This week, Amherst College’s Frost Library Archives and Special Collections gratefully received the donation of the papers of Cohen, a prominent labor lawyer and social activist. The 28 boxes of legal records that Cohen kept during his 14 years as General Counsel of the United Farm Workers of America and personal attorney of César Chávez include labor contracts, collective bargaining agreements, case files, court hearings and extensive documentation on California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) passed in 1975.
Born in Chicago, Cohen came to Amherst in 1959, where his interest in activism was sparked through campaigning against the fraternities that once dominated campus social life. After graduating from Amherst in 1963, Cohen received a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley before jumpstarting his formal activism career. In 1967 his work at the California Rural Legal Assistance Office attracted the attention of renowned civil rights activist César Chávez, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, which later became known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). Cohen became Chávez’s personal attorney and General Counsel of the UFW, directing the UFW legal department for the next 14 years. To this day, the rights of farm workers across the United States remain protected by important constitutional decisions that resulted from Cohen’s work in this non-violent battle for migrant laborers during the 1960s and 1970s.
Cohen returned to Amherst this week, along with wife Madeleine Cohen and son Joshua Cohen ’95 (his other son, Jerome Cohen, graduated from the College in 1993), for a series of events held Monday and Tuesday in honor of his donation and in recognition of his work.
Cohen spoke on Monday evening in Converse Hall’s Cole Assembly Room on “Activism in 21st Century America,” the celebration’s keynote address. He was accompanied by Lecturer in Public Policy of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Marshall Ganz and Amherst’s Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture and Five College 40th Anniversary Professor Ilan Stavans.
Cohen, Ganz and Stavans discussed their notions of social activism and the role that it has played in the growth of the Obama campaign. Cohen stressed that the UFW’s success in the ’70s was due in large part to the significant role played by “organized people who took responsibility for their own lives and changed the world they lived in.”
Cohen also expressed the importance of perseverance in the world of politics: “We used to measure people’s offices, as if to show them we were figuring out how many farm workers would fit inside. Otherwise people won’t respond.”
When asked what college students across the United States should do to inspire future activists, Cohen encouraged Monday night’s attendees to get involved in whatever local community battles might be occurring. In reference to his own days at Amherst, Cohen remarked lightheartedly, “I know there are fraternities around. Fight ‘em! If there’s a White House nearby, picket it!”
Guests enjoyed a reception in Converse’s foyer catered by La Veracruzana following the lecture. The restaurant’s owner, Martín Carrera, expressed appreciation for the work that Cohen and Chávez did for our country. “As a community member and a Mexican-American I think it is great that these important papers will be archived at Amherst College,” said Carerra. “I hope that they are not just archived but are the seed that is needed so that the college can teach its students the importance of bold change in this country and this world.”
“Hearing about the speakers’ personal experiences regarding periods and events that we, as students, have only learned about secondhand appealed to me the most,” Liz Buechner ’10 said of the discussion.
“The events were inspiring,” added Sherre Harrington, the Librarian of the College. “The act of celebrating the opening of this collection in the Library underlines Amherst College’s convictions about the empowerment of education and the importance of active community engagement.”
As Stavans put it, “Jerry Cohen used the law as a tool for change. Having Cohen’s papers at Amherst College is a return of sorts, for it was at Amherst College where he learned his first lessons as a community organizer. Recently, when asked what students ought to learn at college, Cohen answered, ‘Not to shy away from conflict.’”