FALL 2020

Also inside: 2 — Retiree election notes 2 — In memoriam — Words from: • Judy Wishnia, p.4 • Lawrence Wittner, p.5 • Jo Schaffer, p.7 3—RMGC Chair McAteer 4—Send e-letter to demand 11—UUP Benefit: • Daniel Marrone, p.8 pens inaugural column tax hike on millionaires Pet Insurance 7 — Volunteer opportunities The Active Retiree A Newsletter for Retiree Members of United University Professions

DisabilityNDEAM, ADA celebrate issues key anniversaries in 2020 ctober 2020 marked the Two months prior 75th anniversary of National marked the 30th an- Disability Employment niversary of the enact- Awareness Month. The pur- ment of the Americans pose of NDEAM is to educate about dis- with Disabilities Act abilityO employment issues and celebrate (ADA), which was signed the many and varied contributions of into law July 26, 1990. America's workers with disabilities. The goals of the ADA The history of NDEAM traces back to include equality of 1945 when Congress enacted a law declar- opportunity, full partici- ing the first week in October each year pation, economic self- “National Employ the Physically Handi- sufficiency, and capped Week.” In 1988, Congress ex- independent living. panded the week to a month and changed The ADA has played a the name to NDEAM. historic role in universal design with respect to buildings, Workplaces welcoming of the talents of enabling people with disabilities to fully modes of transportation, websites, and all people, including people with disabili- participate in all aspects of society by other technologies procured and used by ties, are designed to build an inclusive removing barriers to employment, public covered entities. community and strong economy. Activi- services, public accommodations, public ties during this month reinforce the value and private transportation, telework, (Editor’s note: Thanks to Oswego Chapter and talent people with disabilities add to telecommunications, websites, online retiree Dr. V.M. Fichera for suggesting workplaces and communities, and affirm systems, mobile apps, and other forms of the source for this article on two impor- the commitment to an inclusive commu- information and communication technol- tant anniversaries. Learn more about nity that increases access and opportuni- ogy. Every person in the United States, not the NDEAM & ADA by visiting the U.S. ties to all, including individuals with just people with disabilities, benefit from Department of Labor website at disabilities. covered entities adopting principles of www.dol.gov/NDEAM.) n 2 THE ACTIVE RETIREE FALL 2020

The Active Retiree UUP Officers

Frederick E. Kowal/President Thomas J. Tucker/VP for Professionals Jamie F. Dangler/VP for Academics Jeri O’Bryan-Losee/Secretary/Treasurer Thomas C. Hoey/Membership Dev. Officer

RMGC Members (2020-2023)

Charlie McAteer Chair and Delegate 158 Montrose Dr. [email protected] Port Jefferson Stn., NY 11776 (631) 474-3541

Glenn McNitt Capital District (Region A) [email protected] (845) 255-1398

Irene Stern Long Island (Region B) Watch for your ballot [email protected] (631) 828-4891 UP chapter elections will be underway soon, and that includes Ray Guydosh North Country (Region C) chapter officers for retirees. Below are election dates to mark [email protected] (518) 566-8769 on your calendars, and a list of responsibilities of the officers for retirees. Stacey Johnson Western NY (Region D) [email protected] (716) 885-2486 Retired Membership Governing Committee Chair Charlie McAteer and UUP statewideU Secretary/Treasurer Jeri O’Bryan-Losee are working on additional du- Frank Maraviglia Central NY (Region E) ties to include in chapter bylaws. (315) 422-6938 Chapter Elections 2021 Eric P. Russell Metropolitan (Region F) Mail Chapter & Affiliate Nomination Forms...... 01/21/21 - 01/22/21 [email protected] (908) 647-4775 Chapter & Affiliate Nominations Close ...... 02/17/21 Loraine Tyler Southern Tier (Region G) Chapter Nomination Lists Posted to Web...... 02/19/21 [email protected] (607) 433-2452 Mail Chapter Elections Ballots...... 03/10/21 - 03/12/21 Paul Griffen Finger Lakes (Region H) Chapter Elections Ballots Due...... 04/14/21 [email protected] (518) 382-3681 Count Chapter Elections Ballots ...... 04/15/21 - 04/16/21

