Lee Lorch - House Un-American Activities Committee

House Un-American Activities Committee

In 1955, Lorch was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee after he and his wife, Grace, attempted to enroll their daughter, Alice, in an all-black elementary school after the United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that school segregation was unconstitutional. The Committee's questioning immediately went in a political direction: though Lorch "pointedly denied" engaging in any Communist activity during his tenure at Fisk, he refused to answer questions about his party membership prior to 1941, citing the right to do so under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. His refusal to testify before HUAC resulted in his being indicted, tried and acquitted for contempt of Congress–nevertheless, during the House of Un-American Activities Committee hearing Fisk University's president, Charles S. Johnson, issued a statement that Lorch's position before the HUAC was "for all practical purposes tantamount to admission of membership in the Communist Party." Despite the appeals on Lorch's behalf from 48 out of 70 staff members, 22 student body leaders, and 150 alumni, Fisk ended his contract.