The Festivals Have Started :: Retail Therapy Guide 6/7/2024
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Strawberry Festival This Sunday - A Little Beacon Blog Will Be There Face Painting
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The annual Strawberry Festival from the Beacon Sloop Club is here! This is their opening festival for their series of harvest-inspired (Strawberry, Corn, Pumpkin) celebrations and fundraisers held down at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park. Look forward to Hudson Valley locally grown fresh picked strawberries, homemade strawberry shortcake topped with the Beacon Sloop Club’s famous real whipped cream. You will also find strawberry smoothies and other strawberry delights.
Live music will be played and will be powered from two solar power stages. The event is dedicated to the environment, so look for environmental educational displays, activities for children, and a variety of food and artisan hand-made crafts.
Free sails on the sloop Woody Guthrie will be available. To sail, you’ll need to sign up at noon at the Beacon Sloop Club’s merchandise table. Bring a blanket, or a chair and enjoy the festivities of the day surrounded by the Hudson River. There is a kids park in the park, so little ones will have swings to swing on an slides to climb.
A Little Beacon Blog’s Face Painting Table
A Little Beacon Blog will be there with our face painting! Kids and adults are welcome. We take requests, and can even paint your spirit animal. The face painting chair is a relaxing experience.
About The Beacon Sloop Club
According to the Beacon Sloop Club, here’s what you can expect at the festival: “.
Founded by folk singer and activist, Pete Seeger, The Beacon Sloop Club is a 501-c3 volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation, protection and restoration of the Hudson River and surrounding waterways through advocacy, education and celebration.
As part of our mission, we provide free river access through free sails and sail training on the ferry sloop Woody Guthrie, a replica of the 18th and 19th century sloops that once plied the Hudson River.
The Beacon Sloop Club offers free seasonal music festivals to the people of the river, as well as other events, lectures and classes throughout the year.
Our monthly meetings are the first Friday of the month, starting with potlucks at 6:30 and ending with a Circle of Song. Everyone welcome!
City Wide Yard Sale - This Saturday! - Follow The Neon Signs
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Follow the signs!! Better than a spring candy hunt are the neon signs that have popped up all over Beacon for the highly anticipated City Wide Yard Sale and event from the Parks and Recreation Department, which is finally here!!
Follow the neon poster signs for where the next yard sale is. You may discover someone’s purged basement of tiny pools. You may discover an assortment of power tools. You may discover a collection of books! And don’t miss this church yard sale that includes a cookie sale! Saturday from 9am-3pm. Find a map of officially registered yard sales here as the PDF version, and here as the Google Maps version. There may be more yard sales not registered. Keep your eyes open! Enjoy.
LaVonne McNair One Of 3 Candidates Voted In As Board of Education Board Member - A Significant Win
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The four Board of Education Candidates. Top Left: Christopher Lewine, Top Right: LaVonne McNair, Bottom Left: Meg Phillips, Bottom Right: Flora Stadler.
Four candidates were running for three seats on the Beacon City School District Board of Education. Three positions were available. Two of the terms begin July 1, and end June 30, 2027. One term begins immediately, to fill the term of board member John Galloway Jr.
Voting results are in:
Flora Stadler 695 (Flora is currently a board member, and is returning)
Lavonne McNair - 657
Chris Lewine -596
Megan Phillips -514
Flora’s term will begin now, which completes the term of former board member John Galloway Jr.
LaVonne and Christopher’s terms will begin July 1 and end June 30, 2027.
To get to know the candidates better at any time, they participated in a Meet The Candidate Session with the Board of Education, that was open to the public, who submitted questions. View that here.
The candidates also interviewed with the Beacon Free Press, excerpts of which are below.
Christopher Lewine
BOE Candidate Christopher Lewine.
