Always “In Opposition”

Always “In Opposition”

When I heard the sad news, two memories came to mind. I met Bernie in September 1950. I had just finished my graduate course work and been lucky enough to get my first teaching job as an adjunct at Hunter College. I was assigned to its Bronx campus (now Lehman College) where Bernie was the sole full-time representative of its sociology department. We had lunch together that first day, and at one point he asked about one of my graduate school teachers, a well-known and influential sociologist. Like most of his graduate students, I had fallen under his spell, but, as I told Bernie, I had some serious reservations about his work. As soon as I said this I sensed a change in the atmosphere— from wary neutrality to warmth.

The second memory is of a conversation around the time of the election of John F. Kennedy, who entranced not only liberals but many socialists. A group of us were talking about the elections—it must have been during an editorial meeting break or at a Disse...