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Mr.
Randy Kryn
Born
Randall Lee Kryn

(1949-10-12) October 12, 1949 (age 75)
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMr. Kryn
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer, historian
Years active1970[a]–present
TitleChief biographer
Board member of
Academic background
EducationOak Park and River Forest High School (class of 1967)
Alma materMorton College (class of 1970) and Northern Illinois University
ThesisRandy Kryn: Movement Revision Research Summary Regarding James Bevel (2005)
Academic work
Era1954–1968
DisciplineHistory of the United States
Sub-disciplineCivil Rights Movement
Main interestsJames Bevel, Chicago Freedom Movement, Selma to Montgomery marches, Nashville Student Movement, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Notable ideasJames Bevel and Martin Luther King Jr. were the top-level leadership duo of the Civil Rights Movement

Randall Lee Kryn (b. 1949), commonly known as Randy Kryn, is an American journalist, writer, and historian best known for his work with the Civil Rights Movement, and within that, as chief biographer of strategist James Bevel, one of the movement's top two leaders (the other being Martin Luther King Jr.). Throughout his life in the East North Central states of the Midwestern U.S., Kryn has also been involved with newspaper editing, community organizing, politics, activism, parapsychology, and Wikipedia editing.

Early life and education

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Kryn was born on October 12, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Oak Park and River Forest High School as a member of the class of 1967.[1] Thereafter, he enrolled as a student at Morton College; while there, he signed a petition to implement a course for Polish-American history at the school.[citation needed] Kryn also wrote and edited for the school newspaper Morton College Collegian, during which he received a heartfelt open letter from Coretta Scott King (published in the paper in 1970) whereby she directly praised his editorial work.[2] Kryn graduated from the college in 1970.[citation needed]

Parapsychology and spirituality

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Since 1977,[3] Kryn has been the president and research director of the Illinois Society for Psychic Research.[4] He corresponded with Harold Sherman in a manuscript titled Man As Soul – Entity.[5] In July 1994, members of Heaven's Gate attempted to proselytize Kryn in Madison, Wisconsin to no avail.[6][7][8]

Community organizing, politics, and activism

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Further information: Chicago-style politics and Political history of Chicago

Kryn is the founder, president, and director of the Oak Park Center for Creativity.[9][10][11] Also in the 1980s, he started getting heavily involved in politics in the Chicago area. Kryn was the chairman of the 7th Congressional Republican Council and in 1986, he received greetings from the Soviet consulate in New York City.[12] In 1989, he ran for a position as Oak Park trustee; during the campaign, he advocated for the legalization of marijuana,[13] and said the following about the substance:

People are really misinformed. It's much safer than alcohol. It's safe, non-lethal, non-addictive, and (society) sees it as evil as cocaine and heroin when it's actually not.[14]

Kryn would go on to lose that election.

In the 1992 Democratic National Platform Committee, Kryn served as a representative from Wisconsin for Jerry Brown. In that capacity, Kryn continued his marijuana legalization advocacy by submitting an amendment; it was defeated, although chairman Nancy Pelosi (who later became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives) praised Kryn for "waking up" the meeting.[15]

On August 28, 1996, Kryn (a Madison, Wisconsin resident at the time) was arrested for leading David Dellinger, Bradford Lyttle, and eight others in a protest at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago that would nominate Bill Clinton for re-election to a second term as U.S. President.[16]

Historiography

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James Bevel
See also: Historiography of the United States

As chief biographer,[17] Kryn has undertaken extensive work in chronicling strategist James Bevel's pivotal role in leading key events and aspects of the Civil Rights Movement such as the Chicago Freedom Movement, Selma to Montgomery marches, Nashville Student Movement, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Kryn set into motion his career as a historian and biographer by conducting his first interviews with Bevel in 1983.[18] In October 2005, Kryn published his thesis titled Randy Kryn: Movement Revision Research Summary Regarding James Bevel, which cemented Bevel's status and legacy as a top-level Civil Rights Movement leader along with King;[19] in the aftermath, Kryn received publication responses from James Ralph[20] and Kale Williams.[21] Robert St. John has also affirmed Kryn's position in a letter, saying:

The Bevel story does revise the history of the Civil Rights Movement and it needs to be told.[22]

Kryn has collaborated with David Garrow,[23] sometimes serving as an assistant and sounding board in that capacity.[24][25] BlackPast.org uses Kryn's work as the main reference for its James Bevel biography page.[26]

Another role that Kryn has engaged in as a historian, is that of preserving and contributing to Ray Bradbury's hometown records in Waukegan, Illinois;[27] Kryn did this in a multi-step process by:[28]

  1. Going to the City Hall
  2. Obtaining copies of the house deed and birth certificates of Bradbury's parents
  3. Talking to the mayor
  4. Organizing the Ray Bradbury Society

On October 28, 2000, Kryn interviewed Prathia Hall, a woman who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement; this interview would be utilized in a biography written about her by Courtney Pace, titled Freedom Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall.[29] Kryn also contributed a series of unpublished manuscripts from his 1998–2004 interviews with Bevel to Thomas E. Ricks' 2022 book titled Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968.[30]

Personal life and other endeavors

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Since October 2008, Kryn has resided in Columbus, Ohio.[31] In early 2022, he made international headlines as a Wikipedia editor with his comment in a debate regarding whether non-fungible tokens (NFTs) constitute art, by stating:

This may need a full RfC and a team of art experts.[32]
Kryn thanking a fellow Wikipedia editor in 2021

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ As a biographer and Civil Rights Movement historian, Kryn began in 1983, but he has been writing and editing since 1970.