Doreen Day Presidential Appointee Some Chapter Officer for Retirees Duties: [email protected] (631) 924-2962 — work with leadership to obtain the names of new retirees; Ottilie M. Woodruff Presidential Appointee — help facilitate in-district and statewide advocacy; [email protected] (716) 773-3158 — attend chapter executive board meetings and report on activities relevant to engagement of the chapter’s retired members; MDO Tom Hoey Ex-officio — serve as a conduit for information to/from membership, leadership and [email protected] (518) 442-6499 their Retired Membership Governing Committee (RMGC) representative; — work with the chapter president and executive board to schedule pre- UUP Retiree Member Services Coordinators Walter Apple [email protected] retirement workshops, and other events to involve retired members; and Gretchen Sarnowicz [email protected] — coordinate with leadership to promote the benefits of being involved with active and retiree activities in the chapter and region. UUP Associate Director of Media/Publications Karen L. Mattison [email protected]

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and not necessarily the In memoriam opinions of United University Professions. Let us remember those who have passed away since June 2020: Edward Newsham ...... Oneonta United University Professions Olive Rudd ...... Oswego P.O. Box 15143, Albany, NY 12212-9954 518-640-6600 1-800-342-4206 Ram Chugh ...... Potsdam fax: 1-866-812-9446 Eulalie Noble ...... Purchase Walter Wilson ...... Stony Brook HSC www.uupinfo.org Steven Perlmutter ...... Stony Brook HSC n FALL 2020 THE ACTIVE RETIREE 3

From RMGC Chair Charlie McAteer The days ahead s I write this article, uncer- union movement fighting to hold legisla- tainty is what comes to mind. tors to their words and promises. We as retirees have lived a Thank you for planning your VOTE and few years and, as we started following thru with it. NYSUT sent out its 2020, we had the usual hopes of a new Retiree Voter Guide to New Yorkers. I am beginning.A We will need all those years of pleased to report that UUP—with its experience to weather these uncertain VOTE/COPE, outreach and political times and to plan our future. actions this fall—sent emails and post- This winter we started our RMGC elec- cards (a first at such a large scale) about tions, but by spring—when those ballots state-specific voter information to UUP were being counted—we were already in retirees and in-service members in a a new and uncertain world that continues dozen key battleground states. today. Speaking of elections, your RMGC We have individually come up with members in June began their three-year plans to deal with COVID-19, as things terms , from 2020-2023. Chapter officers continue to change daily. Those include for retirees serve two-year terms, with no in-person meetings till further notice. elections planned for early 2021. Chapter (However, we are talking about when we officers for retirees serve on the chapter Media and Publications, who designs and can meet again, using a pencil with a big executive board. Working with RMGC helps me edit The Active Retiree. eraser!) We have met online and have members, they provide an important link Finally, congrats to Buffalo Center attended virtual NYSUT retiree leader in representing retiree issues at the local Chapter retiree Stacey Johnson, the trainings and forums, representing our level. I encourage you all to consider run- RMGC’s elected rep for Western New 6,000-plus UUP retiree members. ning for or supporting your candidate for York, for earning the union’s Pearl H. The RMGC has formalized your this position in the upcoming elections. Brod Outstanding Retiree Award for regional networks to better work with the I want to congratulate and thank the 2020, for her union and community NYSUT Regional Council members. Your eight elected RMGC regional representa- service. We are so proud of all the things RMGC will meet online early in 2021, to tives, Stacey, Paul, Loraine, Frank, Ray, Stacey has and continues to do for her access things and to develop plans and Glenn, Eric and Irene; the two presiden- community and the union movement as meeting alternatives, including a summer tial appointees, Ottilie and Doreen; and a whole. She is a model for the slogan retreat with the RMGC and elected chap- statewide Membership Development “Solidarity Forever.” ter officer for retirees. Officer Tom Hoey. Also serving you with And don’t forget to visit the UUP re- Let us see how the national election expert advice and counsel are Walter tirees webpage at https://uupinfo.org/ turns out and how UUP will need us as Apple, UUP retiree member services retiree/ or call us at (800) 342-4206. the “daytime army of advocates” to pro- coordinator; Jo Schaffer, immediate past Continue to stay safe. mote public higher education, our retiree RMGC chair and NYSUT Retiree Action agenda and other issues in our union Committee member (I serve with her); cause. Barbara Maertz of Farmingdale, RMGC NYSUT has developed a “Union for finance subcommittee chair; and Karen Life” logo and we are part of the entire Mattison, associate director of UUP

