Author Archive for James D. Fernández

Book Review: Emilio Silva’s New Novel

August 16, 2025
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<em>Book Review:</em> Emilio Silva’s New Novel

Emilio Silva, Nébeda (Madrid: Alkibla, 2025), 212 pp.
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Jay Greenfield (1932-2025)

August 16, 2025
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Jay Greenfield (1932-2025)

Jay Greenfield died peacefully on June 29, at the age of 92. Having grown up in Rockaway, Queens, Jay was a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School, where he was a Law Review editor. Following service as a lieutenant in Korea, he began his long career at Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton &...
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Arkivo: What Language Is This?

August 16, 2025
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<em>Arkivo:</em> What Language Is This?

The title of this new occasional feature of The Volunteer is the Esperanto word for “archive.” In it, we will present, translate, and contextualize iconic non-English language documents related to the anti-fascist struggle in Spain.
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“Fascism Was Ben Shahn’s Greatest Fear”–Laura Katzman on the Timeliness of Antifascist Art

August 16, 2025
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<em>“Fascism Was Ben Shahn’s Greatest Fear”</em>–Laura Katzman on the Timeliness of Antifascist Art

The Jewish Museum in New York City is presenting the first U.S. retrospective in nearly half a century dedicated to social realist artist and activist Ben Shahn (1898-1969). Curator Laura Katzman reflects on Shahn’s social justice work as it relates to the antifascist struggles of his day.
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Letter from ALBA: Brigades Will Be Forming Again

August 16, 2025
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<em>Letter from ALBA:</em> Brigades Will Be Forming Again

Dear Friends, “There will be Brigades forming again,” John Garfield’s character says at the end of The Fallen Sparrow, the 1943 spy thriller in which he plays Kit McKittrick, a traumatized Lincoln vet who singlehandedly foils a Nazi plot. Although the phrase is easy to miss, it is key to understanding the story’s political...
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ARKIVO — “Remember, This Was You.”

May 16, 2025
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<em>ARKIVO —</em> “Remember, This Was You.”

In this new occasional feature of The Volunteer, whose title is the Esperanto word for “archive,” we will present, translate and contextualize iconic foreign language documents related to the anti-fascist struggle in Spain. If you have a favorite document in a language other than English, let us know!
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Letter from ALBA: Liberation through Solidarity

<em>Letter from ALBA:</em> Liberation through Solidarity

“The courage and fortitude the Lincoln Brigade exemplified is desperately needed today. They saw the writing on the wall and didn't wait until the powers that be caught up with them to take what J. Edgar Hoover preposterously described as premature anti-fascist action.” Audrey Sasson, the Executive Director of Jews for Racial and Economic...
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How Did Spaniards in the US Experience the Spanish Civil War?

February 22, 2025
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How Did Spaniards in the US Experience the Spanish Civil War?

From March 1 to August 3, 2025, The Tampa Bay History Center will host an exhibition titled “Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the US, 1868-1945.” Co-curated by Luis Argeo and James D. Fernández, this show uses materials—photographs, documents, letters, keepsakes—digitized or on loan from the family archives of the descendants of those immigrants, as well...
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Letter from ALBA: Indignation and Disbelief

February 22, 2025
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<em>Letter from ALBA:</em> Indignation and Disbelief

Dear Friends, We know that many of you are working hard to transform your indignation and disbelief at political developments in our country into the mobilizing energy needed to build a new Popular Front against fascism. At ALBA we are well aware of the small but significant role we play as an educational organization...
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Book Review: Franco’s Mass Graves

November 22, 2024
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<em>Book Review:</em> Franco’s Mass Graves

Franco’s Mass Graves: Breaking the Silence in Spain, by Emilio Silva Barrera. Translated by Veronica Dean-Thacker and Shelby G. Thacker. Newark, Del.: Juan de la Cuesta.
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