Arnie Goldwag, Brooklyn CORE, on Jitu Weusi

Dublin Core

Title

Arnie Goldwag, Brooklyn CORE, on Jitu Weusi

Description

This is an audio clip of Brooklyn CORE member Arnie Goldwag speaking about working with Brooklyn CORE's Jitu Weusi after Goldwag had been pushed out of Brooklyn CORE because he was White.

In his oral history with New York CORE member Sheila Michaels tells a story of how, working as an investigator for the Administration for Children’s Services, he risked his job by insisting on placing a young girl who had to be taken out of an abusive home into the care of Weusi. Rather than place the girl in the foster care/group home system, he believed Weusi could do the job through the EAST, the Black educational and cultural center Weusi helped found in the 1970's.

What is interesting is that this was done after Weusi had been labeled as anti-semitic for his various actions during the Ocean-Hill Brownsville demonstrations over community control of local public schools. Goldwag, the brother of an orthodox rabbi, had been pushed out of Brooklyn CORE as it went Black Power, a move for which he blamed Sonny Carson, a man who he had no kind words for. Even with that, his interview indicates his ability to be critical and distinguish between Carson and Weusi, a characteristic the White members of CORE were not often given credit for.

Creator

Sheila Michaels

Source

Sheila Michaels Oral History collection

Publisher

Columbia University Library

Rights

Sheila Michaels

Coverage

New York City

Collection

Citation

Sheila Michaels, “Arnie Goldwag, Brooklyn CORE, on Jitu Weusi ,” corenyc.org, accessed December 9, 2024, http://www.corenyc.org/omeka/items/show/298.

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