Arnold Abbott has been described
as a realistic idealist, an eclectic iconoclast, and a rebel with many
causes. Published at age 9, when he took
umbrage at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay On
Self Reli...view moreArnold Abbott has been described
as a realistic idealist, an eclectic iconoclast, and a rebel with many
causes. Published at age 9, when he took
umbrage at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay On
Self Reliance, he wrote a poetic reply titled: “Yes Ralph, These Are Your
Poor!”
A proud liberal, he fought
fiercely in the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s including going to Jackson,
Mississippi to help register Negroes to
vote. A Pennsylvania delegate to the
1964 Democratic National Convention, he gained notoriety, nationally covered,
sitting with the Mississippi Freedom Delegation to protest the injustice of
bypassing them in favor of an unelected all-white group.
Today, he works to better the
lives of the homeless, through teaching culinary skills.view less