The Front Lines of Social Change: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Cultural Writing. Political Science. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), close to three thousand young, idealistic Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and joined thurty-five thousand people from around the world in the fight against Franco’s fascists, who were supported by Hitler and Mussolini. When these young people returned home, they were labeled communists and blacklisted. Surviving members of the group have since formed the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln and, over the last sixty years, most have participated in virtually every progressive social movement in America. Richard Bermack has assembled an inspiring record. In this book, lifetime activists, many in their eighties and nineties, tell their stories in their own words. In spite of their hardships, each speaks of enduring hope and courage.