Comrade Arnie Indenbaum died at 12:01 AM on May 2 at the age of 92, a minute after the close of May Day. Arnie had been one of the early members of the Progressive Labor Movement (PLM — predecessor of the Progressive Labor Party) —  and was at its founding conference in July 1962. One of his first responsibilities was to help organize a student trip to Cuba, breaking the travel ban instituted by President Kennedy. For this action he and other PLM members and supporters were subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which was conducting an anti-communist witch-hunt to enforce the travel ban.
Fighting anti-communist intimidation
Arnie refused to cooperate with HUAC’s red-baiting. He charged the Committee with “attempting to prevent U.S. students from exercising their right to travel and from finding out the specific nature of the Cuban system.” He testified that “what the U.S. government and this Committee [HUAC] says about Cuba is an outrageous distortion and lie.”Arnie’s indictment of HUAC was part of a campaign which PLM —  and later the PLP —  launched to expose the Committee’s anti-communism, including mass demonstrations in Buffalo and Washington, leading to HUAC’s eventual dissolution.
PLM on the railroad
Arnie was a brakeman on the New York Central R.R. for ten years until being laid off in 1963. He participated in numerous actions opposing the company’s mass layoffs, including a slowdown which had its quick-witted side. Arnie was walking ever-so-slowly alongside an engine that was crawling up Manhattan’s east side tracks. The exasperated engineer finally called out to Arnie to “speed it up a little; you’re making me look bad.” Arnie had a great sense of humor.
Arnie loved music, especially early jazz, and enjoyed classical music, even opera. He always had a record on, playing the likes of Louis Armstrong, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and the occasional Pavarotti.
Many folks didn’t know Arnie was a serious scholar of Shakespeare. Over the course of decades, he read and studied Shakespeare, developing a keen and deep understanding of the playwright’s work from a class perspective.
Organizing in later years
Arnie worked as an electrician and a grip in the film industry for many years. For health reasons he left that work and ultimately came to own and operate AS-IS, a small antique book and record store in Manhattan’s West Village. The store — always with music playing in the background —  was a place where many people would stop by for coffee, political discourse and often a good laugh. Arnie always took a particular interest in the young people in his life. He mentored many.
Arnie’s last few years were marked by failing health. His contribution to the building of a communist future will be sorely missed but never forgotten.