Letter from ALBA: Building Anti-Fascist Alliances Then and Now
Dear Friends,
The fight against fascism, in all its guises, has always required broad alliances: networks of people and organizations who realize that the threat to democracy is dangerous enough to warrant collective action, even if not everyone sees eye to eye on everything. This is why, two years after Hitler’s rise to power, the Popular Front brought together socialists, communists, liberals and even pacificists. The International Brigades were equally diverse.
As an antifascist organization, ALBA is all about networks, national and international. One of the thoughts behind the ALBA/Puffin Human Rights Award is precisely to help build alliances—because today, as we well know, the struggle against fascism continues to be waged on many fronts. This year’s award winner, Indigenous Women Rising, is bravely active on several of them. In a country where many states, with the Supreme Court’s blessing, have been turning the clock back at least 50 years, they are valiantly defending women’s reproductive rights. But IWR has also climbed the barricades for Native Americans and other populations who have long been marginalized socially, economically, and politically.
Meanwhile, ALBA’s educational work continues apace, with a new five-week workshop this spring. In this issue, we are gratified to feature two of our recent alumni. Cora Cuenca shares her experience as a teacher in Sevilla, Spain; Charlie Christ writes about his work as an intern on our online biographical database, which we featured at a recent event with board member Chris Brooks.
This issue also introduces six outstanding new winners—two high schoolers, two undergrads, and two graduate students—of ALBA’s George Watt Essay Prize. In our recurring feature “Faces of ALBA,” Daniel Millstone looks back on his activist life and his upbringing as a child of Spanish Civil War veterans. And don’t forget to check out Nevine Abraham’s interview with the author of a novel about Palestinian volunteers in Spain; Rosi Song’s piece on Pablo Casals’ forgotten pupil, the Catalan cellist Gaspar Cassadó; or Peter Carroll’s review of a new book about Black soldiers in World War II.
As you know, every issue includes a page—an honor roll, really—listing everyone who’s supported our work over the past three months. The fact that, this time around, we need two full pages to include all the donors warms our hearts. It’s beyond gratifying to know that you continue to support our work with such steadfast dedication. ¡Gracias! from all of us at ALBA.
Keep up the fight. ¡Salud!
Sebastiaan Faber & Peter N. Carroll, Editors
P.S. Did you know you could set up a recurring donation online? Go to alba-valb.org/donate