Christopher told the Beacon Free Press that he “believes deeply” in the public school system, and has been an educator for 15 years, first as a math teacher and later as a principal at a diverse high school “that ensured that over 95% of our graduates earned at least one four-year college acceptance.” He then worked for non-profits focusing on supporting public schools. His 3 priorities are: “Student well-being” with a focus on mental health; “Rich instruction” with a focus on curriculum and making sure teachers have resources they need; and “Effective Governance” with a focus on making strategic decisions about how to use resources from state and federal funding.
LaVonne McNair
BOE Candidate LaVonne McNair.
LaVonne told the Beacon Free Press: “I am running for the BCSD BOE to advocate for the needs of the students/parents that feel unseen and underrepresented, improve school policies and wanting to contribute positively to the educational landscape within our community.”
LaVonne is a a graduate of the Beacon City school system, and is a daughter of Yvonne NcNair, who was a deeply involved resident of Beacon after she moved her family up from Harlem into Wappingers Falls in 1977, and then to Beacon in 1985. As an homage to LaVonne’s late mother, Yvonne, who died of COVID in 2022, we will revisit mother Yvonne’s history with the Beacon Board of Education.
Yvonne was a vocal member of the Black community in Beacon, and ran for the school board unsuccessfully twice: once in the late 1980s, and again in 2014. Then in 2020, she showed up for two Black candidates running for two seats on the board, John Galloway Jr. and Jasmine Johnson, during a contentious election push that ended up being about “the process” and is still referred to this day when deciding when and how to fill unexpected vacant seats. Jasmine was voted in that night, and John was added one month later. Said John to the Highlands Current in a feature article about Yvonne when she passed away: “The whole neighborhood wishes that she had a chance to showcase her vision for change on the board.”
Daughter LaVonne’s vision for change include: “Enhancing communication and collaboration between parents/students, teachers and administrators; promoting equity and inclusivity in education; and effectively managing resources to maximize educational opportunities for all students.” LaVonne told the Beacon Free Press that her skills in legal work provide her with a “foundation in “research, organization and understanding of legal matters.”
Meg Phillips
BOE Candidate Meg Phillips.
Meg Phillips told the Beacon Free Press: “As a new Beaconite and single mom (recently widowed) of two boys just entering the public school system, I have already seen the impact of our incredible educators. I am excited for the opportunity to serve my community as a member of the School Board where my focus will be on ensuring students and educators have equal access to the resources they need to thrive. Decisions about our children’s education impact them for their entire lives. I am ready to partner with district and school leaders to tackle tough problems and shine a light on what makes Beacon students so great.”
Her top priorities are supporting students with disabilities, expanding and standardizing mental health resources, and creating more transparency for parent communication and engagement. She grew up in a public school system in the Greater Boston area, and studied Competency Based Education in Quebec. She also studied at J. Krishnamurti’s schools in England and Ojai.
Flora Stadler
BOE Candidate Flora Stadler.
Flora Stadler is returning to her position on the board for her 3rd term. She told the Beacon Free Press: “I first ran because I believed in public education and I wanted to support the district however I could. I still believe in public education (I have two children in the district) but now I’m also running because serving on the board has become an important part of my life. It feels like my second job at this point. As a board member, you spend a lot of your first term learning how things work and how to navigate different processes. I’m more informed and more focused now, and I want to put that experience to good use. There is so much work around advocacy and policy that I will want to contribute to - and of course - there’s always more to learn.”
Flora’s top three priorities are being a good steward of the budget, the academic and extracurricular programming, and increasing and standardizing mental health care for the students. Her focus is also to attract good teachers and staff. Flora cites her experience as a BOE member and board officer as her biggest asset. Her focus is on legislative advocacy. She told the newspaper: “I’ve worked with PRAL, DCSBA and NYSSBA to advocate for better supports for special education pre-K programs. Right now, Beacon is the only district in the county with a special education pre-K program.”
