Aug 27: An evening of performances and commentary on the lives and deaths of Sacco and Vanzetti.

The bodies of Italian American anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti lie in their caskets as their persecutors look on in a work by American artist Ben Shahn.

Saturday, August 27
7:30 pm

Outcry for Justice:
Poetry in the Struggle for Freedom of Sacco and Vanzetti

Join us at the Brecht Forum for an evening of performances and commentary on the lives and deaths of Sacco and Vanzetti.
Created and Directed by Paula Panzarella

The Brecht Forum451 West St. (West Side Hwy bt Bank & Bethune 1-1/2 blocks north of W. 11th)
NY, NY 10014
(1,2,3 A,C,E to 14th st.)
(212) 242- 4201
http://www.brechtforum.org/

August 23 marks the 78th anniversary of the execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. "The two Italian immigrant anarchists had been tried and found guilty of a 1920 payroll robbery that left two people dead. The state argued that Sacco and Vanzetti were terrorists who carried out the robbery to get money for weapons. Evidence against them only established that they were guilty of selling copies of Luigi Galleani's Cronaca Sovversiva, a newspaper which advocated the deed. Guilt by association was enough. While protests and an international movement to free the men managed to delay the executions for seven years, the state's thirst for blood was not to be denied.

On the evening of their execution, in 1927, mass rallies took place in numerous cities. For decades, the tragedy of Sacco and Vanzetti stood as a testament to the violence of the state and the disregard for real freedom, truth and justice in the so-called liberal democracies. Each year, people gather to mark the date of the executions and speak out against ongoing exploitation and oppression.

(Jeff Shantz)

Paula Panzarella, is a New Haven resident, performance poet, freelance writer and social justice activist. She has edited poetry anthologies including the three volumes of Poems on the Road to Peace, poetry presented a the Yale University Peabody Museum's 2002-2004 celebrations of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15

(Illustration: Estate of Ben Shahn/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Photo: National Geographic Society)