> NEW YORK -- Gus Hall, long time Communist Party leader, died Friday Oct. 13 > in New York City. He was 90. > > (www.pww.org) > > Hall was one of the most famous American communists. He led an > extraordinary life of working class activism and was a participant in > nearly all of the most important social struggles that transformed America > in the twentieth century. He came from, and was typical of, an outstanding > generation of activists on issues of workers' rights, peace, equality, > international solidarity and socialism. Like Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Paul > Robeson, William Z. Foster, John L. Lewis, W.E.B. Du Bois, and many other > Communist and non-Communist figures he worked with, he leaves a deep > imprint on America's political life. > > Originally from the Minnesota Iron Range, Hall was born into a politically > active Finnish family. As a young man he worked in the lumber camps of the > far north. > > At 17, he became an organizer for the Young Communist League (YCL). He > later made his way to Youngstown Ohio where he ran for mayor on the > Communist Party ticket, under his birth name, Arvo Gus Halberg. When Hall > wanted to get a job in the steel mills, because of blacklisting he knew he > wouldn't be hired, so he changed it to Gus Hall. The name stuck. > > Hall was an organizer for the Steelworkers Organizing Committee (SWOC), a > founding member of the United Steelworkers of America and a strike leader > during the "Little Steel Strike" of 1937. That strike was the final blow > against the steel giants vicious, anti-union stance. Hall helped to > organize over 10,000 steelworkers in the Mahoning Valley. > > Later Hall became an organizer for the Communist Party. A staunch fighter > against racism and fascism Hall volunteered for the U.S. Navy, when World > War II broke out, serving as a machinist mate in a machine shop in Guam. He > was honorably discharged March 6, 1946. On July 22,1948, Hall and 11 other > Communist Party leaders were indicted under the Smith Act on false charges > of "conspiracy to teach and advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government > by force and violence." > > Many communists and progressives were jailed, blacklisted and hounded by > the FBI during one of the most undemocratic periods in our country's > history. Hall spent eight years in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for the > crime of "thinking." The Supreme Court finally struck down the Smith Act as > unconstitutional. > > After his release Hall continued his activism in the working class, > democratic, peace and civil rights struggles, making many public speeches > and media appearances. Hall was famous around the world as a respected > Communist leader and had warm relations with many heads of state. Hall > addressed numerous international meetings of Communist and workers' parties. > > Hall ran for President four times on the Communist Party ticket, making > People before Profits a rallying slogan. > > An internationally renowned Marxist theoretician, Hall authored many books, > articles and speeches. Two of his best know books are Working Class USA and > Racism, the Nation's Most Dangerous Pollutant. > > Sam Webb, the National Chair of the Communist Party, said, "Gus Hall will > be greatly missed by the progressive movements and our Party. Through all > the turmoil of McCarthyism, the Reagan/Bush years of attacks on labor, and > the setbacks to socialism, Hall helped our party maintained a clear, stable > focus in the working class, and the people's movements for peace, social > justice and socialism." > > Hall is survived by his wife Elizabeth, also a founder of the USWA, a > daughter, Barbara, a son, Arvo, two sisters and many grandchildren and > great-grandchildren. > >
