Review by Judy Helfand I picked up Origin because I have heard of old sites with human habitation being found in South America and also of places in the US where there is evidence of cultures existing earlier than 13 thousand years ago. I wondered, did people sail to South …
by Judy Helfand My friend offered to do some genealogy research for me. I already had a fairly extensive genealogy and history of my father’s side, the Jewish side. My paternal grandmother and grandfather emigrated to Canada and the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I suspected some …
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, Benjamin Madley Review by Judy Helfand I recently joined a group inspired by a Ceremony of Apology and Forgiveness convened by Basil Brave Heart, a Lakota elder, which provided, among other things, an opportunity for settlers in the United …
by Judy Helfand Seeing a recommendation for The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, on the Racial Justice Allies Facebook page, I reserved it at the library, wanting to keep up with recent writing on institutionalized racism in the U.S. When I picked up the book I saw the subtitle—A …
by Judy Helfand Recently various friends have asked me if I’m scared about the upcoming presidential election, which prompted some self-reflection as to why I’m not. There’s nothing surprising to me about the outpouring of hate and racial invective. Trump does not seem like the devil incarnate, simply another manifestation …
Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi founded #BlackLivesMatter in 2012, after George Zimmerman, responsible for the death of Trayvon Martin, was acquitted for his crime. Trayvon Martin was posthumously charged for his own death. These women moved the hashtag from social media into the streets, holding conference calls, connecting …
by Judy Helfand An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz sat on my bookshelf for months. I’d picked it up because I admired the author, having read her memoir Red Dirt: Growing Up Oakie, which seriously grappled with whiteness. When I finally took the history off …
by Judy Helfand On the first night of the 2015 Geography of Hope conference, I met Lauret Savoy while standing in the food line. She was an engaging conversationalist and I was almost sorry as we reached the serving tables. When I learned she was a presenter, I awaited her …
by Judy Helfand Musicians seem to me better able to work across ethnic and racial boundaries than most folks, exploring, adapting, and changing music springing from various cultures. Respect Yourself: the Story of Stax Records surprised me by exploring, not only the music recorded at Stax, but the racial history …
by Judy Helfand At a recent gathering someone asked if there was more activism in the 60s than today. I felt strongly that there is as much today, but it’s not as visible on mainstream media. Then he asked a question about what was happening in the 60s, …