A forerunner of presidential candidate, and democratic socialist Vermont US senator, Bernie Sanders, Charles Solomon seen here in 1932, addresses a large crowd of office workers on Wall and Broad Streets telling them about the relationship between "high finance" and the low economic status of workers.
The image was titled “Explains meaning of Wall Street” and appeared in the Yiddish language newspaper the Forverts on September 7, 1932.”
A Socialist, New York Jewish politician, Born in 1889 on Manhattan’s East Side to Russian-born, Yiddish-speaking parents, Solomon was a resident of Brooklyn for most of his life.
For the better part of two decades Solomon ran for numerous government offices including governor (1934), lieutenant governor (1924), mayor (1933), NY Supreme Court justice (1928, 1938), NY State Senate (1930) and US Senate (1932). He served as Assemblyman of Kings County’s 23rd District from 1919 to 1920 and as a New York State magistrate from 1935 to 1959. He was well respected for his idealism and for refusing to compromise his principles even while on the bench.
Known as a sharp logical debater Solomon made frequent appearances at public symposiums on a variety of important topics, Sundays at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Described as a passionate speaker, in September 1920, with the Jewish High Holidays in the offing, Solomon headed over to Pitkin and Broadway in Brownsville, Brooklyn in advance of the socialist special election. Young women outfitted with honey, a traditional Jewish seasonal food, sold tickets to synagogue holiday services near the local cinema. New Year's greeting cards and watermelons were equally sought after items for sale.
Solomon was tasked with speaking to the crowds there about the constitution and socialism. Later that year their candidate for president Eugene V. Debs finished with a little over seven percent of the vote, considered a strong showing.
August 1921 found Assemblyman Solomon working as the "Publicity Manager" for the socialist party. Open-air meetings and lectures around town offered workers opportunities to learn about the candidates and issues before September's primaries.
A former newsboy, a journalist and socialist since his youth, Solomon wrote for the socialist party's “The Call,” and was frequently heard speaking on street corners and local clubs about socialism.
Till late in life, he continued his public speaking, even while working as magistrate. A Brooklyn local, in May 1948, Solomon spoke at the Coney Island Liberal Party Club at 2812 Mermaid Avenue, Brooklyn. The topic of his speech was "Questions and Problems of The Day."
The Forverts, now generally known as the Forward, at 123 years old, is still in operation just a few blocks away on Maiden Lane. Once a Yiddish daily, it’s currently a digital publication in both Yiddish and English.
Solomon was one of five socialist New York assemblymen who were expelled from office in 1920, during the Palmer Raids/ anti-Communist Red Scare. They were tossed out for agitating for social security, public housing and against child labor and other social reforms that are, by now, law.
In response to his expulsion, Solomon and a colleague issued a statement accusing the Assembly itself of treason claiming “the Constitution has been lynched.” He was later re-elected and allowed to remain.
Charles Solomon died in 1963 and is buried in the Workmen's Circle section of the Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, Queens. His epitaph is said to read: “He gave the people of his best.”
