Bernhardt in her element—at the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, celebrating the completion of the New Yorkers at Work radio series project, November 1981.
Celebrating
Q: How did you become an activist?
A: When I was growing up, I thought I'd be a missionary. My parents are very active in the Presbyterian Church and I played the organ and directed the junior choir one summer. I was a camp counselor at Presbytery Point, which was this wonderful camp the presbytery maintained. As a child I was very interested in Dr. Schweitzer. I read about him in the Landmark Series of books in our little school library. And I thought I could do some good in the world. I wanted to do some good in the world.
LINKS
Margalit Fox, “Debra Bernhardt, 47, Dies—A Historian for the Unsung,” New York Times, March 26, 2001.
Debra E. Bernhardt and Janet Wells Greene, “The Making of a ‘Practical Radical’: An Interview with Debra E. Bernhardt,” Radical History Review 81, Fall 2001.
Daniel Walkowitz, “Debra E. Bernhardt: Activist, Archivist, Historian,” Radical History Review 81, Fall 2001.