In “The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America,” Yale Law professor John Fabian Witt uncovers a little-known moment in American political history – a moment of progressivism and collaboration in the face of egregious wealth disparities and unfettered capitalism that have only increased. Through the Garland Fund, Witt illustrates a tale of genuine change to inform and inspire. We spoke with Witt ahead of his event at Harvard Book Store on Dec. 9. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
When did you realize it was important to write this book?
About 15 years ago I came across this little organization that was famous for one thing and one thing only, which was launching Brown vs. the Board of Education. I wanted to understand what was at the root of this much contested, really important new 20th century Supreme Court decision against racial segregation.
Why was the Garland fund a secret history?
The people who were giving away the money didn’t really think that anyone should have a vast fortune to give away. They felt a little awkward about having the money in the first place. The story begins with the heir who inherits the money, refusing to accept it at all. That spirit continued through, and they tried to keep their own role recessive.
What are the main obstacles organizers face today?
Trying to figure out how to connect ordinary Americans to the institutions that shape their economic lives is crucial – and more difficult than it was in the 1920s because the mass production factory produced all sorts of challenges to Americans but also created lots of opportunities and put people together in one space. That’s not the world we live in now.
What misconceptions do people have about mass movements and political organizing?
Movements that get started behind the scenes in the 1920s take advantage of the social and economic landscape of their era – they’re organized around capitalism in a particular stage, and it would be wrong to think we can just copy those and adapt them today. It might be wrong to think we can just copy the things that were going on in the 1960s and adapt them today. The trick is to figure out strategies that will work for the social and economic landscape of the 2020s.
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
That the world we live in is plastic and flexible, that change is possible and happens all the time, and that imaginative, creative and forceful people can remake the world.
John Fabian Witt reads from “The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America” at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Harvard’s Noah Feldman joins. Free.
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