Leonard Bernstein is known for more than his occupation as a leading conductor and composer, as he was a gay, Jewish man who became the target of an intense investigation by the government. This investigation and documentation of his activities lasted for three decades.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation made an 800-page file detailing his activities. Since 1949, J. Edgar Hoover monitored Bernstein, as he believed Bernstein to be involved with the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief, the Civil Rights Congress, the Southern Negro Youth Congress, and the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee. His affiliation with these groups brought to attention Truman's Executive Order 9835. The order's purpose was to put an end to Soviet and Communist influences in the United States government.Bernstein was also targeted by Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator who had a mission of finding anyone affiliated with the Communists or Soviets. In 1950, Bernstein's music was banned at State Department functions and in the FBI Security Index, he was identified as a Communist. His passport was taken from him and he was put under an FBI investigation. In order to get the passport back, he was forced to submit an eleven-page letter saying that was not a Communist Party member and didn't intentionally engage in Communist activities.
During one of his parties in 1970, he discussed the politics pertaining to identity. Once news of the discussions was leaked, similar gatherings were canceled since he came off as "anti-Semitic" and "exploitative" to the government.
Although the FBI took accounts of Bernstein's travels, performances, and civil rights activism, it never established whether Bernstein was Communist since they didn't find any evidence to point them in that direction. His experience demonstrates just how far the FBI went to ensure that there were no Communists in the government, even if it meant stalking someone for many years.
https://www.wqxr.org/story/blacklisted-politcal-life-leonard-bernstein/
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/bernstein-and-the-f-b-i
https://bernstein.classical.org/features/leonard-bernstein-and-the-fbi/
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/29/us/files-detail-years-of-spying-on-bernstein.html
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bernstein-copland-seeger-and-others-are-named-as-communists
It was interesting reading this post since I've never heard of Leonard Bernstein beforehand. The fact that there was an 800 page file created for him and that his investigation lasted roughly 30 years is quite impressive. It really does show how hard core and committed the government was back then to hunting down (supposed) Communists. Accomplishments wise, Bernstein seemed quite successful. He collaborated on many musicals on Broadway and won many awards on honors for his work. A few examples of the many awards he received were the MacDowell Colony's Gold Medal, the Handel Medallion, and a Tony award.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://www.leonardbernstein.com/about
I really enjoyed reading your post and thought it was quite informative. I knew of Leonard Bernstein and his basic status through his musicals and his compositions, but I found it very interesting that he was keep under such careful wraps by the FBI being a pretty prominent musical figure. However, it does make sense. I went to look more into his works, and found that even after being blacklisted, he was still able to get work. One of his more well known plays was "West Side Story", which tackled many different delicate issues like rape, murder, and death with in a broadway musical. Working with Jerome Robbins, another gay man who was accused of being a communist as well as others, they tackled how love could survive within a violent world, something that was occurring at the time.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.npr.org/2011/02/24/97274711/the-real-life-drama-behind-west-side-story