It felt right to end November with the song that helped me for so long, by the guy whose first album was entitled “All the News That’s Fit to Sing.”
Author Archives: chrislombardi
A week later, still can’t believe this actually happened. Still so much to do.
Writing this exactly a week after the event above. I’m still amazed and honored that Hochschild agreed to do it, and the result was kind of a blast. I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome of the book into the world. The video shows most of the Zoom event, though not the Q&A andContinue reading “A week later, still can’t believe this actually happened. Still so much to do.”
As “Veterans Day” week closes, Honoring Veterans and their Work to End Systemic Racism
From William Apesss in 1813 to Jon Hutto and Aimee Allison in 2020, veterans have been fighting for racial justice as part of the oath they took to defend the Constiution.
Saluting 4,000 vets on the White House lawn
Originally posted on I Ain't Marching Anymore:
No, not in 2003. Not in 1971. In 1932. The data caught up on me Friday, but May 29, 1932 was when the Bonus March arrived in Washington, D.C. — and laid the groundwork for how the U.S. currently pays veterans for their service in war. These were veterans…
For the 50th (?!) anniversary of Kent State
Originally posted on I Ain't Marching Anymore:
Written 10 years ago, and most of the text below didn’t make it into the published book. I’m listening to a program on NPR’s Talk of the Nation about the events of May 4, 1970, at Kent State University. including a survivor of the shootings and a…
Some loose thoughts about Jacob Ritter (1757-1841)
Originally posted on I Ain't Marching Anymore:
He didn’t speak English when he joined General Washington’s army. And by 1790, he was both a combat veteran and a torture survivor. No wonder he became and stayed a Quaker. ? A careful reading of his 1840 memoir (a smash in Quaker circles) yields both facts,…
How military veterans are answering the call to defend Black lives
From marching in the streets to forming human walls of protection around protesters, veterans are playing a quiet but important role in demanding racial justice.
It’s showtime, folks.
Join Chris Lombardi & Adam Hochschild for a conversation on writing narrative nonfiction & the history of dissent in the U.S. armed forces. And no doubt we’ll talk about current soldier-dissent, from the National Guard troops refusing domestic deployment to the veterans mobilized to protect Black lives.
About the Book (and this site)
Before the U.S. Constitution had even been signed, soldiers and new veterans protested. Dissent, the hallowed expression of disagreement and refusal to comply with the government’s wishes, has a long history in the United States. Soldier dissenters, outraged by the country’s wars or egregious violations in conduct, speak out and change U.S. politics, social welfareContinue reading “About the Book (and this site)”
“The present is a moving target.”
I wrote that years ago when I was first drafting the book’s final chapter, as the “Bradley Manning” story became the complex reality that is Chelsea Manning, as new dissent appeared daily and what had seemed pretty black and white under George W. Bush moulted into a sinister purple glow under Obama. Now, this second,Continue reading ““The present is a moving target.””