What your beneficiaries need to know Don’t forget to remind your beneficiaries that, Apple at (800) 342-4206. If they don’t contact the upon your death, they need to inform the campus campus or UUP, they won’t get the survivor’s ben- Human Resources Department and contact UUP efits: that’s $3,000 from the state and $1,000 from Retiree Member Services Coordinator Walter UUP. Remind them to make the calls! n 4 THE ACTIVE RETIREE FALL 2020 We’ve come a long way, baby by Judy Wishnia and only 3 percent of lawyers gress and as governors. And Stony Brook were female. Our beloved after much marching and ecause of the COVID-19 Ruth Bader Ginsburg could demonstrating, in 1973, the pandemic, there wasn’t much not get a position that used landmark Roe v. Wade, which of a celebration of the 100th her abilities. allowed abortions, was passed. anniversary of women getting But things were beginning But while much has im- the vote. There were a few TV documen- to change. In the early 1960s, proved for many women, we tariesB about the brave women who Stony Brook women— tired must keep up the fight. States marched and risked their lives with of lower salaries and lack of have restricted abortion ac- hunger strikes. But there has been very promotion—initiated a class- cess and Roe v. Wade is in Wishnia little analysis of how the vote changed action lawsuit, with UUP danger. Most women are still women’s lives. Frankly, until the emer- support, against the university. We lost in low-paying jobs, and are having diffi- gence of the feminist movement in the the case, but Stony Brook did begin to hire culty paying for health care and child care. 1960s, very little had changed. more women. Many suffer from violence from partners. Many of us can remember how few jobs Thanks to the rebirth of the feminist And we now know how widespread sexual were open to women and how the pay was movement that began in the 1960s and harassment is for women. lower than male wages. As late as 1964, the continuous fight for improvements by We need to help the millions of women I wore a button that said, “59 cents,” the millions of women activists who marched who are struggling to survive. We need to wage women earned compared to $1 for and lobbied their representatives, the lives fight for a living wage, for health care for men. In many cases, if you got married or of many women changed. We now have all, and for government-sponsored child pregnant, you lost your job. And the fear female university presidents, and female care. We need to fight for the Dreamers of an unwanted pregnancy interfered with who win Nobel prizes in science. We have and other immigrant women, for control your sex life. Contraception was difficult female police officers, thousands of female of one’s body and, of course, for an end to to obtain and numerous women died of lawyers, and females on the U.S. Supreme domestic violence and sexual harassment. illegal abortions. Court. UUP has always supported its female When I taught my first women’s studies Women are voting in large numbers, and members, and I am certain that the union class in 1964, only 6 percent of physicians from one lonely senator in the 1960s, we will continue to stand with women every- were women (the same figure as in 1895!) now have dozens of women elected to Con- where in the fight to improve our lives.

It’s time to ask the wealthiest NYers to pay their fair share.

