In Contempt: Defending Free Speech, Defeating HUAC

by Ed Yellin, Jean Fagan Yellin

“YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to be and appear before the Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives of the United States, or a duly appointed subcommittee thereof, on February 10 (Monday), 1958, at ten o’clock a.m. at City Council Chambers, City Hall, Gary, Indiana, then and there to testify touching matters of inquiry committed to said committee, and not to depart without leave of said committee.”



So began a decade of hardship for Ed and Jean Yellin and their three young children as the repressive weight of the U.S. government, caught up in the throes of McCarthyism, crashed down upon their careers, their daily household budget, and their relationships to colleagues, neighbors, and their country. In Contempt is a faithful, factual testament to the enduring quality of patriotic dissent in our evolving democracy—and a loving reconstruction of what it meant to be labeled “unAmerican” for defending the Constitution.

 

139 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2022

Reviews

[Val J · Rating 3 out of 5]

First amendment

I am definitely not of the same political or spiritual (non spiritual) persuasion as the Yellins. However being a staunch constitutionalist, this story resonates with me because it is possible to replace the word communist with any other "out of favor" group or label and end up with the same story. The key here is not to squelch any idea contrary to your own, but rather to have a more convincing argument with history to back it up. The most basic freedom that God has given us is the right to our own thinking. This is a natural law, a right we are born with and it is one that can neither be given nor taken away by any government. Our constitution does not bequeath that right on us but rather acknowledges that government may not take what it has no power to give: free thought and free speech.

[Angela Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really demonstrates how important it is to remember our history, not just what’s taught in schools but crazy abuses of our rights that happened in the past. I didn’t know much about the extent of the HUAC activities but super scary to think about how at one point just having certain political beliefs could land you in jail. Scary parallels to curtailing of speech about Palestine now

[KT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful glimpse into the past for leftists who face all too similar struggles in contemporary times, this book also maintains its human core by focusing on the sweet relationship between Ed and Jean Yellin. Their complementary and, at times, dueling perspectives make for a fascinating retelling of an oft-forgotten period of US Left history.