Following the critical success of Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window – a critique of white liberalism that takes place in Greenwich Village – debuted in 1964, critics were not as enamored.
This lefty publisher is giving out censored books for free in Florida. We know that books in and of themselves don't change the world. But people reading together, learning together, organizing together; people coming together to know these ideas, and to think about how our side wins is actually dangerous.
Sergei Prokofiev died 70 years ago today, overshadowed by the death of Joseph Stalin, who had banned much of his work. But Prokofiev’s brilliant musical compositions have outlived him and still sound fresh and exciting to modern listeners.
We look to our elders to demonstrate another way of being in this broken world, extending our circle of commitment to the person in front of us, or to a group of people, like she did with Palestinian people. June taught us it is important to practice self-love, to show commitment to your community and to extend that care to those struggling for justice around the world.
The picture emerging from this powerful militarist trend illustrates the continuing strength of the mantras inherited from the Cold War, summed up in the notion that more weapons mean more security and that si vis pacem, para bellum (if you want peace, prepare for war).
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