Fire Talk

Deborah Henry was curious about the duality of her own Jewish/Irish heritage; Henry was inspired to examine the territory of interfaith marriage and in so doing was led to the subject of the Irish Industrial School system. She has traveled to Ireland where she has done extensive research and interviews. She has written a book entitled The Whipping Club. Set in 1960s Dublin, The Whipping Club follows the travails of Marian McKeever, a feisty, young Catholic school teacher, and Ben Ellis, the Jewish journalist with whom she falls in love. Against all odds they plan to marry–until a stunned Marian discovers she’s pregnant. Confused, overwhelmed by the onslaught of objections to their marriage, and believing that she is protecting her future with Ben, Marian decides to hide her pregnancy from him and delivers the baby in secret. Assured that a better life with an American family awaits her infant Adrian, Marian relinquishes him to the nuns of Castleboro Mother Baby Home. To learn more go to:  http://www.deborahhenryauthor.com/ Cinematic Book Trailer, Eric Roberts in: The Whipping Club by Deborah Henry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omk_tKYhf4c http://red14films.com/

Welcome David G. McAfee to the show. McAfee is an outspoken atheist who opposes biblical literalism. He is a columnist for Canadian Freethinker Magazine and a contributor to American Atheist Magazine. His first published book, Disproving Christianity and Other Secular Writings, is a critique of biblical literalism. McAfee's newest title, Mom, Dad, I'm an Atheist, is a guide to living as an atheist in a society that's largely intolerant of disbelief.Whether you're new to disbelief and looking for the cleanest possible break from your former faith or you're a lifelong atheist who wants to establish a sense of community with like-minded people, this guide provides useful resources including: tips for handling potential conflicts with believers, the author's answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on behalf of believers, and numerous references to support groups, services, and advocacy organizations dedicated to non-theists.To learn more go to: https://www.facebook.com/DavidGMcAfeehttp://davidgmcafee.wordpress.com/Music by Shelley Segal: https://www.facebook.com/shelley.segal  

A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South Alex is the author of The Eyes of Willie McGee.  The story is about Willie McGee, a young African-American man from Laurel, Mississippi, who in 1945 was "sentenced to death for allegedly raping Willette Hawkins, a white housewife. At first, McGee's case was barely noticed, covered only in hostile Mississippi newspapers and far-left publications such as the DailyWorker. Then Bella Abzug, a young, New York labor lawyer was hired by the Civil Rights Congress--an aggressive civil rights organization with ties to the Communist Party of the United States--to oversee McGee's defense. Together with William Patterson, the son of a slave and a devout believer in the need for revolutionary change, Abzug and a group of white Mississippi lawyers risked their lives to plead McGee's case. After years of court battles, McGee's supporters flooded President Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Supreme Court with clemency pleas, and famous Americans--including William Faulkner, Albert Einstein, Jessica Mitford, Paul Robeson, Norman Mailer, and Josephine Baker--spoke out on McGee's behalf. By the time the case ended in 1951 with McGee's public execution in Mississippi's infamous traveling electric chair, "Free Willie McGee" had become a rallying cry among civil rights activists, progressives, leftists, and Communist Party members. Their movement had succeeded in convincing millions of people worldwide that McGee had been framed and that the real story involved a consensual love affair between him and Mrs. Hawkins--one that she had instigated and controlled. As Heard discovered, this controversial theory is a doorway to a tangle of secrets that spawned a legacy of confusion, misinformation, and pain that still resonates today. To learn more go to: http://eyesofwilliemcgee.com/index.html    

Welcome Esther  Altvater Attean and Misty Sioux Little to the show. We will be discussing the Indian Child Welfare Act and the effects it has within the communities. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 is Federal law that governs the removal and out-of-home placement of American Indian children. The law was enacted after recognition by the Federal Government that American Indian children were being removed from their homes and communities at a much higher rate than non-Native children. ICWA established standards for the placement of Indian children in foster and adoptive homes and enabled Tribes and families to be involved in child welfare cases. Find resources related to ICWA, including Tribal, State, and local examples . These communities have suffered greatly from many laws and ACTS that removed children from their communities. This resulted in many children being removed from their Tribes via religion, Boarding schools, adoption and protective services. These efforts are contributing to the continued genocide of these people. Each community has its own historical trauma and history of the government attempting to assimilate their children into society at the complete loss of their culture and identity. They will always come for the children so it is very important for use to understand the tools they use when they come. To learn more go to:http://mainetribaltrc.org/index.html  http://lakotalaw.org/resources-for-media/icwa-coalition-report-to-congress/ http://lakotalaw.org https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maine-Wabanaki-Child-Welfare-Truth-and-Reconciliation-Commission/171354362894349?ref=ts&fref=ts

An Appalshop Films Documentary Anne Braden: Southern Patriot is a first person documentary about the extraordinary life of this American civil rights leader. Braden was hailed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail as a white southerner whose rejection of her segregationist upbringing was “eloquent and prophetic. Ostracized as a “red” in the 1950s, she fought for an inclusive movement community and mentored three generations of social justice advocates. Braden’s story explores not only the dangers of racism and political repression but also the power of a woman’s life spent in commitment to social justice. Anne Lewis makes documentary films about social actions, human rights, labor, environmental justice and cultural democracy. She came out of a movement to make media that creates opportunity for social change. Mimi Pickering documentaries often feature women as principle storytellers, focus on injustice and inequity, and explore the efforts of grassroots people to deal with community problems and work for change. You can see why these women were a perfect combination to come together in order to  make Anne Braden: Southern Patriot. Anne Braden: Southern Patriot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvmasu_ was produced and directed by Appalshop filmmakers Anne Lewis and Mimi Pickering. http://appalshop.orgAnne Braden, 81, Activist in Civil Rights and Other Causes, Dies http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/national/17braden.html