Knickerbocker Case

The Knickerbocker Case occurred at the City College of New York (CCNY) between 1945 and 1950. It began with accusations of antisemitism against the Chairman of the Department of Romance Languages, William E. Knickerbocker, which led to state, city and college level investigations, and ultimately to the first general student strike of the modern civil rights era (which began in 1948 with President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military).

Contents

Beginning

The Knickerbocker Case began on April 9, 1945 when four members of the Department of Romance Languages—Elliott H. Pollinger, Ephraim Cross, Otto Müller, and Pedro Bach-y-Rita—sent a letter to the president of the college, accusing William E. Knickerbocker of antisemitism.[1] The letter contended that Dr. Knickerbocker had made antisemitic remarks and denied the Ward Medal for proficiency in French to a Jewish student, Morton Gurewitch, because he was Jewish.

In April 1947, CCNY administrators issued a report finding that a clerical error had led to Gurewitch’s denial of the Ward Medal.[2] Gurewitch was later issued a duplicate medal.[3]

Investigation

On December 16, 1946, New York City's Board of Higher Education unanimously adopted the report of a special committee, finding the accusations against Dr. Knickerbocker "totally unsubstantiated." In response, the New York City Council's special committee on discrimination conducted its own investigation, finding that Dr. Knickerbocker had made antisemitic jokes and treated Jewish students contemptuously.[4] In June 1948, it recommended that CCNY remove Dr. Knickerbocker and restore Drs. Bach-y-Rita and Pollinger to the list of recommendations for promotion, from which both professors had been removed in retaliation.

Although the City Council voted to accept the committee’s report, administrators at CCNY chose to delay Dr. Knickerbocker’s dismissal.[5] Later, a faculty committee was appointed whose report exonerated Dr. Knickerbocker and which was adopted by a 46-9 vote of the faculty.[6]

The American Jewish Congress conducted its own investigation and stated that Dr. Knickerbocker showed a "philosophy and program of anti-semitism." In September 1948, twenty students walked out of Knickerbocker’s class, while Rabbi Arthur Zuckerman, director of the campus Hillel Foundation, attempted to negotiate with the school to allow students to transfer into other classes.[7]

Segregation at CCNY

The case involving Dr. Knickerbocker overlapped with an investigation into the segregation of a CCNY dormitory. In 1948, a faculty committee found that the professor in charge of the Army Hall dormitory, William E. Davis, had segregated the dormitory during WWII.[8] Mr. Davis was removed from his post as director of the dormitory, but retained his position as a tenured professor in the economics department.[9]

Student Strike

In October 1948, 2,000 students held a fiery meeting and a "sit-down" to demand the removal of Dr. Knickerbocker from the faculty. CCNY administrators suspended classes.[10]

Student protests climaxed in April 1949 when the student council voted to hold a general student strike to demand the trial and removal of both Dr. Knickerbocker and Mr. Davis.[11] On April 11, students battled police in "near riot proportions," some shouting "Jim Crow must go."[12][13] Sixteen students were arrested. It was estimated that 65 percent of students participated by staying away from classes. The student council of the business school voted to condemn the strike.[14]

No Resolution

Drs. Bach-y-Rita and Pollinger appealed to the State Education Commissioner, Francis T. Spaulding, requesting that he order the Board of Higher Education to file formal charges against Dr. Knickerbocker.[15] In February 1950, the Board of Higher Education—which had originally dismissed the complaint against Dr. Knickerbocker—declared that there was no reason to reopen the investigation.[16] It also declined to address the restoration of Drs. Bach-y-Rita and Pollinger to the list of recommendations for promotion. The Commissioner supported the Board.

Several days later, Dr. Knickerbocker announced that he would not stand as a candidate for the Chairmanshp of the Department of Romance Languages, though he would continue as a professor.

A July 1950 report by the Associate Alumni of City College stated that "[i]t cannot be said with any degree of certainty that Prof. William E. Knickerbocker was antisemitic. By the same token, it likewise cannot be said with any degree of certainty that he was not."[17] Regarding Mr. Davis, who had been found guilty of maintaining segregated dormitories in Army Hall, the alumni wrote that his actions were "ill-considered rather than motivated by racial bias," although it approved of his removal as director of the dormitory by the president of the college.

CCNY alumni continued to commemorate the 1949 strike, which for many students marked the beginning of their political involvement in progressive causes and in civil rights.[18]

References

  1. ^ Morris Freedman, "The Knickerbocker Case," Commentary, August 1945.
  2. ^ "Student Honored After 6-Year Wait," The New York Times, June 21, 1948.
  3. ^ "City Council Asks Professor’s Ouster," The New York Times, June 23, 1948.
  4. ^ "City Council Asks Professor’s Ouster," The New York Times, June 23, 1948.
  5. ^ "Dismissal Move Delayed," The New York Times, June 25, 1948.
  6. ^ "City College Students Clash with Police in ‘Bias’ Strike," The New York Times, April 12, 1949.
  7. ^ "20 Students Quit City College Class," The New York Times, September 21, 1948.
  8. ^ "Knickerbocker Case Unsolved by Alumni," The New York Times, July 17, 1950.
  9. ^ "City College Students Clash with Police in ‘Bias’ Strike," The New York Times, April 12, 1949.
  10. ^ "2,000 Seek Ouster of Knickerbocker," The New York Times, October 1, 1948.
  11. ^ "City College Students Clash with Police in ‘Bias’ Strike," The New York Times, April 12, 1949.
  12. ^ City College Students Clash with Police in ‘Bias’ Strike," The New York Times, April 12, 1949.
  13. ^ Walter Goodman, "C.C.N.Y. Alumni Recall 1949 Strike," The New York Times, April 16, 1984.
  14. ^ "City College Students Clash with Police in ‘Bias’ Strike," The New York Times, April 12, 1949.
  15. ^ "Dr. Knickerbocker to Quit One Post," The New York Times, February 18, 1950.
  16. ^ "State Backs Board on Knickerbocker," The New York Times, February 10, 1950.
  17. ^ "Knickerbocker Case Unsolved by Alumni," The New York Times, July 17, 1950.
  18. ^ Walter Goodman, "C.C.N.Y. Alumni Recall 1949 Strike," The New York Times, April 16, 1984.