Happy birthday to Paul Robeson, a man who was solidarity personified. He was a fierce civil rights and antifascist activist, a talented musician and a supporter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg—he even participated in a rally to save the Rosenbergs before their execution in 1953. His legacy continues to be an inspiration to us all.
Read more: https://progressive.org/latest/Remembering-Paul-Robeson-VonBlum-2023040…
On this day in 1915, the talented, iconic blues singer Billie Holiday was born. The activist artist performed and popularized Abel Meeropol's powerful and haunting anti-lynching protest song, "Strange Fruit."
On this day in 1951 in a Manhattan courthouse, a jury found both Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, as well as their co-defendant Morten Sobell, guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage.
Happy birthday to activist artist Billie Holiday, born #OnThisDay in 1915. She is perhaps best known for her performances of Abel Meeropol's powerful anti-lynching song, "Strange Fruit."
#OnThisDay, February 14, 1910 Abel Meeropol was born. He was a teacher and a poet, most famous for writing the anti-lynching poem, "Bitter Fruit," which he would later adapt to music and retitle as the song, "Strange Fruit."
He once said, “I wrote ‘Strange Fruit’ because I hate lynching, and I hate injustice, and I hate the people who perpetrate it.”
#OnThisDay in 2015, "Ethel Rosenberg Day of Justice in the Borough of Manhattan" was declared on Sep 28, Ethel's 100th birthday. In honor of this momentous day, we share some of the powerful remarks from the Proclamation gathering back in 2015:
Rosenberg Mention of the Day: 103 years ago today (on May 12, 1918) Julius Rosenberg was born in New York City. Julius & Ethel, the inspiration of the RFC, believed that others would carry on after them in the fight for justice. We hope Julius would approve of the incredible community of activists supported by the RFC in his and Ethel’s memory. Happy birthday, Julius; we remember you always.
Rosenberg Mention of the Day: #OnThisDay 70 years ago on April 5, 1951, Ethel & Julius Rosenberg were sentenced to death by Judge Irving Kaufman after being convicted of "conspiracy to commit espionage." In his infamous speech justifying the death sentence, Judge Kaufman stated that he considered their "crime worse than murder." He went on to blame them for the Korean War and the resultant lives lost in that conflict, and to accuse them of loving their cause more than their children.