RE: Passing of David Schwartzman
Franklin Garcia
Thank you Ann for sharing this information. Mr. Schwartzman was a key voice for the DC Statehood movement and many other causes. He will be missed. I had him on the DC Statehood Today Show, for the April 2016 show. You can watch him here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYXO2qF4IbU&t=2s, he is at 17:40, Sadly, all the local people interviewed for that show have now passed (Jim McGrath, David Schwartzman and Royal Height). May they all rest in peace, and may we honor their legacy by becoming the 51st state.
Franklin Garcia.
From: Ann Wilcox <ann1....@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 6, 2025 10:30 AM
To: John Zottoli <john.z...@gmail.com>; bubar.james <bubar...@gmail.com>; Franklin Garcia <fga...@maestropc.com>; Philip Pannell <philip...@comcast.net>; Stuart W. Anderson <swander...@gmail.com>; LAMONT MITCHELL <lamontm...@gmail.com>;
johnca...@aol.com; dcgayd...@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: David Schwartzman
Friends - for those who haven't heard, longtime DC activist David Schwartzman passed away last week, after a battle with cancer. Just 2 weeks before he testified in the DC budget hearing, calling for a budget that supports children and working people. Please circulate to DC Democrats and others who may be interested - thank you!
David William Schwartzman - 1943-2025
David Schwartzman passed away at the age of 81 on Tuesday July 1st in Washington DC following months of cancer and serious illness.
Born in Brooklyn, NY on October 31st, 1943, a date he liked to remind friends and family was exactly nine months after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. The implication - that his father Max and mother Miriam conceived David in celebration of the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis - meant that from even from his embryonic beginnings, David was cosmically tied to the victory of socialism over fascism.
He grew up among a thriving community of largely leftist working-class Jews in Brooklyn. He displayed an early passion and curiosity for science and the natural world that his family encouraged. He attended Stuyvesant High School, followed by City College, New York B.S, 1964 (chemistry, geology), and Brown University: M.S., 1966, Ph.D., 1971 (geochemistry). In 1973, David moved to Washington, DC and began teaching at Howard University. After thirty-nine years as a professor, including time as Department head, he retired in 2012 as Professor Emeritus.
David was a long-time member of the DC Statehood Green Party, and was a candidate for citywide office three times, and was an activist for tax and economic justice and for DC statehood. Among his biggest goals, tax increases on the wealthy to fund essential services like childcare and affordable housing, was partially achieved when the DC Council passed legislation last year. David’s committed presence at demonstrations and events and his mentorship of younger activists will be sorely missed.
He was an extensively published author, with two books, "Life, Temperature, and the Earth" and "The Earth is Not for Sale" (co-authored with his son, Peter), and a remarkable output of articles, book reviews, book chapters and online essays. He was still working on his final book ‘Solar Communism’. He was an internationally recognized climate scientist, having been an invited speaker at more than fifty conferences globally. David loved daily walks in Rock Creek Park, watching tennis, UFO's, cryptozoology, and visiting his wife's home in North Devon, England.
David leaves behind his wife Joanne; his sons Peter and Sam; Sam’s mother, Emilie, his grandchildren, and nieces and nephews, and a home in DC where he lived for almost fifty years. His loved ones are planning a memorial and celebration of his life on 2nd August at the Josephine Butler Center, Washington DC.
