Watch the Sacco and Vanzetti Documentary With the The DSA Fund and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade!

Today, on the anniversary of the execution of socialist anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, The DSA Fund and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are holding a panel discussion on the two, using the 2006 biopic above. Tune in and join the dialogue on Zoom. Through the tragic story of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the inspiring images of those who keep their memories alive, audiences will experience a universal – and very timely – tale of official injustice and human resilience. The text below is ALBA: log in here at Eventbrite. (Ed.)

 The ordeal of Sacco and Vanzetti came to symbolize the bigotry and intolerance directed at immigrants and dissenters in the United States, and millions of people in the U.S. around the world protested on their behalf. Nearly eighty years later, the story continues to have great resonance, as civil liberties and the rights of immigrants are again under attack.

The powerful prison writings of Sacco and Vanzetti are read by actors John Turturro and Tony Shalhoub. A chorus of passionate commentators propels the narrative, including Howard Zinn, Arlo Guthrie, Studs Terkel, and a number of older people with personal connections to the story. Artwork, music, poetry, and feature film clips about the case are interwoven within the narrative.

Through the tragic story of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the inspiring images of those who keep their memories alive, audiences will experience a universal – and very timely – tale of official injustice and human resilience.

Peter Miller is an Emmy and Peabody-award winning filmmaker whose documentaries have screened in cinemas and on television throughout the world. He directed the film we are discussing today, THE INTERNATIONALE, which was short-listed for an Academy Award nomination. Most recently, he co-wrote and produced BEDLAM, about the crisis in care for the severely mentally ill, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on PBS Independent Lens.

Brandon West is a labor organizer with the Writers Guild of America, East, a former voting rights advocate, and a previously DSA endorsed candidate for City Council in Brooklyn. Brandon has worked to protect and increase access to the ballot and strengthen the political voice of historically disadvantaged communities. He has organized work places, and built coalitions at the State and National level since 2009. Brandon is currently a NYC-DSA Housing Working Group Organizing Committee member, a Citywide Leadership Committee member, and sits on the Socialists in Office Committee in New York City.

Ashik Siddique is an organizer with Democratic Socialists of America, elected to DSA’s National Political Committee of DSA in 2021, and currently serving on the NPC Steering Committee. He works as a research analyst at the National Priorities Project of the Institute for Policy Studies, analyzing militarized spending in the US federal budget — and all the nice things that would be possible if we simply defund the Pentagon.

Diana Moreno is an immigrant from Quito, Ecuador and the Co-Chair of Queens DSA . She has organized immigrant workers throughout her career, most recently as Deputy Director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, an immigrant rights non-profit focused on political education and job training for undocumented workers. She currently works as Communications Manager for the New York State Nurses Association, a labor union representing over 42,000 healthcare workers in New York state.