QUICK TAKES - Feb. 12, 2009
The San Diego school board has sent a letter of apology to folk singer Pete Seeger for the actions of school officials in 1960 who tried to cancel his concert at a local school because he refused to sign a loyalty oath pledging anti-communism.
After the ACLU went to court to defend Seeger, the concert at Hoover High School went on as scheduled. A current school board member said she decided the board should send a letter to the 89-year-old Seeger after seeing him perform as part of the inaugural festivities for President Obama.
The letter, adopted unanimously by the board this week, apologizes to Seeger and calls him “one of our nation’s dearest treasures.”
Seeger told the Associated Press this week that the 1960 controversy brought him publicity that helped his career. “I was used to things like this, in what I called the Frightened ‘50s,” he said.
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--Tony Perry
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