Tell your state senators and Assembly members to support, sign-on and pass an “ultra-millionaires’ tax” and a “billionaires’ tax” to fund our recovery and to make sure no one is left behind. These new revenue sources would provide crucial support to SUNY and its public teaching hospitals. Go to bit.ly/2XaVxPB and send an e-letter today! n FALL 2020 THE ACTIVE RETIREE 5 Memories of voter suppression by Lawrence Wittner had just about finished when some- Albany one rushed in, warning that the ack in July 1962, when, according to Donald Trump, campus police were on their way America was “great,” I was in the Deep South, working and that we had better get out of to register Black voters. It was a near-hopeless project, there fast! We did. given the mass disenfranchisement of the region’s Ronnie suggested that Mike and I Black population that was enforced by Southern law and an occa- drive him to Jackson, Miss., where a sionalB dose of white terrorism. CORE-SNCC conclave would be held Wittner It all started in the fall of 1961, the beginning of my senior year at at the local Freedom House. After dinner, we drove through north- Columbia College. My roommate Mike Weinberg and I, both ern Louisiana (where a local gas station operator threatened to kill white, had joined the campus chapter of the Congress of Racial us) and, then, through Mississippi to Jackson. Here, in an aban- Equality and participated in a few of its City projects. doned building taken over by the movement and around which po- The real action, though, was in the South, swept by sit-ins and lice cars circled menacingly, we joined dozens of CORE and SNCC Freedom Rides that demanded an end to racial discrimination activists from the Deep South. At night, they had lengthy political and, especially, for the right to vote. discussions, in which they expressed their bitterness toward the In the spring of 1962, Ronnie Moore, a Black CORE Southern Kennedy administration for its failure to back civil rights legislation field secretary, brought the news of the Southern freedom struggle or to protect movement activists from racist violence. to our Columbia CORE meeting. Having headed up desegregation During the days, Mike and I joined Luvaughn Brown, a Black ac- efforts in Baton Rouge, La., Ronnie and three other students at tivist recently incarcerated at the county prison farm, to go door to Southern University, an historically Black institution, were out on door in a Black Jackson neighborhood and encourage its residents bail on “criminal anarchy” charges. The laws under which they to register to vote. This was a tough job because people feared retal- were charged and imprisoned dated back to the state’s early 20th iation if they dared to exercise their voting rights and, also, because century repression of union organizing among Black and white they would almost certainly be rejected. At the time, Mississippi timber workers. used a “literacy test” to determine if a citizen was qualified to Stirred by what Ronnie told us, Mike and I went up to him after vote. A voting registrar would ask a potential registrant to define his talk and asked him how we could help the cause. Looking us in the meaning of a section in the lengthy state constitution. If you the eyes, he said, smiling: “What are you boys doing this summer? were Black, the registrar said you had failed the test; if you were ... Any chance that you’ll get to Baton Rouge?” white, you passed. That July, as Mike and I drove along Louisiana roads enveloped Voter registration work was not only frustrating, but danger- in an atmosphere of racial segregation, racist remarks and unbear- ous. The following summer, Medgar Evers, head of the local ably hot weather, the venture no longer seemed quite as amus- NAACP, was murdered in Jackson by a white supremacist for his ing. Nor, after arriving in Baton Rouge, was it easy to find Ronnie, leadership in a voter registration campaign. The next June, three for CORE wasn’t listed in the phone book. But we did find a Com- participants in the Mississippi Freedom Summer voter registration mittee on Registration Education, and figured—with the same project met a similar fate. acronym—it must be his group. It was. The state authorities had Mike and I kept in touch, and were delighted when Congress re- obtained a court order to shut down its predecessor. sponded to the scandal of Southern voter suppression with Ronnie was delighted to see us and took us to an all-Black hang- the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed the discriminatory out for coffee. In his view, and ours, the only safe people in the voting practices of the past and established federal oversight of any South were Black. As for local whites, we considered them all ac- new voting procedures in the offending states. tual or potential Nazis, and stayed clear of them and their institu- Imagine, then, our sense of sorrow, mingled with disgust, when, tions. Whether they would stay clear of us remained uncertain. in 2013, by a 5-4 vote, the Republican-dominated U.S. Supreme Mike and I slept on the Moore family’s entry hall floor, and local Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. This opened the door for nu- residents had been known to fire bullets through the front door. merous Republican-controlled state governments—many but not Although most of the voter registration campaign Mike and I all Southern—to implement mass purges of their voter rolls, clo- worked on in Baton Rouge was rather mundane, one evening was sure of polling places in minority neighborhoods, government ID particularly exciting. At dinner time, Ronnie suggested that we requirements, felony disenfranchisement, and other barriers that drive over to Southern University, from which he and the other deprived millions of Americans of the right to vote. CORE activists had been expelled for their “crimes.” I wonder how Republican leaders can live with themselves when As we entered the all-Black dining hall, students started yelling: they betray the most basic principle of democracy. Of all the things “It’s Ronnie! It’s Ronnie!” Leaping onto one of the tables, Ronnie they have done during their time in power, this is surely one of the made an impassioned speech about the freedom struggle and, most despicable. then, announced that he had brought with him two movement (Lawrence Wittner is a professor of history emeritus at the Uni- supporters from the North. “Get up here, Larry and Mike!” So we versity at Albany and the author of Confronting the Bomb pub- jumped up there, too, to deliver strong messages of solidarity. We lished by Stanford University Press.) n 6 THE ACTIVE RETIREE FALL 2020

Retiree news and views

The Masked Seniors UUP Active Retirees are rockin’ their union face masks. At right, Judy and Arnold Wishnia of the Stony Brook Chapter adorn their UUP surgical masks, while Phyllis Sturm of the New Paltz Chapter, below, transforms her UUP bandanna into a safe face covering.