POEM: To Anyone Who Tells Me That I Support Terrorists; That I Don't Know What It's Like To Be Jewish
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Sometimes when someone says something to me about Palestine - either a stranger in Comments, or a regular Instagram person in Comments, or a regular Commenter here at the blog itself, or a person I know in real life - it can trigger a poem to process what they just said. In this case, someone who I know for years, and had just spent several hours with in one of the most pleasant and fun experiences, did an about face on a Monday evening. Unprovoked directly by me, resulted in them letting me know their thoughts in a random DM.
If it triggers a response in me that may help others, the response is put into words if possible, and then into a poem. Or word phrases. However you grammar dart enthusiasts want to target it to say what it isn’t. :) It’s words. And if they help someone, they are here.
To anyone who tells me that I support terrorists.
That I don’t know what it’s like to be Jewish.
You’re right.
I don’t know what it’s like to be Jewish.
Or to have your family be wherever they are from.
I also don’t know what it’s like to be Black.
Or to have my family stolen from me and my body sold.
I know what it’s like to study the Holocaust.
I know what it’s like to be challenged.
I know what it’s like to be asked:
“What would you do if this were happening again?”
I know what it’s like to be racist.
I know that telling me that I support terrorists and that I don’t know what it’s like to be Jewish is an extremely racist thing to say.
You are extremely racist.
Were before. And still are. Despite my hope.
You wish ill on me.
You wish I get what I deserve.
This is not what is breaking my soul today.
Something completely different and unrelated is breaking my soul today.
And making me stronger and more focused. Clarity.
Doing anti-Zionist, anti-occupation, liberation work is healing my soul today.
Free Palestine.
A Little Beacon Blog Featured In Upstate HOUSE Magazine For Our Things To Do In Beacon Guides
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A Little Beacon Blog’s Things To Do In Beacon Guides were featured in Upstate HOUSE magazine’s Summer 2024 issue! “We started these Guides over 10 years ago,” says publisher and blogger Katie Hellmuth. “They are the OG Things To Do In Beacon Guides. All others are imitators 😉.”
The article included quotes and thoughts about Beacon real estate and community from Emily Murnane of Beacon Bath and Bubble and Beacon Historical Society, as well as Marko Guzijan of Hudson Valley Food Hall and The Roosevelt Bar.
Said reporter Anne Pyburn Craig in the article: “The mile-long Main Street stretching from the riverfront parks to the foot of Mount Beacon is packed with treats of all sorts. A Little Beacon Blog, a frequently updated guide, lists over 30 clothing shops, 25 home goods and lifestyle stores, and good-size handfuls of other retail categories, from books and records to flowers, cigars, pet supplies, and beef jerky. Lists of coming events, classes and actives for all ages are equally long and various; from art to Zumba, you can find Beaconites enjoying all the things.
“Dining and drinking choices are so plentiful and diverse that A Little Beacon Blog lists these in three sections for West, Middle and East and has broken out a second list just for brunch spots. The restaurant guide, they explain, changes daily.”
Pick up your copy of Upstate HOUSE today at Homespun and other retailers. Indulge your eyes and dreams for renovated kitchens, bathrooms and siding in the magazine. And features of outdoor grill ovens.
SUNDAY: Large Demonstration for A Free Palestine to Take Place in Middletown, NY
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On Sunday, a large crowd of concerned citizens will gather alongside Route NY-211 to protest against the ongoing genocide that Palestinians are facing. The rally aims to bring attention to the urgent need for both local and international action to support the affected region. Demands will be made for the City of Middletown to pass a ceasefire resolution, according to a press release by the organizers.
WHEN: Sunday, June 2nd, 12pm-1:30pm.
WHERE: Orange Plaza, Middletown NY (Corner of Route 211 and Dunning Rd.)
WHAT: Participants will hold signs, chant slogans, and share personal stories, emphasizing the importance of standing together against injustice and colonization. The organizers of the event presented several demands for the City of Middletown, urging local leaders to take concrete steps towards preventing further violence.
WHO: Middletown community members, guest speakers, and well-known public figure to be announced.
