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Kushner, Florence (audio interview #4 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the last of four interviews conducted with Flo Kushner as part of a project for a women's oral history class at CSULB.
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- 2021-02-02
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- SUBJECT BIO - Flo Kushner was a communist organizer starting with her teen years when she joined the Young Pioneers and later in YCL and CP. She was the youngest of three children born into a family of socialist believers. Despite their beliefs, they fled Russia following the 1905 revolution as a result of the ensuing pogroms. Although Kushner recalled living in pretty squalid conditions in the tenements of New York as a child, by the time she was a little older, the family had moved to the Bronx. This is where she received her radical political education - from the street meetings in the neighborhood and from joining her mother on the ILGWU picket lines. She joined the Young Pioneers when she was twelve. Despite her mother's aspirations for her to attend college, after two years Kushner dropped out of Hunter College and joined her sister in Chicago. Following in her sister's footsteps, she went to work at Armour Packing Company to organize the workers, and later began to work in radio manufacturing. Kushner married in 1934 when she was seventeen. Her husband was also active in YCL/CP and both worked in radio manufacturing. She continued to work on an off until after the birth of her second child in 1942, when she stayed home for two years. After her husband went into the military, she went to work in a war manufacturing plant and became an active organizer for the UE. In the late 1940s/early 1950, Kushner became the CP organizational secretary for the the Illinois district until she was sent underground by the party in 1950-1951. After her divorce in 1958, she moved to Los Angeles with her new husband, Sam Kushner, who worked for the People's World. She gave up on trying to get factory jobs and instead went into white collar work. Although she scaled back her activities in the CP, Kushner was active in the peace and freedom movement, farm workers and Chicano movements in the 1970s. The interview with Kushner was conducted as a student project for a women's oral history class at CSULB. TOPICS - opinion of the CP; red baiting in electronics field; work history in Los Angeles; termination from Occidental College for being a communist; husband's work with the People's World; political activities in sixties and seventies; responsibilities on the organizing commission of the CP; Smith Act arrest; McCarthyism and assessment of CP's decision to go underground; and life review/reflections and expectations for the future;
- *** File: reffkushner7.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:22)... Kushner elaborates on her views on the CP. She was one among many in the CP who were neither anti-Soviet nor anti-socialist but believed "there are certain things that are not correct there and need to be more democratic." She feels it is important that the political dissidents in the country be permitted to discuss their views openly so that socialism can develop correctly. Although she does not always agree with the methods of or the direction taken by the CP, the party supports her political views. (2:22-4:22)... Kushner explains the transition from a socialist to a communist form of government. She believes that when communism is in practice, the government operates in an administrative capacity only "to carry out the fundamental needs of the people." (4:22-6:30)... When Kushner to Los Angeles in 1962, she decided not to pursue job opportunities in the electronics industry because it was dominated by defense and aerospace contracts and she did not think she would last very long in any of these plants. Instead, she applied for various clerical and bookkeeping positions before landing a steady position at Occidental College. When she was fired because of her political background, she decided to look for work at smaller companies where the "wages were low and if you did a good job, they didn't bother with what you did in your political life." She eventually got a job at an auto parts store where she worked for fourteen years. (6:30-8:55)... Kushner's second husband worked for the People's World for several years before becoming a freelance writer. He dedicated much of his time to writing a book about the farm workers movement. She also participated in picketing and fundraising activities in support of farm workers' efforts to form a union. During this period, she also belonged to the organizing commission of the CP and spent most of her time developing activities and programs for the party. (8:55-10:27)... Kushner was active in the peace and freedom movement "trying to develop independent politics." It became very difficult to create successful programs, however, because there was little consensus on the direction the movement should take. (10:27-12:30)... In the early 1970s, Kushner became involved in the food cooperative movement. She volunteered her time to the Jefferson Community Buyers Club, which was established by an Asian youth group for the diverse population in the community. In addition to developing food programs, the club worked with farm workers and also created a program of educational and consumer activities in Africa. (12:30-15:33)... A year and a half after moving to Los Angeles, Kushner and her husband were subpoenaed for violating the Smith Act. They never went to trial because their case was dismissed. Legal representation was provided by the CP and the party paid all of their legal fees. People were still being charged and arrested after the Smith Act was ruled unconstitutional. The CP held fundraising events in order to finance the legal costs of party members facing Smith Act convictions. These funds also helped the families affected by these charges. (15:33-18:08)... Kushner believes that the CP's decision to go underground during the McCarthy period was a grave mistake that cost the party its membership and credibility. At the time, however, it seemed like a smart thing to do in order to avoid further arrests. Legislature such as the Smith, McCarran and Anti-Alien Acts stunted radicalism in America and created a "great fear that there was a police state in the making...." (18:08-21:15)... Kushner recalls when her life was filled with wonderful friends and exciting activities, "but it doesn't mean that you have had everything that you want." The dissolution of her first marriage and the breakup of her family was an unfortunate event that caused her much unhappiness. She has scaled back on her political activities a great deal and is not sure what her future holds in this respect, noting that she was not satisfied with the CP and wasn't putting in the same kind of effort as in the past. She notes that she misses that "because that was a great part of my life." She is dissatisfied with her lack of involvement, but also points out that she is no longer living in a time of "great, unfolding movements" in American politics and society. (21:15-24:47)... During the 1960s, Kushner participated in anti-war demonstrations as well as the civil rights movement. At the time, she was working in the CP developing programs and activities related to these movements. From his position at the People's World, her husband was covering these developments. They also were active in the farm workers movement and the early stages of the Chicano movement. Although the drug culture was a negative outcome of the sixties, the women's movement was a positive feature of that period. However, she was not directly involved in those efforts. End of tape.
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