Proud, gay, disabled & communist

John Crofford and Linda Cohen in 1996. WW photo

John Crofford, a former activist with the New York City branch of Workers World Party, died on March 1 at age 70. John was a communist, a gay man, an artist and a disabled worker living on Social Security.

John came to WWP in 1980 when the Party launched a fightback against the Reagan administration’s cuts to domestic programs, including his own SSI. For 15 years, John kept the mailing lists for WW and other organizations. He did this at a time of mass activity when there were tens of thousands of names to track. There was no merge software yet to compare one mailing list to another. John spent hours each day meticulously comparing lists by hand, striking out duplicate names to cut mailing costs.

He used his artistic skills to create professional displays of books and literature for demonstrations and conferences.

John had much pride of class and great dignity. He firmly believed in the ability of the working class to run society. He felt that leadership should be collective, giving everyone who wanted it a chance to participate in decision-making. He did not think that the movement should have “stars,” but that each person’s contribution to the struggle should be valued and each contributor respected. He felt that the work he did on mailing lists, and other necessary but invisible movement work, was just as important as giving a rousing speech.

John had earlier earned his living as a window-display designer for department stores. While providing an avenue for his creativity, the work was strictly freelance and without benefits. Later, a neurological disorder left him in chronic pain and unable to work. He received no pension despite his many years of employment and survived solely on SSI, always on the edge.

Crofford valued each worker’s unique journey to political consciousness and wanted others to understand and appreciate his own. He made his contributions to the struggle while in relentless and unremitting pain. Speaking words took great effort. He referred to this as his “invisible” disability. This personal burden sensitized him to the myriad ways in which others in the working class are not seen, their value diminished and their voice denied.

His opposition to racism dated from his time in the military in the late 1950s when he socialized with his African-American military buddies off base and saw how they were treated in neighboring towns.

As a gay man from the pre-Stonewall era, John knew well the alienation and danger involved in gay life at that time, articulated in the current much-praised film “Brokeback Mountain.” He wryly joked about gay men of his era going to psychiatrists to be .” He didn’t want such a cure.

It was his pet peeve that so many villains—from the hunchback of Notre Dame to Darth Vader in the Star Wars series—were modeled upon people with disabilities. Disabled people, he would say, are not monsters.

John Crofford will be remembered as a passionate fighter on every issue affecting the working class, at home and abroad.