Says local Instsagram account Celebrate_845:
“MIDDLETOWN, NY - LET’S MOBILIZE! THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION! We are meeting near a major intersection, so we need as many brave souls as possible!
“As Israel continues to bomb and starve 2 million people trapped in Gaza, we MUST increase our presence and bolster our message for a permanent ceasefire. It is through our collective action that we escalate pressure to divest from the Fascist Israeli military machine and dismantle the occupation in Palestine.
“Join us on June 2nd, from 12-1:30pm, at the Orange Plaza in Middletown, as we reject the genocidal status quo and stand in solidarity with Palestinians against a 57-year-illegal military occupation.”
Accessibility and safety info:
“We will gather at the corner of Dunning Road and Route NY-211 in Middletown, NY (the sidewalk behind Chase Bank leads directly to the designated area).
“There are plenty of parking spaces available in Orange Plaza. Do not congregate in the parking lot otherwise Town of Wallkill Police will attempt to shut us down. This event is fully outdoors & is mostly standing in place. Location has large grass area with a small stretch of paved sidewalk and a bench. BYO chair if needed. Water and masks will be provided.
“Do not block any sidewalks or obstruct the walkway/roadway, so that people can move freely. We do not want to be shut down by the police.
“We will gather on the corner sidewalk area and, depending on turn out, line up behind the guardrail along Route 211 (in front of Chase & Red Lobster). We keep each other safe. Please do not provoke agitators or counter protesters that seek to deter our movement. We are the sum of our parts, and so we must show up with safety in mind, both for ourselves and for each other.
“IF THE WORLD WON’T STOP FOR RAFAH, WE MUST STOP THE WORLD. SHOW UP AND MAKE SOME NOISE WITH US! #FREEPALESTINEFOREVER”
Monday's 6-3-24 City Council Meeting Agenda - What's On Deck
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Peek at the agenda below…
Resolution No. 49 - Appointing Michael Confield to the Position of Police Lieutenant
Resolution No. 50 - Appointing Affdecrin Vargas to the Position of Police Lieutenant
Resolution No. 51 - Appointing Alyssa Rudden to the Position of Police Sergeant
Resolution No. 52 - Appointing Carl Garofolo to the Position of Police Detective
Resolution No. 53 - Setting a Public Hearing for the Proposed 2025-2029 Capital Program
Resolution No. 56 - Adopting Local Law No. 2 of 2024 Concerning Fire Hydrants
Resolution No. 57 - Amending the Schedule of Fees Concerning Fire Hydrants
Resolution No. 59 - Amending the Schedule of Fees Concerning Illegal Sewer Connections
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Happy Pride!!
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Rafah - ALBB Is Stunned And Can Only Post About Palestine Until This Stops And Palestine Is Free From Israeli and US Occupation
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Last Sunday was a pleasant day in the Hudson Valley. Plenty of people enjoyed it outside for Memorial Day. Splash Down opened, and all felt right. Upon returning from the Lazy River, ALBB read, watched, and absorbed the news that Rafah (the Israeli designated "safe zone" in Palestine that 1.5 million people were seeking refuge in (BBC) and lived in tents) was burning, and burning people alive. Children's heads were decapitated. Palestinian people pulled charred bodies to dignity of any sort (videos below).
This witnessing cured ALBB of any hesitation we have been harboring about bringing our Palestinian advocacy publishing to the blog. Versus just being at ALBB’s Instagram, where it has been mainly. And by “Palestinian advocacy,” we mean a Free Palestine, which means an end to Israeli and US occupation of Palestine, and and end to the many genocides and occupations happening at the hands of some in power in the United States. Those who haven’t resigned yet.
Pretty much, anything published at ALBB will be about this genocide. Here in this post, we will include pictures of the horrific killings of Palestinians that Israel is committing with the full knowledge and blessing of the United States (listen to Nikki Haley’s spoken gratitude here) that was originally posted at our Instagram.
