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Pen Kemble:
In Memoriam
An obituary article in this morning’s “Washington Post” brought the very sad news of my good friend and CCD board member, Penn Kemble’s death -- “Political Activist Penn Kemble Dies at 64.”
The article notes that Penn, “from his sickbed, conceived and helped organize a conference dedicated to the thought of Sidney Hook, an intellectual model for Mr. Kemble of the politically engaged social democrat.” I attended that conference, held here in Washington on October 1st. It was, indeed, a fitting “tribute to Penn Kemble.” I was especially impressed by the address of Prof. Jean Bethke Elshtain of the University of Chicago and author of the “Just War Against Terror,” who spoke eloquently of one of Penn’s key beliefs, namely, that “democracy education” – or “civic formation,” as she termed it, is an essential element of and fundamental to democratic governance. She cited as her favorite text – and to many of us, as well -- de Tocqueville’s, “Democracy in America,” which links the role of citizen “associations,” such as our own CCD, to government -- the key she said, as de Tocqueville affirmed, to the whole process of democracy in American life and, as she pointed out Penn affirmed by his own life’s work, to democracy worldwide.
That Penn was a clarion voice for this principle was demonstrated over and over by his indispensable support of CCD’s leadership in Democracy Education. This was personified by his key role in CCD’s March 2003 Pocantico conference, which issued a “Global Strategic Plan for Democracy Education.” That Plan, called for in the “Plan of Action” of the Second Biennial Conference of the Community of Democracies held in Seoul, Korea, 2002, has enabled CCD to perform what Penn, personally, proposed as its keystone recommendation:
“The Council for a Community of Democracies should coordinate an advocacy network of NGOS to promote democracy education among governments, international institutions and nongovernmental organizations.”
He had read his de Tocqueville and as always, saw to its application in the practice, globally, of democracy building. We shall be forever indebted to his perseverance and vision.
I send this with an expression from all of us at CCD of our deepest sympathy to his wife, Marie-Louise and to his sister, Eugenia Kemble, with whom we have collaborated in our common cause, and to his sister Sara and brother Grover.
Richard C. Rowson, President
Council for a Community of Democracies
1801 F Street N.W., Suite 308
Washington, DC 20006
tel: 202-789-9771 Fax: 202-789-9764
email: rowson@ccd21.org
Web address: www.ccd21.org
FREEDOM HOUSE STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF PENN KEMBLE
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 19, 2005 -- The trustees and staff of Freedom House mourn the death of our colleague and friend, Penn Kemble.
Over the course of four decades, Penn played a vital role in the struggle for freedom, both in the United States and in those parts of the world where dictatorship and repression hold sway. His career as a political activist was remarkably diverse; indeed, his life encapsulated the history of political struggle in America from the civil rights era up to the contemporary movement for the expansion of democracy around the world.
As a young radical, Penn engaged in civil disobedience for the rights of African-Americans. His early socialist convictions drew him to organized labor; his democratic convictions inspired in him an unrelenting opposition to all forms of dictatorship. He rejected the proposition that only the peoples of the prosperous developed world were capable of appreciating and sustaining democracy, and he therefore championed the democratic aspirations of workers in Poland, campesinos in Nicaragua, and, more recently, ordinary men and women in the Middle East.
Penn worked closely with two of America’s most distinguished senators: Henry Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Penn was a leading voice in the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, which worked for an assertive U.S. stance in the Cold War. He worked to strengthen the instruments of public diplomacy through his service as head of the U.S. Information Agency, as an official in the State Department and as a member of the Board for International Broadcasting. He also was involved in peace-making efforts in Sudan and was a key figure in the emergence of the Community of Democracies.
Despite suffering from a debilitating illness, Penn devoted the last year of his life to the promotion of a trans-Atlantic movement that would link Americans and Europeans in a common agenda of pressing for free institutions and democratic rights around the world, including in the Middle East.
Those who were committed to global democracy, whether liberals or conservatives, respected Penn and valued his contribution. His death is especially felt at Freedom House, where, during the 1980s and early 1990s, he worked to mobilize support for freedom struggles in Poland and other Communist countries and, after Communism fell, for an American policy that would support fledgling democratic institutions in Eastern Europe and Central America. During this same period, he was an early advocate of a policy of American assertiveness in the former Yugoslavia. He returned to Freedom House after distinguished service in the Clinton Administration, serving as senior scholar, and focusing on building a global alliance of democracies. Those who were fortunate enough to have collaborated with Penn saw their own efforts enriched by his energy, strategic wisdom, and optimism—often in the face of daunting odds.
Penn sought to bridge ideological divides and foster consensus, thereby strengthening efforts for an engaged and assertive American policy for freedom and democracy.
Penn Kemble was an unsung hero of the struggle against tyranny of the far left and right and of the movement for global democracy. He leaves an impressive legacy, and a vacuum that will be impossible to fill.
Penn Kemble's life is what we are all about at CCD: he lived the ideals and commitments and actions that we champion.
What a privilege to have known him, and what sadness to lose him......
-Robert Hunter
Chairman of the Board
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release, October 19, 2005
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
Death of Penn Kemble
President Bush expressed his deep regret over the death last weekend of Penn Kemble. Mr. Kemble dedicated his life to the struggle for democracy and human rights, both during the Cold War and after it. In his service as Deputy Director and Acting Director of the U.S. Information Agency and on the Board for International Broadcasting, in his work with Secretary of State Powell regarding Sudan, and in his years at Freedom House, he was a leading American voice for the advancement of freedom in the world. As a member of the Board of Directors of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and as a founder of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, he promoted a strongly bipartisan approach to national security issues. The President sends his condolences to Mr. Kemble's widow and to his family.
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