Year of Antonio Nariño

Ahora O Nunca! Las ideas son para divulgar!-  Now or Never! Ideas are to share! 

This isn't quite our usual type of post. This is neither a review or a history highlight but rather I wanted to bring attention to an event occurring in Bogota, Colombia. The national library located in the heart of La Candelaria district (see our previous posts on this area here) and is aimed towards increasing literacy and education among Colombian youth. There are still to this day many parts of Colombia were education is hard to access and higher education is almost impossible. With most universities and libraries located in large cities, rural areas are severally under served. 

The National Library has decided for the anniversary of Antonio Nariño's birth they would dedicate the entire year to improving literacy and access to educational services for Colombian children in need. Who is Antonio Nariño? He is an intellectual who penned many of the important documents and writings that inspired revolution in New Granada. He lived and worked with many of the other important figures in the Colombian Revolution such as Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Santander. Unlike Bolivar, Nariño was not a soldier nor did he have any interest in the physical aspect of revolution. Nariño was a man dedicated to intellectual pursuits and sparking a revolution through ideas. He would be responsible for hosting many of the revolutionary figures to discuss the need for independence and distributing copies of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man," which he had translated from French to Spanish. These pamphlets are considered instrumental in swaying the public towards revolution and they would also be the reason for his eventual imprisonment and exile. After traveling throughout Europe, Nariño would return to his home country, a country now independent of all Spanish control. After his death, to memorialize Nariño, the eventual presidential palace of Colombia would be named in his honor. 

The National Library chose Nariño because of what he symbolized to the nation during its early years. He demonstrated the power of information and ideas to a tyrannical power. The National Library also brought in street artists, Toxicómano, Erre and Lesivoto, to create the posters promoting the program. These posters reflect urban life in Colombia and the power of youth in changing their nation. The posters declare "Now or Never! Ideas are meant to be shared," and re-imagine Nariño as a tattooed punk revolutionary. He stands as an inspiration to youth who want to change their country for the better and promote the use of education to achieve those goals. These posters are now on display at the National Library for the duration of the year. These type of events do not seem that important for some living in countries where literacy is taken for granted, but there are still large gaps in access to education throughout the world. In Colombia, it has taken time for this gap to close and is still in that process. But with the violent years of the 1980's and 1990's now behind them, the nation is able to focus resources on problems that were ignored for years. It  demonstrates the nation's value of education and it's efforts to make education a universal right for all Colombia children. 

A Historian Reads: Out of the Jungle

When you hear the name Jimmy Hoffa what comes to mind? Probably that recent news alert when they thought they found his body under some concrete? The mob most likely? His disappearance under “suspicious circumstance”? Of course you do. It is very hard to separate Jimmy Hoffa from the Boston mob history of the late twentieth century. But is that all there is to the man? From a historians point of view, absolutely not. Jimmy Hoffa is representative of an internal fight among labor unions in the twentieth century. As leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hoffa’s legacy is much more important that his acquaintance with the mob. In “Out of the Jungle,” historian Thaddeus Russell tells the story of the Teamsters as seen through the life of Jimmy Hoffa.

We have previously reviewed a book by Thaddeus Russell on general American history, however this is Dr. Russell’s specialty and it shows in this academically published book. The tone is much different and his sarcastic wit is much more subdued. However, it is well researched and acclaimed by other historians for being a novel addition to the field of labor studies.  The concept of using a singular person to explore the history of a movement or subject is not new but is applied masterfully in this book. Hoffa grew up within the Teamsters organization and by following his leadership and conflicts with other labor leaders, Russell weaves a fascinating tale about labor disputes among unions and the government.

