The Invisible Man
Dunkirk’s humanitarian relief programs for France, Poland, and Italy began as a whisper in the ear of some people. The most important was Charles Lafayette “Lafe” Todd. Let’s call Lafe Todd the “Invisible Man” in those world-acclaimed programs. And let’s call him the world’s first and most successful micro-activist. Invisible?? Why? That’s because Todd’s role in those programs is not widely known. He stayed behind the scenes without attracting wide attention. Todd was satisfied to let others get the publicity and the credit. The success was satisfaction enough for him. Micro-activist?? Why? Because Todd’s actions started out on a small scale. He was just one person. But his actions had an enormous effect in changing the world. That’s what micro-activists do: They are individual people with small ideas that mushroom into world-changing events. Lafe Todd shows that one person’s idea can change history.
Listen to the Whisper
And what’s with that whisper business?? The whisper was the idea for Dunkirk to help its war-devastated namesake and sister city, Dunkerque, France. It was just a whisper in Todd’s ear. Oh, we’re not talking about a real whisper. It was a brief thought that appeared and disappeared in a flash. Your intuition does not shout at you. Those whispers can be so important. Nevertheless, we often ignore them and move on. Have you heard of Steven Spielberg? He may be the most famous and successful Hollywood moviemaker. His films include Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones series, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Minority Report.
He also has supported human rights and social issues. Spielberg once described the importance of doing what Lafe Todd did. Listen to the whisper: “I’ve always said to my kids: the hardest thing to listen to — your instincts, your human personal intuition — always whispers; it never shouts. Very hard to hear. So you have to, every day of your lives, be ready to hear what whispers in your ear.” “It very rarely shouts. And if you can listen to the whisper, and if it tickles your heart, and it’s something you think you want to do. . .we will benefit from everything you do.”
Meet Lafe Todd
So who was Charles Lafayette Todd? “Lafe” was a Dunkirk native . He was born on December 9, 1911, to Dr. Edwin Todd, a dentist, and his wife Gretchen. Lafe was graduated from Dunkirk High School, got a BA degree in literature from Hamilton College, and a MA from Columbia University. Lafe loved John Steinbeck’s book, The Grapes of Wrath, and others about the “Okies.” These
impoverished people left Oklahoma and other Midwestern states during the Depression and Dust Bowl. They headed for jobs in California. Many of them could not find work. They had to live in migrant camps. Lafe went to California and wrote an article about them. It appeared in The New York Times. An official of the Library of Congress read it and offered Lafe a job making audio recordings of the migrants. After that, Todd became a speech professor at what now is the City University of New York. He was drafted into the Army for World War II. Many soldiers were being shipped to Europe through the Port of New York. Todd’s service assignment was to work in public relations for the port. As the war shifted to Japan, Lafe did public relations for the Port of San Francisco.
The Whisper in Todd’s Ear
With the war’s end, Todd accepted a position in public relations for American Aid to France. This relief organization helped the French people rebuild and recover from the war’s devastation. The goals of public relations have changed over the years. In those days, it meant mainly getting favorable news media publicity to further the work of a person or organization.
Todd’s whisper, his flash of inspiration? It drew in him being a Dunkirk native who had served as a public relations officer in the Army during the war. Later he became public relations director for the National Campaign of America’s relief for France. The connection with Dunkerque? France. Dunkirk was named for Dunkerque. The two were “sister cities.” Both had a harbor, a fishing industry, industries, a working-class population, and nearby vineyards. Dunkerque had been devastated by bombing in WW2. It needed help recovering. Why not get the people of Dunkirk engaged in helping their namesake? He thought that an event like Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque would be good publicity for American Aid to France. And success in Dunkirk would be an example for other American cities to do the same.
Whispers, Whispers & More Whispers
Dunkerque’s need for aid also was a whisper in ear of people in Dunkirk. In
1942, for instance, Walter F. Murray, the Mayor of Dunkirk, made a radio broadcast to Dunkerque. The U. S. Government helped Mr. Murray with the broadcast, which expressed goodwill to the people of Dunkerque.
In 1945, members of the Dunkirk Rotary Club talked about aiding the Rotary Club in Dunkerque. Rotary Clubs around the world are still doing such good works today. About the same time, the Dunkirk Evening Observer, the local newspaper, ran an editorial that touched on the topic of aid for Dunkerque.
One Observer article gave Lafe much of the credit for starting the Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque program. But it was careful to point out: “Many others had thoughts along the same line to the extent that the idea may truly be regarded as of spontaneous origin.”
Lafe Todd Listens & Acts
Lafe Todd heard the whisper and ran with the idea. In the summer of 1946, Todd got in touch with people in Dunkirk to share that idea. Todd met with people in Dunkirk on September 16, 1946. One was his old friend and editor of the Observer, the local newspaper, Walter Brennan. Brennan and the others traveled to New York City for meetings with American Aid leaders. Everyone realized that it was a fine idea, and agreed that the nation-wide aid for France campaign would would be launched in the city of Dunkirk on Thanksgiving Day 1946. They started to organize a relief program, using the proposal Todd scripted.
Amazingly, everything came together in barely 10 weeks. Thanks to plenty of groundwork by Todd and others, donations flowed in and important people agreed to attend. The French ambassador to the U.S. Leaders of the American, French and Canadian military. Heads of veterans groups. And journalists also flocked to the event, journalists from Time, Newsweek, the Associated Press, and radio networks like CBS. The mile-long Thanksgiving Day Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque parade showcasing all the donations took place on November 28, 1946. There were other events, including student performances in the high school auditorium, ceremonies at Memorial Park, presentation to the French ambassador of a plaque made in a local metal foundry, and breakfast at the Shorewood country club. Todd’s work showered his hometown with goodwill and praise not only from national newspapers and magazines, but many famous people. Eleanor Roosevelt, for example, praised Dunkirk in her weekly national “My Day” column. Todd helped his hometown in many other ways with the Dunkerque relief program and those for Poland and Anzio. He also helped other towns and cities with their relief programs. He helped Mayor Murray organize”The Dunkirk Society.” It was an information center to help others cities inspired to follow Dunkirk’s example. The D-to-D day dinner speaker at the country fairgrounds was Russell Davenport, publisher and writer and political leader. “Dunkirk plus Dunkerque equals one world,” he declared. It led to formation of The One World Society, a group that worked for world peace.”
And Later On
In the early 1950s, Todd took a job with the United States Information Agency, part of the State Department. President Eisenhower formed the USIA to foster democracy in other countries. In 1959, Todd returned to his alma mater, Hamilton College, as head of the speech department. During the 1970s, he convinced author Alex Haley to join the college faculty. That was the period when Haley wrote “Roots,” the best-selling novel about Haley’s his African ancestors. It became a TV mini-series that almost half the people in the United States saw. Todd later retired to Florida, where he died on August 4, 2004.