Luella Raab Mundel (April 26, 1913 – March 22, 2004),"Luella Mundel", ''The Lompoc Record'' (April 2, 2004), p. 3."Art Galleries", ''Santa Maria Times'' (June 30, 2006), p. 21. a former head of the art department of

Fairmont State College Fairmont State University is a public university in Fairmont, West Virginia. History Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Vir ...

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...

, is known for her job termination and blacklisting due to questions about her beliefs during the McCarthy era.

Biography

Born in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

, her father, Wilhelm Raab, was a potter from Austria, and her mother was from Germany. Mundel graduated from Waterloo High School in her hometown in 1932, and received a B.A. from the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

. In 1938, she married Marvin Mundel, and the following year received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in art history and psychology from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. Her marriage ended in 1946.

Documentary

Mundel was the subject of ''American Inquisition'', a documentary by

Helen Whitney Helen Whitney is an American producer, director and writer of documentaries and feature films that have aired on PBS, HBO, ABC and NBC. Whitney's subjects have included youth gangs, the 1996 American presidential candidates, a Trappist monast ...

. The documentary examines how

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

had affected the small town of

. In the documentary, the narrator said that in 1951 Mundel "was not a political activist, but had tastes, convictions about art, about religion, unfamiliar to these streets. And at a local American Legion seminar about subversives, Mundel stood to challenge what was being preached there. Her contract was dropped by the college. A state education official accused her of being a poor security risk. She then sued for slander, but in the trial that followed in Fairmont's courtroom, it was Luella Mundel and her right to speak freely, to be different, that wound up being tried."

Quotes about the Mundel affair

*"Fairmont State College art professor Luella Mundel fell victim to this

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

frenzy. In 1951, Mundel publicly challenged an American Legion assertion that colleges were havens for communists. Weeks later, Thelma Loudin, a member of the state school board from Fairmont, called Mundel a 'poor security risk' and the board refused to renew her contract. Mundel unsuccessfully sued Loudin for slander. The potential cost of being labeled a communist was so great that Loudin's lawyer, U.S. Senator

Matthew M. Neely Matthew Mansfield Neely (November 9, 1874January 18, 1958) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from West Virginia. He is the only West Virginian to serve in both houses of the United States Congress and as the ...

, a staunch defender of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, denounced Mundel's political and religious beliefs during the trial to prove his patriotism".

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

State History Archive.

Later life and death

Mundel later became head of the art department at

Mayville State University Mayville State University (MSU or MaSU) is a public university in Mayville, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. History Founded as a normal school by provision of the North Dakota Constitution in 1889, Mayville State ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, where she remained until her retirement in 1975. Following her retirement, she moved to Lompoc, California, where she remained active in the arts community for over twenty years. Mundel died at Lompoc Convalescent Care Center at the age of 90. On July 9, 2006, the

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. It is approximately no ...

art gallery The Cypress Gallery honored Mundel in an art show.

Victor Lasky Victor Lasky (7 January 1918 – 22 February 1990) was a conservative columnist in the United States who wrote several best-selling books. He was syndicated by the North American Newspaper Alliance. Background On January 7, 1918, Victor Lasky w ...

, a conservative journalist who rose to prominence during the McCarthy era, sued

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

over his depiction in the documentary. Lasky maintained that the documentary inaccurately reported that he had called Mundel a Communist. Lasky lost the case.Edward Mason
Shining a spotlight into darkness
/ref>

References

External links

The Anti-Communist Hysteria and the Academy: The Luella Mundel Affair
*John Corry

''The New York Times'', June 23, 1983. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mundel, Luella 1913 births 2004 deaths People from Waterloo, Iowa University of Northern Iowa alumni University of Iowa alumni Anti-communism in the United States History of West Virginia Victims of McCarthyism Fairmont State University faculty People from Fairmont, West Virginia