Simon and Sophie Gerson photographs

Simon "Si" Gerson was born on January 23, 1909 in Manhattan. He attended the City College of New York where he met labor activist Sophie Melvin. They married in 1932. Gerson was a reporter and editor for the Daily Worker. In 1937, Gerson was appointed to be Manhattan Borough President Stanley M. Isaac's executive assistant. Gerson served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific theater in World War II. He then managed Communist candidate Peter Cacchione's campaign for New York City Council. Cacchione served from 1941 to 1947 when he died from a heart attack. Gerson was named to fill in Cacchione's seat and the Gerson family moved to Brooklyn in 1948. Gerson was then forced to run in a borough-wide race. He was endorsed by the American Labor Party and the Communist Party and won the election. He died on December 26, 2004.

Sophie Gerson, née Melvin, was born on February 22, 1910 in Ukraine. Gerson and her family moved to the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn and Gerson started volunteering to support striking workers when she was a teenager. She became a member of the Young Communist League and went down to Gastonia, North Carolina in 1929 to help with the Loray Mill strike. During the Great Depression, she worked for the New York Department of Welfare. In 1948, the Gersons moved to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn where they lived for the rest of their lives. Sophie and Simon Gerson had two children, William and Deborah. Later in her life, Gerson was active in the National Council of Senior Citizens. Sophie Gerson died on March 21, 2006.