Created and posted by the Palestinan artist @malik_qraiqea : “The Zionist occupation army committed a massacre in Rafah tonight, burning people alive while they were sleeping in their tents. A real holocaust occurred in Rafah tonight. People were charred and dismembered, including children and women. A true genocide, a holocaust, a holocaust. The images are horrifying, and the scenes are brutal.”
Two Encouragement Videos On How/Why To Break Your Instagram For Palestine
After witnessing those decapitations and charred bodies of Palestinians at the hands of Israel in Instagram, Katie made some videos for you. To ease you in to posting for Palestine if you haven’t started yet. One of the ways to stop this is if we all break our Instagrams and include this heinous imegry, as people will have nowhere else to look.
ALBB Can Only Publish Advertisers Now! To Your Delight!!
After this attack in Rafah, only ALBB advertiser’s posts will delight you now. Because our Program Manager Teslie Daley is the BOSS scheduler. And our advertisers are AWESOME. So sign up for advertising now if you want to be sure your message gets publicized!
We simply cannot continue while this mass murder goes on. How can anyone be comfortable with this? Or feel safe? That such murder is allowed to happen, and the United States is funding it, and defending it? When the rest of the world is falling over itself to stop it, but to deaf USA ears?
You want to see Beacon content at this moment? Thank our advertisers who are providing features to their beautiful products, food and services for you.
“Seriously? No Beacon On A Little Beacon Blog?”
Well…you know we can’t resist highlighting Beacon, of course. Katie is working on articles that take more time. Being that she has 3 kids, this just takes some time to publish. Longer than regular newspapers. We’re good with that. That’s why your donations are much appreciated.
But yeah. Whatever Katie can get to gets published. Otherwise, every single advertiser gets published because Teslie is here and makes it happen. So subscribe now as a sponsor!
How You Can Help Free Palestine, And Bring Beacon Back
Post messages related to ending this genocide and exposing the state’s grip (both Israel’s and United States) on the world on your own feeds too. You matter very much. All of us have to block the blindness. Give everyone nothing else to look at. Only our advertisers will shine here!!! 🤩
Katie is busy receiving press releases, reviewing Beacon police dashcam footage, reading police reports, finishing the article on new BOE Board Members, finishing a website design for a client at our parent company Katie James Inc., and keeping tabs on Israel’s homicide and sharing with you that news that other media is failing to do.
Hudson Valley Activists Drop Banners Demanding U.S. and NYS Divestment From Israel’s War Crimes
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Early Wednesday morning (5/29/2024), a group of local Hudson Valley activists hung banners on four I-87 overpasses visible to northbound traffic. The banners call for the end of U.S. and NYS funding of Israel war crimes in Gaza, and bring attention to the slaughter of displaced civilians currently ongoing in Rafah by the U.S. funded Israeli military.
The banner that hung south of Newburgh read: “Permanent Ceasefire.” For Kingston, the banner read: “Divest From Genocide.” For Saugerties, the banner read: “Let Gaza Live.” For Leeds, the banner read: “Free Palestine.”
Over the last several days, the Israeli military invaded Rafah, a designated “safe zone”, and carried out massacres by bombing displaced families in tents, killing dozens of people, according to AlJazeera and other news outlets. The death toll is still rising.
American citizens have been pleading with their elected officials to stop voting for more military aid to Israel for over 8 months, and to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Yet, elected officials have continuously refused to listen to their constituents. “We call upon every decent human being to demand an end to U.S. military and financial support that has enabled the total dehumanization and genocide of the Palestinian people. As Jews, we are horrified by Israel’s brutality and total disregard for human life. We say 'Never Again is Now! Enough!' said two activists who are senior citizens of Beacon, NY.
"The massacre of civilians across Gaza, and now in Rafah, is a direct result of the Biden administration and Congress’ continued political and military support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza," say the activists. "Now is time for the U.S. to stop funding Israel’s genocidal campaign and to place an arms embargo against Israel in accordance with U.S. and international law, to end U.S. complicity with war crimes."