Organizing Your Vital Records booklet available online, by mail Having your personal information in one place makes it easier to deal with the unexpected. The Retired Membership Governing Committee (formerly COARM) created a checklist designed to be an organizing tool that will help you and your family more easily navigate moments of change. It will assist you in aggregating your important data. We hope this document helps give you a view of your vital information, and some measure of peace of mind for you and those you hold dear,” said RMGC Chair Charlie McAteer. The document can be found on the website at http://uupinfo.org/reports/reportpdf/OYVR2016fillable.pdf or by contacting Walter Apple, retiree member services coordinator, at [email protected] or at (800) 342-4206. n FALL 2020 THE ACTIVE RETIREE 7

‘I have underlying conditions’ by Jo Schaffer Cortland, when as a newbie. UUP activities. I haven’t Cortland I found that, as a woman, I looked back since. es, indeed, I have underlying was earning less than a less- You can call it “give back conditions. While I would admit qualified guy who was hired time” if you want. I believe to having some of those in the to do the same work as I. It developing these under-lying image at right, the conditions to was with the support and conditions was deeply re- which I refer are ones I have developed guidance of a UUP colleague warding. Yover my years in the academic world that I had the nerve to ap- Our fight goes beyond the served by my union, UUP. proach the administration— current political environ- I have developed underlying conditions which was, at that time, real ment. Our fight is to preserve Schaffer such as compassion, generosity, sympa- hutzpah—to ask for a remedy our earned benefits, such as thy, concern, energy, involvement, and a to this injustice. Success! Medicare and Social Security. I was born consistent urge to help make my environ- Then, as I approached permanent ap- in the same year as was Social Security, ment better for all around me. I guess this pointment, I found that I was early denied and I want it to flourish, not just for me, is the residual effect of having been with that status by someone who wanted to be but for generations to come my union since its founding days more considered for my position. With help, Real pre-existing conditions—such as than 40 years ago. I had the experience once more, from a UUP colleague, I felt aging and concomitant physical limita- of working with folks who had the same prepared to contest the one-sided tions—have slowed me down a little, but it commitment as I to making the lives of attack on my status. Success! hasn’t diminished my sense of justice and their colleagues and students more equi- All this help, to me and to others around fairness. I am still in the fight. I hope you table, secure and productive. me, made my commitment to use my are too. I think back to those first days at SUNY underlying conditions to get involved in The fight continues—la lutte continuera!

Volunteer opportunities The following are great resources to support UUP coalition • Health Care for All NY is building, to meet people where they are, to build unity and dedicated to winning affordable, to get involved. If you are interested in getting more active comprehensive, and high-quality with any of our coalition partners, contact UUP Director of health care for all. Contact Bob Cohen Organizing Kristie Sammons at [email protected] or at [email protected] or at (800) 342-4206. for more information, go to https://hcfany.org/about/mission/ CITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORK • Revenue Coalition advocates to • NY Paid Leave Coalition is working with NENYCOSH to increase taxes paid by the rich to fund vital resources in New provide education and training on worker rights to a healthy York. Contact Michael Kink at [email protected] workplace and paid leave. • Empire State Campaign for Child Care advocates for a NY RENEWS path to universal, equitable access to quality child care; profes- • THRIVE aims to transform, heal and renew by investing in a sional wages and benefits; consistent statewide policies; a seat at vibrant economy. (UUP is an endorsing partner organization.) the table for parents and providers. Contact Stephan Edel at [email protected] or go to • NY Statewide Paid Leave Coalition promotes, educates https://www.thriveagenda.com/ for more information. and fills gaps in emergency and permanent paid leave benefits • Toolkits can be found at https://www.nyrenews.org/toolkits and rights. For information on any of the above, contact Blue Carreker at LABOR-RELIGION COALITION OF NEW YORK STATE (518) 466-8500 or at [email protected] unites faith, labor and community in a statewide movement • Alliance for Quality Education works for equitable fund- for social, racial; and economic justice. Contact the Rev. Emily ing for public schools; free pre-K; the End School to Prison McNeill at [email protected] or for more information, Pipeline program; to protect health of teachers and children go to www.laborreligion.org during COVID; and the Tax Billionaires to Support Families • NYS Poor People’s Campaign is working to address poor and Communities partnership. Contact Marina Marcou-O’Malley people’s issues, such as systemic racism, poverty and inequality. at [email protected]. Go to https://www.facebook.com/NYSPPC/ for more details. n 8 THE ACTIVE RETIREE FALL 2020