Russell argues that Hoffa made his way up the leadership of the Teamsters due to his “practical and pragmatic” style. Instead of using ideology and idealism, Hoffa gave substantial wins to his supporters . Hoffa was not a philosopher or social leader, rather he was a working class man who fought (negotiation wise and physically) for a part of the economic pie everyone else was enjoying. He did not align himself with other labor leaders who were interested in remaking society and as a consequence could only offer their follows promises and hope. His associations with the mob and crooked politicians make sense when seen through the lens of his pragmatic strategy. Unfortunately, it would be those same alliances that had helped his cause that would land him in jail and then on a missing poster.  

As I said earlier, this book is written for an academic audience and for that reason the humor and sardonic jabs that littered his most recent book are gone. This is not to say it is a dry read, but the tone stays serious for the duration of the book with small moments of Russell’s sense of humor. I recommend this book but I want to stress this book’s intended audience. Russell discuses historiography and methodology as should any historian but this may be a turn of for some mainstream readers. These sections of the book are slow to read and seem inconsequential for people interested in getting right to the history of Jimmy Hoffa. However, I highly recommend spending time reading those sections and enjoying the book as a whole. It is a fascinating read for those interested in labor history and for those of us, like me, who are relatively uneducated in labor history. More importantly, it will help you develop a much better response for the question, “what do you know about Jimmy Hoffa?”

History Highlight: The Winter War

In case you forgot that Finland is that piece of land squished
between two major historical world powers. 

I have long had a odd obsession with the country of Finland. It started in middle school and their great heavy metal scene and just grew. The more I learned about the country, the more I wanted to visit it for myself. I finally got the opportunity three years ago and to this day it remains one of my most memorable trips. Finland is a country that I will definitely be visiting again in the future.

One of the most important parts of Finnish history, and key to understanding the Finnish mentality and identity, is the Winter War. This little talked about part of World War II is swept under the historical rug in almost all textbooks. However, it is tantamount to the history and course of this tiny nation of barely 6 million. The Winter War took place in less than a year between 1939 and 1940 between the Soviet Union and the just newly independent Finland. The Finns had gained independence from the Soviet Union shortly after the Russian Revolution for practical reasons. The Soviets just did not have the strength or energy to keep Finland under their power since they were dealing with their own revolution and extreme political upheaval. The Finns were clearly happy to have independence, however a high ranking member of the Finnish military and future Finnish president, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, warned Finland that within time the Soviet Union would be back to reclaim Finland.

Unfortunately, Mannerheim's predication came true. With war raging in Europe between the Allies and the Axis, the Soviets used the war as a distraction from their encroachment on the Finnish border. Mannerheim, in anticipation of this, had established what is now referred to as the "Mannerheim Line". These strategic lines of defense were guarded by the Finnish military and intended to keep the fighting away from population centers and the capital, Helsinki. It is interesting to note that these "Mannerheim Lines" now lie in what is now Russia. The first day of the war was on November 30, 1939 and pitted the nearly million man strong Soviet army against the Finnish army which contained barely a quarter of a million men. In addition to being severely outnumbered, the Soviets had access to weapons, tanks, and aircrafts. The Finns relied upon smuggled and stolen weapons. The statistics of the war state that were as the Soviets used to 6,000 tanks in the Winter War, the Finns would have a grand total of 32. These statistics are made even more shocking when you compare the casualties. The Soviets reported a loss about 300,000 and the Finns reported around 70,000. Almost all outside observers were stunned by the results of this conflict. It made little to no sense. Finland during the early twentieth century had been considered a poor and uneducated area. However, their lack of resources did not outweigh the Finnish fighting spirit, their love of independence, and their creativity. Despite the numbers being against them, the Finns found inventive ways of dealing with the Soviets numbers and weapons strength.

Finnish Ski Troops, you cannot make this up.

