>>> SAVE THE DATE <<<
74th Annual Reunion of the Volunteers for Liberty
Sunday, May 2, 2010 - 4:30pm
El Museo del Barrio (104th & 5th Ave)
Featuring Amy Goodman, acclaimed broadcast journalist, columnist, and host of Democracy Now!
Online ticket sales will start in February
THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), almost forty thousand men and women from fifty-two countries, including 2,800 Americans, traveled to Spain to join the International Brigades to help fight fight fascism. The U.S. volunteers served in various units (medical, combat and transportation) and came to be known collectively as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
The Spanish Civil War claimed an estimated 500,000 dead; of the American volunteers about one third died in Spain. Many of the remaining veterans continued their fight against fascism during World War II, as did thousands of Republican exiles. With their help, fascism was finally defeated in 1945.
Many of the international brigaders remained life-long activists, lending their support to progressive causes of all kinds, from the Civil Rights movement to the protests against the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.
THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE ARCHIVES Founded in 1979, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
(ALBA) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting public
awareness, research, and discussion about the Spanish Civil War (1936-38) and
the American volunteers who risked their lives to fight fascism in Spain in the
1930’s. Using its continually expanding
archival collections located at NYU, ALBA presents exhibitions, publications, performances,
and educational programs related to the war and its historical, political,
artistic, and biographical significance.
With these activities, ALBA preserves the legacy of progressive activism
and commitment of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade as an inspiration for present and
future generations.
Click here to learn more about how your support makes ALBA's programs possible.
ALBA'S JAMES D. FERNÁNDEZ INTERVIEWED ON CNN
ALBA and the Mystery Soldier
Read the full ALBA press release--including some stunning revelations-- here (pdf / html / doc).
[Versión en castellano, aquí.]
When the Spanish daily El País published this photograph of what, according to the newspaper, is an unidentified African-American member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, it set off something of an international frenzy. Contributing to the seductiveness of this historical mystery was the announcement made in the article by the heirs of the photographer, who said that they would like to locate the descendents of the soldier, and that they hope to present a print of the image to President Barack Obama when he next travels to Spain.
The photograph in question was taken by one of Spain's great Civil War photographers, Agustí Centelles (1909-1985). Spain’s Ministry of Culture recently purchased the Centelles archives from the photographer’s heirs. But the part of the story in El País that really grabbed international attention was the challenge laid down by the two sons of the photographer: help us identify this man. The story was picked up by, among many other outlets, The Guardian, in an article written by Giles Tremlett, and by CNN and CNN International, which, December 23, did live interviews with ALBA Board Member, James D. Fernández. The hunt was on....
Support ALBA's Programs!
Click here to learn more about how your support makes ALBA's programs possible.And don't forget to check out...
- The ALBA Digital Library featuring four collections from the ALB Archives at NYU
- ALBA's Robeson in Spain comic book by Josh Brown and Peter Carroll. Email jhouck@alba-valb.org to purchase a copy ($5) or view on-line.
- online lessons plans for middle and high school teachers, written by ALBA Staff
- ALBA Institute for Education, programs for teachers and students
- ALBA's own online exhibits
- recent book reviews and archived issues of our publication, The Volunteer
- brief histories of the Spanish Civil War and ALBA/VALB
- ALBA's Volunteer Database, featuring entries for Brigade Volunteers
- a link to the archived queries and discussions on the ALBA listserv