Gov. Jay leads charge to abolish slavery in NY state by Daniel Scott Marrone Roman Catholic German and Farmingdale Irish immigrants, who faced efore the Civil War, slavery was deeply ingrained in ethnic and religious discrimina- every state—in the north as well in the south. New tion in housing and employ- York state had the dubious and evil distinction of ment. In the present-day, this having the most slaves north of the Mason-Dixon organization helps thousands of Line. needy individuals each year.) BPrior to 1799, 14 percent of the state’s population was dis- Jay again represented New gracefully in bondage. That year, Gov. fought to have York in the 2nd Continental this accursed practice abolished. As often occurs in politics, Jay Congress (1778-1779) and had to accept a compromise measure that ended slavery, but not served a term in the rotating po- Marrone as immediately as he intended. It would take nearly 30 years to sition of President of Congress. reach the final end of slavery in New York state. Nonetheless, On Sept. 27, 1779, he was appointed U.S. minister to Spain. Jay’s Jay’s abolition bill ultimately freed more humans than any other next assignment was in Paris to assist Benjamin Franklin and legal measure prior to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipa- , who were negotiating a peace treaty with British tion Proclamation of Jan. 1, 1863. diplomats to end the Revolutionary War. Though virtually all of the fighting ended in 1781, it took two more years to secure a A Slaveholder Who Bitterly Opposed Slavery peace treaty. On Sept. 3, 1783, the was signed Jay was born Dec. 12, 1745, in New-York City. He was a gradu- and an independent United States of America became a reality. ate of King’s College (today’s Columbia University). On April 28, Just as authored the Declaration of Independ- 1774, he married Sarah (“Sally”) Van Brugh Livingston (1756- ence, Jay, a superb writer of legal documents, authored the 1802), daughter of New Jersey Gov. William Livingston. During Treaty of Paris. the 17th and 18th centuries, the Scot-Dutch ancestry Livingston After Jay returned home from Paris, he was elected to the family was the largest landholders in both New Jersey and New U.S. Congress and served there from 1784 to 1789. On March 24, York. The family properties in New York alone comprised 1785, Jay penned an open letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush that 95,000 acres! The couple was deeded, as matrimonial gifts, wide expressed his opposition to slavery. Jay wrote: “I wish to see all swaths of land in Westchester County and—shamefully—the unjust and all unnecessary discriminations everywhere abol- slaves that tended farms and manor houses on these properties. ished, and that the time may soon come when all our inhabitants Based on moral and religious principles, John Jay was ardently of every color and denomination shall be free and equal partak- against slavery throughout his life. Yet on the day he married, ers of our political liberty.” Jay became a slaveholder himself. Here lies what has been In 1787, he established the New York . deemed the “John Jay contradiction.” By the year of his death in 1829, tens of thousands of African Jay represented New York in the 1st Continental Congress American children and adults had received tuition-free educa- (1774). Two years later, he was tasked with authoring the New tion at this outstanding institution. York State Constitution. Jay inserted a clause to abolish slavery In 1788, Jay collaborated with Alexander and James in his final draft of the Constitution. However, slave-traders and Madison in authoring essays highlighting the urgent need for a the bankers that financed this dastardly practice across the state central government and a comprehensive nationalized constitu- had sufficient political clout to force Jay to “strike off” the aboli- tion. These essays became known as . tion clause. As a consequence, when the NYS constitution was Jay served simultaneously as the nation’s first secretary of ratified on April 20, 1777, this clause was absent. This did not state and as the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. deter Jay, for he subsequently submitted numerous bills to the Though newly inaugurated President George state Legislature that called for the abolition of slavery. Oppo- chose Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state, the Virginian nents to his abolition bills pointed out his hypocrisy since he was in Paris serving as minister to France and thus unable to was, in fact, a slaveholder. Regrettably, his abolition bills met serve during the first six months of the Washington adminis- defeat. tration. In his place, Washington had Jay act as secretary of He continued to fight against slavery by founding one of the state from Sept. 26, 1789, until March 22, 1790. This position nation’s first legal aid societies—the New York State Society for was in addition to Washington’s permanent role for Jay as Promoting the of Slaves. This group filed lawsuits the first chief justice. He is credited for setting numerous U.S. on behalf of slaves and led boycotts against firms that used Supreme Court precedents and procedures that nearly three slaves. (The Legal Aid Society of New York that is still in exis- centuries later are still in effect. Jay’s chief justice tenure tence was initially founded in 1876 for the purpose of assisting spanned from Sept. 26, 1789, until June 29, 1795—two days n FALL 2020 THE ACTIVE RETIREE 9

