Was the classic "outside agitator" who drew inspiration for a life of
activism from sources as disparate as
Frank Nitti,
John L. Lewis and
Mohandas K. Gandhi, and enlisted the help of the Catholic Church in Chicago to helped organize the meatpacking workers against the industrial giants
Armour and Swift; rallied blacks in a vote drive to Chicago's Loop
during longtime mayor
Richard J. Daley's administration; formed The Woodlawn Organization
to prevent the University of Chicago expansion's displacement of residents of the city's South
Side; and in Rochester, N.Y., formed the organization
F.I.G.H.T. against Eastman-Kodak's attempt to prevent union activity.