References

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  1. ^ Oak Park and River Forest High School - Tabula Yearbook (Oak Park, IL) - Class of 1967. Digital Data Online, Inc. p. 181.
  2. ^ King, Coretta Scott (February 6, 1970), "Coretta King appreciates editorial in Jan. 16 issue", Morton College Collegian, p. 2
  3. ^ "Science fiction club convenes…", The Life from Berwyn, Illinois, p. 5, July 29, 1977, retrieved June 14, 2022
  4. ^ Geisendorfer, James V., ed. (1983). Religion in America: A Directory. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 82. ISBN 90 04 06910 0.
  5. ^ Sherman, Harold; Kryn, Randall; Bryant, Jimmy. "M87-08 — Harold M. Sherman Collection". Man As Soul – Entity (Manuscript). Torreyson Library, Archives and Special Collections: University of Central Arkansas. Archived from the original on August 1987. Retrieved June 18, 2022. {{cite interview}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)
  6. ^ Zeleny, Jeff; Kuczka, Susan; Secter, Bob; Mills, Steve (March 30, 1997), "Those who said no shudder with relief", Chicago Tribune, p. 1, retrieved July 2, 2022
  7. ^ "Cult Targeted Young, Impressionable", Albuquerque Journal, p. 9, March 30, 1997, retrieved July 2, 2022
  8. ^ "Cult recruited the young, disaffected", Pensacola News Journal, p. 15, March 30, 1997, retrieved July 2, 2022
  9. ^ Deuchler, Douglas (2013). Legendary Locals of Oak Park. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 9781467100861.
  10. ^ Heinrich, Mark (October 6, 1982), "Town spawned giants of good, evil", Herald & Review, p. 39, retrieved July 4, 2022
  11. ^ Mannweiler, David (July 8, 1982), "Perhaps It's In The Water", Indianapolis News, p. 3, retrieved July 4, 2022
  12. ^ O'Malley, Kathy; Gratteau, Hanky (December 24, 1986), "Nyet yet", Chicago Tribune, retrieved July 7, 2022
  13. ^ Dold, R. Bruce (April 9, 1989), "In thousands of votes cast in Chicago", Chicago Tribune, p. 1, retrieved July 24, 2022
  14. ^ "Free spinal care classes for preventive health", The Southern Illinoisan, p. 8, September 6, 1989, retrieved August 7, 2022
  15. ^ Podrazik, Walter J. (1992), Democratic National Convention 1992 - Official Proceedings, Democratic National Committee
  16. ^ "The Federal Protective Service arrested 11 protesters Wednesday in...", United Press International, August 28, 1996, retrieved August 17, 2022
  17. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (May 9, 2014). "Common Is James Bevel, Andre Holland Is Andrew Young In Ava DuVernay's MLK Tale 'Selma'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  18. ^ Bevel, Helen L. (June 22, 2012). The Nonviolent Right To Vote Movement Almanac. p. 297. ISBN 9781105708169.
  19. ^ Kryn, Randy (October 2005). "Movement Revision Research Summary Regarding James Bevel". middlebury.edu. Middlebury College. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  20. ^ Ralph, James (November 2005). "James Ralph: Response to Randy Kryn". middlebury.edu. Middlebury College. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Williams, Kale (November 2005). "Kale Williams: Response to Randy Kryn". middlebury.edu. Middlebury College. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  22. ^ Bevel, Helen L. (June 22, 2012). The Nonviolent Right To Vote Movement Almanac. p. 292. ISBN 9781105708169.
  23. ^ Garrow, David; Kryn, Randy (1989). James L. Bevel, The Strategist of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. We Shall Overcome. Vol. 2. Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing Company.
  24. ^ Garrow, David J. (February 17, 2015). Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. New York, NY: Open Road Media. ISBN 9781504011525.
  25. ^ Garrow, David J. (June 28, 2016). MLK: An American Legacy: Bearing the Cross, Protest at Selma, and The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr. New York, NY: Open Road Media. ISBN 9781504038928.
  26. ^ Kagawa, Grant (March 31, 2011). "James Bevel (1936-2008)". BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  27. ^ Eller, Jonathan R.; Nolan, William F.; Touponce, William F.; Bradbury, Ray (June 2004). Ray Bradbury: The Life of Fiction. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. p. xxi. ISBN 9780873387798.
  28. ^ Manson, Ken (May 3, 2006). "Journeys to Mars: Exploring the Many Worlds of Ray Bradbury and Edgar Rice Burroughs". Erbzine. Oak Park, Illinois: Bill and Sue-On Hillman Ecelectic Studio. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  29. ^ Pace, Courtney (June 15, 2019). Freedom Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 248. ISBN 9780820355054.
  30. ^ Ricks, Thomas E. (October 4, 2022). Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374605179.
  31. ^ "Randall Lee Kryn". Ohio Residents. Ohio Secretary of State. October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  32. ^ Venter, Brett (January 19, 2022). "Wikipedia is arguing about whether NFTs constitute art and NFT fans are stressed". stuff.co.za. Stuff Group, South Africa's Consumer Tech News Hub. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
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