and regard 
     for difference.

  In 1985, Arnie became president of the Leadership Conference 
Education Fund. Under his guidance, the Fund has focused on working 
with young children to root out prejudice early and instill an 
appreciation for the diversity that is the Nation's greatest strength.
  As we all know, the battle is not over. Civil rights is still the 
unfinished business of America. But because of Arnie Aronson, we have 
made substantial progress. Arnie is powerful proof that one person can 
make a difference in the lives of millions of our fellow citizens. It 
is an honor to join in wishing Arnie a very happy belated birthday.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor to wish Arnie 
Aronson a happy belated 86th birthday and to commend him on his many 
achievements.
  Arnie has been working for civil rights for over 50 years. He began 
at a time when help wanted ads openly specified ``Gentile Only'' or 
``Irish Need Not Apply.'' In the early 1940's he organized a coalition 
of religious, ethnic, civil rights, social welfare and labor 
organizations into the Chicago Council Against Religious and Racial 
Discrimination. By 1950 he was working with Roy Wilkins and many others 
to organize support for President Truman's proposed civil rights effort 
and engineered the combination of national organizations that created 
the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
  He and the Leadership Conference were instrumental in the enactment 
of the first extensive Federal civil rights laws since Reconstruction, 
the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, the fundamental Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 and the pivotal Fair Housing Act of 1968. They have been 
critical to our civil rights efforts at every turn ever since.
  The Statement of Purpose he drafted for the Leadership Conference 
says a great deal about this extraordinary man and his dedication to 
the rights of all: ``We are committed to an integrated, democratic, 
plural society in which every individual is accorded equal rights, 
equal opportunities and equal justice and in which every group is 
accorded an equal opportunity to enter fully into the general life of 
the society with mutual acceptance and regard for difference.''
  Arnie went on to help organize clergy, churches and synagogues. He 
was a founding member of the National Urban Coalition and a charter 
member of Common Cause. In the last 10 years, while well in his 70's, 
he assumed the presidency of the Leadership Conference Education Fund 
and helped invigorate its educational and public service activities.
  I am proud to call Arnie my friend and to take this opportunity to 
wish him a happy belated birthday.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Arnold 
Aronson, a man that has spent his life working for a goal that is dear 
to my heart; an integrated, democratic, plural society in which every 
individual is accorded equal rights, equal opportunities and equal 
justice.
  Mr. Aronson began his work toward achieving his goal in a time when 
discrimination was overt and widespread in our country. Beginning in a 
one-person agency founded in 1941 to combat employment discrimination 
against people of the Jewish faith, Mr. Aronson eventually became the 
Secretary of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, an organization 
dedicated to insuring equal rights to all segments of society.
  Under his guidance the Leadership Council was able to plan, 
coordinate and facilitate the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. His ability 
to recognize the strength of building coalitions in support of a common 
legislative goal was instrumental in the passage of all of these bills, 
and this belief helped assure that the tough decisions that had to be 
made did not fracture the coalition.
  Since 1985, Mr. Aronson has served as the President of the Leadership 
Conference Education Fund. Under his supervision, the Fund has 
increasingly focused on programs aimed at developing positive 
intergroup attitudes among young children. This focus has included a 
10-year partnership with the Advertising Council of America aimed at 
developing public service announcements dealing with diversity and 
prejudice. As we all know, the children of today will be growing up 
into the teachers, doctors and Presidents of tomorrow. Discussing this 
topic with the children of today, should help us achieve our goal of 
equal rights, equal opportunities and equal justice for all.
  Mr. President, while not a household name in the battle for civil 
rights, Arnold Aronson deserves our recognition and high praise for his 
years of hard work fighting for civil rights for all. I remain hopeful 
that in the foreseeable future we will be able to achieve our goal of 
equal rights, equal opportunities and equal justice for all.
  I appreciate this opportunity to pay tribute to Arnold Aronson, and I 
yield the floor.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to make a few remarks concerning 
Arnold Aronson. For some Americans, civil rights is a cause. For 
others, civil rights has been a crusade. For Arnold Aronson, civil 
rights has been his life.
  In his quiet, effective, persistent way, Arnold Aronson fought the 
battles that too many Americans simply talked about. It made no 
difference whether the victims were Jewish workers or Protestant 
pastors, black adults or white children, Arnold Aronson knew that there 
was only one American dream and that it applied to all Americans.
  Arnold Aronson has over the last half century worked with all the big 
names in civil rights, Americans like A. Philip Randolph and Roy 
Wilkins. But Arnold Aronson should not be honored for the big names for 
whom he worked but for the countless millions who he worked so hard to 
help.
  Arnold Aronson once said: ``The struggle for civil rights cannot be 
won by any one group acting by or for itself alone but only through a 
coalition of groups that share a common commitment to equal justice and 
equal opportunity for every American.''
  For Arnold Aronson, opportunity knew no boundaries of age, race, or 
religion. Opportunity was simply a principle to be lived and practiced, 
consistently, lovingly, and most of all, together.
  From his work with the Bureau on Jewish employment in Chicago in 1941 
to his presidency of the Leadership Conference Education Fund for the 
past decade, Arnold Aronson has turned that principle of opportunity 
for all into his life's mission.
  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor one of the 
founders of our Nation's civil rights movement, Arnie Aronson on the 
occasion of his 86th birthday.
  Mr. Aronson began his fight against discrimination in 1941. He headed 
the Bureau on Jewish Employment Problems in Chicago, Illinois. At that 
time discrimination against Jews was overt and widespread. Oftentimes 
help wanted ads stated ``Gentile Only" need apply. Realizing that 
employment discrimination was a prevalent problem that affected people 
of all races, he organized the Chicago Council Against Religious and 
Racial Discrimination, a coalition of religious, labor, ethnic, civil 
rights, and social welfare agencies. As Council Secretary, Mr. Aronson 
directed the campaign that led to the first Municipal Fair Employment 
Practices Commission in the Nation.
  He went on to form a statewide coalition, the Illinois Fair 
Employment Council which initiated the Illinois campaign for fair 
employment practices legislation. Due to his experience in the area of 
employment discrimination he served as a consultant to other states 
that sought similar legislation.

