Letter from ALBA: Renewing our commitments
Dear Friends,
As we bring this issue to press, we’ve learned that our great friend, Pete Seeger, has passed. His loyalty to the Lincoln Brigade and to ALBA is unsurpassed. He sang innumerable times at VALB and ALBA benefits and helped to create the classic albums, Songs of the Spanish Civil War, which brought that music not only to American audiences but even to Spaniards who listened to bootleg copies during the dark years of the Franco dictatorship.
Pete’s passing underscores our tenuous connections to the progressive past that included the veterans and friends of the Lincoln Brigade. The same history continues to inspire ALBA’s new educational projects and cultural programs that stress the importance of social justice.
In that spirit of commitment to justice, we’re particularly proud to announce the winner of this year’s ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism—anti-capital punishment advocate Bryan Stevenson. His life’s work continues the tradition that inspired people like Pete Seeger and the Lincoln Brigade to demand equal rights for all. Bryan Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a non-profit organization headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. As an attorney for capital defendants and death row prisoners, Bryan seeks nothing less than the eradication of economic and racial bias within the U.S. criminal justice system.
It’s because of each of you, our community, that we are able to succeed in our mission to promote social activism and defend human rights as the legacy of the Lincoln Brigade.
This work, of course, requires us all to renew our commitments.
There are many ways to do this. Some are as easy as introducing a friend to the Volunteer, liking us on Facebook, or following us on Twitter. We invite you to host a home screening of a film about the Brigade; or volunteering at one of our events; or donating material to the Archives.
If you are able to make a one-time or recurring gift; or a stock donation or direct support for your favorite program, now is a good time to honor people who have inspired you to be a progressive. You can help ensure that ALBA’s work continues into the future by making a legacy gift that will live on after you through a bequest to ALBA in your will or living trust.
Each and every way you choose to support ALBA is an invaluable contribution to our effort to preserve the legacy of the Brigade and preserve its memory as a symbol of resistance to exploitation and oppression. We thank you all for being a part of the ALBA community.
¡Salud!
Sebastiaan Faber
Chair of the Board of Governors
Marina Garde
Executive Director
P.S. Don’t forget that ALBA’s teaching programs are reaching more educators and students than ever before. Each contribution you make will bring real benefits in our classrooms!