The activists pledge to continue demonstrating in different ways. "Hudson Valley residents will keep organizing to demand a permanent ceasefire, an end to the immediate horrors devastating Gaza, funded by U.S. taxpayers, and to end the occupation. We urge every person of conscience to join our demands to stop the genocide in Gaza and free Palestine.
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Coming To A Library Near You: The Erased History Of The Peekskill Riots And Paul Robeson
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The 5-part docu-series, “The Peekskill Riots” is a must-see event and movie-hunt. Made by filmmaker Jon Scott Bennett, this documentary explores local hidden history. According to the film’s website: “On August 27 and September 4th, 1949, violence broke out at two concerts held outside Peekskill, NY, headlined by Black singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson. Citizens of Peekskill, galvanized by racist and anti-Semitic sentiments and disdain for Robeson’s left-wing views and campaign for civil rights, started two riots that resulted in hundreds of injuries, made national news, and unofficially marked the beginning of the McCarthy era, which would nearly erase Robeson from the public consciousness. Who was he? What did he do? What did he stand for? These questions must be answered in order to understand what brought him to Peekskill.
Photo Credit: JonScottBennett.com
The Peekskill Riots is a major event involving violence and blacklisting, but is a hidden incident that is not mentioned, for example, in the Peekskill Museum. Should a news outlet cover it, said the filmmaker Jon Scott Bennett during his first screening at Beacon’s Howland Public Library, someone from the Peekskill Museum has been known to have allegedly written letters to that media outlet to ask them to shush about it. Being that A Little Beacon Blog is used to this letter-writing treatment by now, we will publish with gusto!
And we thought the Beacon riots of 1977 were bad (they resulted in the community coming together for Spirit of Beacon Day). After learning about The Peekskill Riots of 1949, involving a concert where 20,000 attended, several of whom were Jewish who had come up to the Hudson Valley to summer, who ended up being beaten by fellow white people, some who identified as Klu Klux Clan Members and “anti-Communist members of local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion chapters,” according to Wikipedia. Jon Scott Bennett’s film exploring this is much more researched than that, but this gives you a taste. Makes one wonder…was the Spirit of Beacon Day a facade? To quickly and quietly shush everyone in 1977, after the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and after the violent Peeksill Riots in 1949? It’s an event that is not taught or mentioned locally.
This invisibility of a huge event is what bothered filmmaker Jon Scott Bennett. A self described history enthusiast who was raised in the area, he was bothered that it took him until college to learn about the Peekskill Riots. And so began his quest and extreme deep dive into the Peekskill Riots, and the Afro-American man who it erased: Paul Robeson (here is Wikipedia, and here is PBS, but, PBS calls his devotion to fighting for equality for Black people “radical political beliefs,” so proceed with a critical eye).
The documentary is broken up into 5 parts. Filmmaker Jon calls them “episodes,” even though they are hugely in-depth. After the screening, an audience member asked if PBS and others had shown interest. Jon answered that he wants “freedom to express the message first. I want to focus on getting it into the heart of Peekskill first.” Episodes 1 and 2 are complete, and Episode 3 is nearly finished.
That’s why he is starting with the library circuit. The first screening was in Beacon. The second screening on June 8, 2024 will be near the scene of the crime, at the Peekskill Library.
The episodes Are about:
1: “The Mighty Oak In The Forest”
Introducing Paul Robeson. This builds him up so that you understand who he is by the time of the riots. To understand the significance of the loss of Paul Robeson.
This first episode of a 5-part docu-series serves not only as an introduction to the story of the concerts, but also introduces the headlining performer, Paul Robeson, the first and last casualty of The Peekskill Riots.
2: “The Friendly Town By The River”
The filmmaker wanted to next contextualize characterization of Peekskill as its own character. “To understand Peekskill during the Riots, we must first understand the forgotten past of the ‘Friendly Town’ by the River. The culture of hatred strengthened by the Ku Klux Klan shaped Peekskill for decades, while the working class, Jewish summer colonies of the region provided an opportunity for a progressive culture to blossom in the Hudson Valley. This second episode displays the duality of Peekskill’s long-lost history to contextualize the atmosphere of hate and those who would become victim to it.”