[[Page S2644]]

  From 1945 until 1976, Mr. Aronson served as the Program Director for 
the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, a coalition 
of national and Jewish agencies. He helped develop policies and 
programs for Jewish agency involvement on issues of civil rights, civil 
liberties, immigration reform, church/state separation, Soviet Jewish 
emigration, and support for Israel.
  In 1949, Mr. Aronson served as Secretary of the National Emergency 
Civil Rights Mobilization. This group was formed to lobby in support of 
President Truman's proposed civil rights program. The Mobilization 
consisted of approximately 5,000 delegates from 32 states representing 
58 national organizations. At the time, it was described as the 
``greatest mass lobby in point of numbers and geographical 
distribution'' that ever came to Washington.
  In 1950, Mr. Aronson helped found the Leadership Conference on Civil 
Rights, one of the nation's leading civil rights organizations. He 
served as Secretary of the Conference from 1950 to 1980. In addition to 
being responsible for the overall administration of the Conference, he 
helped plan and coordinate the campaign that resulted in the enactment 
of the first civil rights laws since Reconstruction, the 1964 Civil 
Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 
1968. During Mr. Aronson's tenure with the Conference, he helped 
contribute to some of the Conference's most productive years.
  I could go on, Mr. President, for there is no shortage of 
achievements, but I think that these few examples are sufficient to 
illustrate what an extraordinary contribution Arnie Aronson has made to 
the civil rights of our Nation. It is no exaggeration to say that 
millions of men and women of all races--who may never know Arnie 
Aronson--have benefited directly from his dedication and personal 
sacrifice on behalf of civil and human rights. He has made a positive 
and constructive difference for our Nation. I am pleased to wish him a 
belated happy 86th birthday.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, it is time for attention to be given to 
Arnold Aronson. Few students in this country, when studying Civics in 
their high schools and elementary schools, learn of the name Aronson. 
When they read about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Civil Rights Restoration Act 
of 1988, and the Americans with Disability Act--each in their own right 
a high water mark for our Nation--they hear names like King, Kennedy, 
and Johnson--but not Aronson.
  This is a lamentable omission for two reasons. First of all, none of 
these landmark pieces of legislation would ever have happened if it 
hadn't been for him. Second, school children across the Nation should 
be taught about the vital role non-elected individuals have played in 
our society, and the indispensable role of grass roots efforts and 
coalition building--two pillars of our political structure exemplified 
by Arnie Aronson. Mr. President, this nation should understand that our 
landmark civil rights laws were born in our Nation's communities, not 
in the minds of our Presidents. The truth is that the leadership came 
from the bottom, so to speak; not the top. The initiative required for 
these fundamental shifts in our society were born in the hearts of 
thousands of individual citizens, each of whom reached out to their 
respective communities, and were strung together delicately and 
persistently by a few motivated and foresighted leaders like Arnie 
Aronson.
  The reality is that Arnie has no one to blame but himself for his 
lack of notoriety. Arnie, as his friends and colleagues all know, shuns 
publicity with the same energy that some employ in its pursuit. But had 
Arnie been a self-promoter, then he never could have satisfied the 
complex interpersonal agendas necessary to organize so many disparate 
views, so many different goals, so many challenging attitudes. Arnie 
weaved together practically every major civil rights organization in 
the country into the grandparent of all coalitions, and perhaps still 
one of the most successful coalitions this century, the Leadership 
Conference on Civil Rights. Some of the organizations that eventually 
found a voice under his umbrella were in their infancy at the time and 
now are household names; others had such distinct agendas that it is 
nothing short of miraculous that they were willing to lend their names 
to any unified cause. But Arnie is a master consensus builder, and he 
accomplished more than most people could imagine, by advancing the 
interests of others rather than himself, by the practically unknown 
arts of self-sacrifice and behind-the-scenes hard work.
  By doing what he does, Arnie sets an example for us all. He has shown 
us what this Nation is capable of accomplishing, if it has the right 
goal in mind, and the will to reach that goal. He is an inspiration, 
because of his tolerance, his eagerness to hear out views that others 
might find offensive, his patience to find new, non-threatening ways of 
expressing strong opinions, and his ability to harness and channel 
tremendous energy in productive directions. There are millions of 
Americans enjoying lives and jobs and suffering far less discrimination 
than their parents endured, thanks to Arnie.
  Mr. President, Arnie Aronson should be anything but a secret in this 
nation. He is a role model for us all.

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