Radicals in City Hall: An American Tradition

Peter Dreier Dissent Magazine
The time appears to be ripe for a new wave of urban reform. Both socialists like Seattle’s Sawant and progressives like New York’s de Blasio have a chance to popularize “left wing of the possible” ideas that seem bold but not preposterous. But as their socialist and progressive counterparts over the past century recognized, good ideas don’t become policy without social movements behind them.

Woody Guthrie's Jesus Christ

Woody Guthrie's Jesus is a working man ('a carpenter by hand'), an itinerant, and a radical ('sell all of your jewelry and give it to the poor'). For more Alt-Xmas music, go here and here.

Low Down Dirty Christmas

The Playing for Change Band presents a new holiday video, “Low Down Dirty Christmas,” recorded live outside Sao Paolo. Composed by Tom Canning, it reaches back to the roots of blues and soul. For more Alt-Xmas music, go here and here.

Jesus: The Missing Years

John Prine fills in the 18 years in the life of Jesus. France, Spain, life, pain ... a little love and shoplifting. For more Alt-Xmas music, go here and here.

Shalom Alechem

The Barcelona Gypsy Klezmer Orchestra creates a modern interpretation of 'Shalom Alechem' in music, dance and video. For more Alt-Xmas music, go here and here.
 

Who Ain't a Slave? Historical fact and the fiction of 'Benito Cereno'

Greg Grandin The Chronicle of Higher Education
Melville's tale describes the deep structures of a racism that was born in chattel slavery but didn't die with it. Racism, in the United States at least, was grafted onto slavery, while at the same time disguised by a potent kind of individualism, a cult of individual supremacy, based on the fantasy that some men were born natural slaves and that others could be absolutely free.