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Introduction INTRODUCTION Joshua Miller This special issue of Reflections is dedi- where he received his M.S.W. After graduat- cated to the life and work of Richard Cloward. ing from social work school, he was recalled Paul Abels and I, with the encouragement and by the military during the Korean War and support of Frances Fox Piven and Alex ended up working as a medical social worker Gitterman, have edited a volume of tributes, at a prison in Harrisburg, PA. While in the reflections, essays, a narrative interview with prison he conducted a study of inmate Richard, and an essay written by Cloward and culture,".. .the results of which had a profound Piven published in the first issue of Reflec- influence on my thinking for the rest of my tions. We have also included a modified bibli- life." This led him to completing his Ph.D. in ography of Richard's publications and a selec- sociology and collaborating with Robert tive list of his professional awards. And, of Merton, resulting in the publication of his semi- course, no tribute to Richard Cloward would nal article in the American Sociological Re- be complete without an appeal for a contribu- view in 1959 entitled "Illegitimate Means, tion to a social justice fund, which can be found Anomie, and Deviant Behavior." He also co- in the back of this issue. authored a book with Lloyd Ohlin, Delinquency Richard Cloward was a larger-than-life and Opportunity: A Theory of Delinquent flgure for many people, as described by many Gangs. He was hired as a professor at Co- of the contributors, and certainly a major influ- lumbia University School of Social Work in ence straddling the professions of social work 1954 where he taught for the rest of his ca- and sociology. He was a scholar, theoretician, reer. influential teacher, eloquent speaker, and al- It is not possible to consider Richard ways an activist. As he stated in his resume, Cloward's career separately from that of his "My organizing activities can be summed up wife and professional partner, Frances Fox thusly: to help poorer people gain access to Piven. They riiet at Mobilization for Youth in safety-net beneflts, and to help them get on the early 196O's and have co-authored numer- the voter registration rolls as a way of defend- ous articles and books, including two editions ing their rights to these beneflts." of Regulating the Poor, The Politics of Tur- Richard was bom on Christmas Day in moil, Poor Peoples Movements: Why, They 1926 and died at age 74 on August 20, 2001. Succeed, How They Fail, The New Class He grew up in Rochester, New York. After War: Reagan's Attack on the Welfare State, serving in the Navy during WWII, he com- and two editions of Why Americans don't Vote. pleted a B.A. in Sociology at the University of Cloward stated that they talk about their work Rochester. Richard entered the Ph.D. program all of the time: "We talk about what we read in in Sociology at Columbia University but de- the joumals, books we've read, what we write, cided that he was not interested in a strictly what we would like to write or should write. It academic career and "wcinted to do something is an overwhelming thing in our daily more social," leading him to enroll in the Co- conversations...We don't occasionally come lumbia University School of Social Work, together to collaborate on something, we col- REFLECTIONS - WINTER 2002 Introduction labórate all the time." Given this enduring part- time achievement awards from the Council on nership, we are privileged to have in this issue Social Work Education, The National Asso- a reflective essay by Frances Fox Piven. ciation of Social Workers, the American So- This special tribute issue of Reftections ciological Association, and the Association of has contributions ranging from Herman Stein, Community Organization and Social Adminis- Dean Emeritus at Case Western Reserve tration. School of Social Work, who recommended Lastly, I wanted to comment on my rela- Richard for his first teaching job at Columbia tionship with Richard. He was a friend and University School of Social Work and found colleague of my father Irving Miller, who also that Cloward "started haltingly as a teacher," taught at the Columbia University School of to Sharmon Flynn, who was in the last class Social Work, and I have known him for most that Richard taught and found him to be an of my life. I was very influenced by his ideas "inspired and inspiring teacher." Richard's and inspired by his passion and social and po- faculty colleague, Alex Gitterman, describes litical commitments, particularly his readiness what it was like to work with Richard, evolv- to roll up his sleeves and do what he talked ing from Richard taking several years to leam about. Like many of the contributors to this his name to a deep and loving friendship. Many special issue, I have many powerfril memories former students, such as Ken Grossinger and of Richard. One that stands out for me is when Marcia Cohen, were profoundly influenced by I was 15 and lived in Yonkers, New York and Richard and went on to become his colleagues needed a ride into the city. Richard picked me as organizers and teachers. Labor organizer up in a silver sports car on Tuckahoe Road, Bill Pastreich, like many in this issue, describes and after exchanging helios, we drove in com- the profound influence that Cloward had on plete silence to Manhattan. For a sullen teen- his thinking and his work, while Diane Dujon ager, it was a moment of unusual comfort and found that Richard "touched my life mostly surprising pleasure, no obligation to make small through the written word." Richard Cloward talk, just two cool guys cmising the Henry was an activist scholar, and there are many Hudson Parkway, watching the city pass by. people - social workers, sociologists, political scientists, politicians, activists, organizers, wel- fare recipients, joumalists, and many others - who had the experience that Cohen describes of Cloward "speaking my language, my truths, speaking to me." Richard also endured what Gitterman has called his "inner demons," which, according to Cohen, he was quite open about, and a number of contributors mention his shy- ness. Yet all of Richard's former students de- scribe him as an impassioned, charismatic, bril- liant, and "intellectually honest" speaker and lecturer. He was also an illuminating vmter. Cloward and his publications gamered many awards (see list in this issue). Delinquency andOpportunity won the Intemational Soci- ety of Criminology's Dennis Carroll Award while Regulating the Poor received the C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for So- cial Problems. His writings also sparked com- mentary and controversy, leading to numerous books, articles, and published debates about his and Piven's ideas. Cloward received life- 6 REFLECTIONS - WINTER 2002 Copyright of Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping is the property of Cleveland State University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use..
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