Isidore Begun

Begun c. 1937

Isidore Begun (December 3, 1903 – October 21, 1988) was a Belarusian-American teacher, labor leader and politician who served as chairman of the Unemployed Teachers Association in the 1930s and the Bronx County Communist Party in the 1940s. He was the Communist Party's candidate for New York City Council in the Bronx in four elections. He was later prosecuted under the Smith Act.

Biography

Begun (left) at a campaign meeting in a library c. 1943

Begun was born in Pinsk (then a part of the Minsk Governorate in the Russian Empire)[1] on December 3, 1903, immigrating to the United States in April of the following year.[2] According to the Daily Worker, his father was Jewish and worked as a capmaker in the Lower East Side. Begun himself began working at the age of 12, using the money to pay for his education and eventually graduate from Columbia University with a Master of Arts.[3][4]

Begun became a naturalized citizen in September 1925.[2] That year he started work as a public school teacher in the Bronx.[5] He joined the Communist Party USA in 1928.[6] Begun worked with the New York City Teachers Union, where his left-wing politics were controversial. John Dewey attempted to have him fired for disruptive behavior in 1933.[7] Begun was dismissed from his teaching position in 1934, after he defended a teacher who had been fired for protesting salary cuts.[8] Following his firing, Begun became the chairman of the Unemployed Teachers Association.[9]

In 1937, Begun was the Communist Party's candidate for New York City Council but lost the election to Salvatore Ninfo.[10] He ran again in 1939, 1941 and 1943[11] despite an attempt to remove him from the ballot due to his Communist Party membership.[12] He also served as chairman of the Bronx County Communist Party from 1944[13] to 1949,[1] when he was removed from office for "failing to struggle against white chauvinism."[14] He was reinstated in 1950 following a period of criticism and self-criticism,[15] but by 1951 was once again no longer in office.[16] During World War II, he had a column in the Daily Worker called "Civilian Front," which detailed civil defense efforts in the United States.[17]

Begun's FBI mugshot, 1951

On the morning of June 20, 1951, Begun and 16 other Communist Party leaders were arrested by the FBI and charged with violating the Smith Act.[18] In September 1952, Judge Edward J. Dimock dropped the charges against Begun and Si Gerson, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict them.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b "U. S. Rounds Up Red Leaders, 12 Indicted On Conspiracy Counts". United Press. 20 June 1951. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Green, Abner (1954). In the Shadow of Liberty: The Inhumanity of the Walter-McCarran Law. New York: New York Committee for Protection of Foreign Born. p. 34.
  3. ^ "KNOW YOUR COMMUNIST PARTY CANDIDATES FOR CITY COUNCIL". Sunday Worker. New York. 5 November 1939. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  4. ^ "N.Y. COMMUNIST CANDIDATES". Sunday Worker. New York. 3 November 1940. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  5. ^ Shields, Art (September 29, 1943). "'Home' Is Anywhere In Bronx to Begun". The Daily Worker. p. 4.
  6. ^ Adamson, H. C. (18 October 1937). "of the People, by the People and for the People..." Daily Worker. New York. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  7. ^ Tiles, J.E., ed. (1999). John Dewey: Critical Assessments. Vol. II. London: Routledge. p. 394. ISBN 0415053137.
  8. ^ Moreo, Dominic W. (1996). Schools in the Great Depression. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 0815320396.
  9. ^ "Begun Attacks Prevalent Idea of Free Learning". The Pioneer. November 7, 1934. p. 2.
  10. ^ Ross, Steven J., ed. (2023). Beyond Whiteness: Revisiting Jews in Ethnic America. Purdue University Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781612499192.
  11. ^ "Begun, Isidore". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Wins Place on Ballot". The New York Times. October 25, 1941. p. 9.
  13. ^ "All Parties in Bronx GI Vote Rally Tonight". Daily Worker. New York. 4 August 1944. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  14. ^ "CP Removes Bronx Leaders". Daily Worker. New York. 25 May 1949. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Reinstate Leaders of Bronx Communist Party". Daily Worker. New York. 24 April 1950. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  16. ^ "Those Seized By the FBI". The Worker. New York. 1 July 1951. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  17. ^ Begun, Isadore (5 November 1943). "Civilian Front". Daily Worker. New York. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  18. ^ Singer, Michael (June 21, 1951). "F.B.I. Seizes 17; Roundup Aimed At Peace Movement". The Daily Worker. p. 1.
  19. ^ "2 N.Y. Smith Act defendants freed". National Guardian. October 2, 1952. p. 7.
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