Category Archives: Documentary

A Skin Too Few – The Days of Nick Drake

Posted on July 13, 2019 by

“Singer-songwriter Nick Drake’s body of work – three proper recorded albums, several previously unreleased tracks, and sketches of songs recorded before his death – is relatively small. And while there are lots of photos, there’s no filmed footage of him … Continue reading →

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Roz Payne

Posted on June 27, 2019 by

“Roz Payne was born in Patterson, New Jersey, and grew up in a political household. Her mom, Edith Berkman, was of Jewish and Polish descent and a Communist labor organizer. She was arrested during the Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile strike in … Continue reading →

Posted in Allen Ginsberg, Black Power, Bobby Seale, Chicano, Cuban Revolution, Documentary, Feminist, Movie, SDS, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jane Jacobs Walk

Posted on May 20, 2019 by

“Who was Jane Jacobs? Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of … Continue reading →

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At Columbia, Revisiting the Revolutionary Students of 1968

Posted on May 6, 2019 by

Strikers on the ledge of Mathematics Hall, one of five buildings at Columbia University that students took over in April 1968. “The campus of Columbia University is dotted with monuments to illustrious alumni and high-minded ideals. But on a sunny … Continue reading →

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Death at an Early Age – Jonathan Kozol (1967)

Posted on April 13, 2019 by

“‘Someday, maybe,’ Erik Erikson has written, ‘there will exist a well-informed, well-considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.’ If that day ever comes, American educators may … Continue reading →

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Paradise, Kentucky

Posted on April 11, 2019 by

“In 1971, a song titled ‘Paradise’ began to be heard on the radio. It was written and performed by country singer John Prine. The song, written for Prine’s father, is about how coal mining altered the countryside in western Kentucky. … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Affirmative Action: What Went Right, and What It Got Wrong

Posted on March 30, 2019 by

The commencement for the Class of 1973 at Columbia University. The number of black students admitted to Columbia rose sharply in 1969. About half of those who enrolled graduated four years later. “On cold mornings, Les Goodson shows up early … Continue reading →

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