before taking the oath as . goal of ending slavery, but not as immediately as he wanted, While serving as chief justice, in 1794, President Washington rather over an extended period of time. requested that Jay sail to London to negotiate with Great Britain In 1799, the Legislature passed: “The Act for the Gradual Aboli- for the purpose of preventing a second war between the nations. tion of Slavery in the State of New York.” Key provisions of Jay’s After nearly a year of tireless effort, a peace accord was reached abolition bill included: (1) As of July 4, 1799, international slave titled, “The 1794-1795 Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Naviga- trading in New York was prohibited [nine years before the 1808 tion Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of nationwide ban]; (2) compensation to international slave-deal- America.” Known as “Jay’s Treaty,” the bilateral pact achieved ers, as result of this law, was denied; (3) children born to slave the following: (1) Avoided war with Great Britain; (2) attained parents would immediately gain limited manumission. Instead of from British Crown authorities trading concessions for U.S. mer- “held in bondage” status, these children were now under the less chants; and (3) reverted lingering Revolutionary War claims and restrictive laws governing “indentured servants;” and (4) these border disputes to neutral . The latter achievement children would attain full freedom at age 28 for males and at age was especially important because the border between the U.S. 25 for females. A follow-up legislation to Jay’s bill was passed in and British North America cited in the 1817. This latter law freed all slaves 1783 Treaty of Paris was based on rudi- within 10 years. mentary, imprecise surveys and meas- As of July 4, 1827, slavery was com- urements. By virtue of “Jay’s Treaty,” the pletely abolished in New York state. international border was fixed from the The famed publisher of the New-York to the Great Lakes Tribune, Horace Greeley (1811-1872) (though the border between Canada and noted in an 1854 editorial: “To Governor Maine was later revised). Jay may be attributed, more than to any other man, the abolition of Negro John Jay Elected Governor bondage in this state.” of New York State On June 30, 1801, Jay was formally re- While Jay was in London finalizing nominated for a third term as New York negotiations with the British, Federalist governor. He declined, however, be- party members submitted his name as cause his wife had become ill with can- a candidate for New York governor. cer. Sally Jay passed away May 28, Opposing him was Robert Yates (1738- 1802, at age of 46. John Jay lived for an- 1801), a staunch Democratic-Republican. other 27 years, until May 17, 1829, when When votes were tallied in May 1795, Jay he died from a fatal stroke at age 83. received more than 13,000 votes com- on and John pared to Yates, who had less than 12,000 HISTORY.NYCOURTS.GOV Jay Park in are named after votes. That month, he was still in Lon- him. Towns and counties that bear his don. When he arrived back in the U.S.A., Portrait of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice name are found in New York, Maine and in June 1795, Jay was informed—no John Jay by Gilbert Stuart (1794). Rhode Island. Jay Street is a prominent doubt amazed—that he was elected gov- thoroughfare in the Borough of Brook- ernor of New York. Elected by the people lyn. The U.S.A. and Canada have ac- of New York, Jay hoped to set an example to others by freeing his claimed Jay’s efforts in establishing precise boundaries between slaves. In light of the extreme evils the nations. For this achievement, the mountain range that sep- of slavery, this action was grossly insufficient. Furthermore, arates Alaska and British Columbia was named, with the ap- he should be excoriated for his prior position as a slaveholder. proval of both nations, Mount John Jay. As governor, he strove to repent for this sin. Besides ending slavery in New York state, Jay’s greatest legacy Jay was re-elected governor with a landslide majority in 1798. is the higher education institution John Jay College of Criminal He viewed this stunning victory as a mandate for finally abolish- Justice. The college was opened in 1964 as a unit of the City Uni- ing slavery in New York. Within a year after his re-election, versity of New York. This West 59th Street, Manhattan, institu- Jay submitted to the Legislature a bill that would immediately tion is rated No. 1 among all criminal justice educational abolish slavery in the state. In order to effectuate approval, Jay institutions, according to https://zoomtens.com. spent months of arm-twisting to gain support for his bill in the Legislature. As often occurs in politics, in order to get a bill (Daniel Scott Marrone, Ph.D., is a distinguished service professor passed, compromise was required. The final bill achieved Jay’s emeritus from SUNY Farmingdale.) n 10 THE ACTIVE RETIREE FALL 2020 n FALL 2020 THE ACTIVE RETIREE 111 Fold along this line

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