The Works of Richard J. Margolis
Dick was a prolific writer with a knack for putting a human face on complex issues. Regardless of the topic, Dick's writings always shined a light on the inherent value and dignity of America's most vulnerable citizens and called on those in power to work for social justice and equality. A regular contributor to The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor and other respected newspapers and periodicals, he aimed his pen at policies and politicians who ignored the plight of the poor, the mistreatment of minorities, and systemic inequities that kept the "have nots" down. Often as not, his topics focused on the extent to which the needs of rural America were overlooked or outright ignored by federal policymakers.
Dick wrote numerous articles for The New Leader and was a regular columnist for 23 years (1968-1991) for the prestigious bi-monthly, founded in 1924 and published by
the American Labor Conference on International Affairs. The first periodical to publish Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," The New Leader gave national voice to America's most prominent progressive thinkers and writers. The print publication ended in 2006 but continued online through August 2010. Issues are archived at Columbia University.