If you Googled anything over the last twelve hours or so, you learned that today is American conductor Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. Classical radio station WQXR-FM in New York City has a wonderful memorial to Bernstein, reminding us of his work as a civil rights activist during the 1960s and 1970s, and his advocacy of jazz and popular music.
It should also be mentioned that over the course of his career, Leonard Bernstein was relentlessly watched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. You can inform yourself about this by visiting the FBI’s own archive of its famous probes. “Bernstein (1918-1990) was composer, conductor, and pianist who was investigated by the FBI for his ties to communist organizations,” the site notes. “These files range from 1949 to 1963.” Actually, they continue through 1974.
As noted, in 1949 the Bureau began surveillance of Bernstein and his activities. A memorandum to its director J. Edgar Hoover noted his alleged involvement with groups like the Civil Rights Congress and National Negro Congress. The Communist Party launched the latter organization to build coalitions of black and white workers and intellectuals. “Leonard Bernstein has been connected, affiliated, or in some manner associated with the following organizations,” the memo observes (see the screenshot from the file below). The vaguely worded comment even drew skepticism from an FBI functionary who later reviewed it. “This phraseology means nothing . . . ” someone wrote at the bottom of the document.
A snippet of Leonard Bernstein’s FBI file.
That did not stop the Bureau from staying on Bernstein’s tail, publishing a lengthy internal expose of Bernstein’s political activities from 1945 through 1949. These included involvement with anti-fascist, pro-civil rights, and free speech groups associated with the Communist Party during those years. Mostly Bernstein’s name appeared on various endorsement lists, the report notes, or he attended a testimonial dinner for some civil rights activist, or he consented to dedicate a performance to “free Spain,” or he participated in a National Negro Congress talent contest. The FBI even took an interest in Bernstein’s two month stay in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1950.
By 1953 Bernstein’s passport had been revoked, forcing him to submit an affidavit assuring the government that he had never been a member of the CP. The FBI noted this action in a 1953 memo titled “Security Matter, Fraud Against Government.” But Bernstein’s assertion was true. In fact, the conductor had given his name and energies to many non-communist front groups, from Planned Parenthood to the United Jewish Appeal. Eventually he won his passport back, and became the music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
My favorite portion of Bernstein’s FBI file is a letter that the Bureau obtained in which the Shell Oil Company, then a prominent educational television sponsor, came to his defense. Some anti-communist zealot had written to Shell objecting to his work. In 1963 one H.F. Brown of Shell’s public relations department responded:
“We feel that we are doing a very real service to the young people of this country in sponsoring on television from New York the Young People’s Concerts under the direction of Mr. Bernstein, who in our opinion is not only a gifted conductor but one of the great teachers of our day.
We appreciate your concern and your very honest reasons for writing us. We would, however, like to suggest that in this instance you are being misguided by incorrect information.
The final concert in this year’s Young People’s Concert will be telecast in your area on March 8th. We do hope you will tune in.”
Bernstein’s FBI file concludes with his brief support of the Black Panther Party in 1970 and association with the anti-war activist Daniel Berrigan. The dossier ends as it begins, with a lengthy timeline of his life’s political work, going all the way back the 1940s. “This summary has been prepared for use at the seat of government and is not suitable for dissemination,” the FBI document warns.