3: The Two Riots. This episode will lead up to the 2nd concert, which 20,00-30,000 people come out to support.
4: The Riot After The Second Concert.
5: The Aftermath. The Investigation. The social death contributing to literal death of Paul Robeson, according to the filmmaker.
Who Was Paul Robeson
Photo Credit: JonScottBennett.com
Paul Robeson was self described Afro-American man who was American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances,” as described by Wikipedia. “His father, William, was of Igbo origin and was born into slavery. William escaped from a plantation in his teens and eventually became the minister of Princeton's Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in 1881.” During the film, we learn that he was forced out of that church.
Paul knew 11 languages, was valedictorian of his college class, and played professional football. After being racially ostracized from the legal profession soon after he entered it, despite winning his college’s oratorical contest 4 years in a row, his wife and consistent supporter of his theatrical talents encouraged him to pursue them professionally, which he eventually did. Bringing him to Peekskill for this concert in September of 1949 (Palestine had just gone through its first Nakba in 1947 when Israel was declared a state with the United State’s blessing over the land of Palestine).
Photo Credit: JonScottBennett.com
The late local activist and celebrity Pete Seeger’s was also involved in the Peekskill Riots. The filmmaker will have you know very quickly that after the violent riot in Peekskill, where Klan members dragged some people from their cars and bashed their car windows while police stood by and a helicopter hovered over-head, Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson were both blacklisted as Communists. Pete Seeger, says the filmmaker, was unknown then, and was the opening act for Paul.
While Pete Seeger endured violence that night with a brick being through through the window of his car, he bounced back professionally. But Paul Robeson never got that chance to come back. Pete Seeger’s “Hold The Line” song was about the Peekskill Riots, says filmmaker Jon. “Reasons why Pete Seeger got his second wind, and Robeson didn’t, is another conversation,” Jon told the audience at the Beacon library. Jon’s mission is to tell the Robeson story, to breathe wind into his legacy.
Paul’s passport was taken by the United States government, making him unable to travel for singing work. He was stricken from the College Football All-American roster as part of his punishment for his activism for equality for Black lives. At his hearing, he refused to answer if he was a Communist, and responded: “I am not being tried for whether I am a Communist. I am being tried for fighting for the rights of my people, who are still second-class citizens in this United States of America,” according to the Zinn Education Project. He was inducted posthumously into the Rutgers College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. By the time Paul got his passport back from the federal government years later, Robeson’s mental and physical health were deteriorating, said the filmmaker.
But where Pete Seeger got a second chance and a come-back, Paul Robeson did not, for all of his major accomplishments, Jon told the Beacon audience. Paul Robeson was wiped from history, as the Peekskill Riots attempted to be. The mission of the filmmaker became to resurrect Paul Robeson’s life and legacy with this docu-series. “When the riots happened,” Jon told the Beacon audience, “Robeson and the victims (Jewish attendees) were blamed. After that, that was the excuse to blacklist and erase them.”
How To Watch The Full Series
Follow Jon’s Instagram, and sign up for A Little Beacon Blog’s newsletter for Event postings. On June 8th, 2024, the screening for the 2nd episode may be at the Peekskill Library. You can watch the fist episode and maybe subsequent ones on https://www.jonscottbennett.com/ and on YouTube.
Monday’s 5-20-24 City Council Meeting Agenda - What’s On Deck
/Peek at the agenda below...
Resolution No. 42 - Appointing Thomas Figlia to the Position of Police Chief
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The City of Beacon entered into a contract with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to provide increased access to Beacon tenants facing eviction. They may also be able to help with sources of rent arrears assistance. Call the paralegal, Steven Mihalik at 845-253-6953 to inquire.
Dutchess County Helpline. Open 24/7 to take your calls, listen, and give you resources.