One such invention is that of the Molotov Cocktail. The name was a joke among Finns who called the Soviet bombs unleashed upon Helsinki the Molotov Breadbaskets after the Soviet politician who ordered the bombing after promising to send food to the starving citizens of Helsinki. The Finns had developed a cheap and inexpensive anti-tank technology by pouring flammable liquids into a liquor bottle, stuffing in a rag that was then set on fire and then thrown into the openings of a tank. It disabled the tank quickly and the Finns considered them the cocktail to go after the breadbaskets. In addition, the Finns utilized their great skill for skiing and had men ski between tanks and use the Molotov Cocktails before quickly escaping in time. In response to this, the Soviets attempted to use their own skiers, but found that Soviet skiers, who were accustomed to open fields, did poorly in the Finnish forest country side with its rocky terrain.

Funny but true. You gotta love statistics. 

The war continued on for close to 5 months. The Soviets had not been prepared for a drawn out war against the Finns, thinking that the invasion would end shortly after the bombing of the capital. However, the Finns were not interested in handing back their independence after such a short time. Their resilience proved an unexpected challenge to the Soviets and drove the Finns to extreme measures, including signing an alliance treaty with Nazi Germany. This decision would result in Finland being forced to pay war reparations to the Soviet Union until the mid 1980's. However, this burden placed on a fledgling nation proved to be the catalyst to Finland's industrialization and modernization. The years following the Winter War saw the transformation of Finland into a sophisticated, technologically driven, innovative country that would revolutionize phone and video game technology. The Winter War remains a tangible part of Finnish history and is critical to understand if you even want to try to make sense of the Finnish identity.

A Historian at the Cinema: West of Memphis

We learn from our history, but we generally suffer from a forgetful memory. The case of the West Memphis Three is a painful lesson in injustice and mass hysteria. The case began with the horrific murder of three young boys in West Memphis. The crime rightfully shocked the community and calls to bring the culprits to justice were immediate. It is important to state that this was a tragic and horrific crime. The victims and their families deserve justice. However, in the process of solving this crime, social fears of outsiders and alleged deviants overruled proper police work and legal proceedings. West of Memphis, a film by Amy Berg, documents the tragedy of both crimes, the homicide and the legal injustice committed upon the West Memphis Three.

Three young men, Damien Echolls, Jason Bradley, and Jessie Misskelley, known for their love of heavy metal, anti-social behavior, and lack of assimilation with the conservative town, where quickly pointed to by the community as the perpetrators. Prosecutors and police conducted a what can now be called biased and flimsy investigation that sought more to appease the towns prejudice than actual justice. The result of the investigation and trial was the conviction of the three boys, now known as the West Memphis Three. The tragedy of the murders were only compounded by the tragedy of unjust conviction.

Amy Berg's film follows the investigation and carefully analyzes the mistakes and missteps made by police and prosecutors. Suspects that were quickly dismissed without due dilligance and the eventual convicted teens who were treated in a manner that borders on criminal manipulation. However, Amy Berg is careful in her analysis. She does not fall into the trap of placing generalized blame on the community, recognizing that the murders were indeed horrific and it is hard to blame parents for passionately searching for their son's killers. The parents are treated with respect and humanity. Her harshest criticism are reserved for the investigators and prosecutors who were more interested in expediency than truth.

However, the heart of the film is the calls for justice after the trial. Amy Berg focuses on the arduous and complex process of asking for repeals and clemency by the West Memphis Three. By this point, the teens were no longer alone in their crusade for justice, celebrities, activists, and regular people had rallied around the West Memphis Three. Concerts, protests, rallies and fund raisers were organized to show solidarity with the teens and bring their cause national attention. Despite the case garnering national media attention, time after time their appeals were denied and rejected. No amount of public support or evidence of police incompetence seemed to sway the court's or the Governor's mind. The cause seemed lost until 2011. Negotiations between the no longer teens and now men's attorney and prosecutors resulted in an Alford Plea Bargain. In non legal speak, this meant they would enter a plea deal that allowed them to assert their innocence but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict. They were released with suspended sentences.

Is this justice? The film takes a strong position in declaring no.The amount of back and forth, rejection after rejection that Echolls, Bradley, and Misskelley were subjected to can not be called justice in my opinion. From the first day of the investigation they were deemed guilty and never given any defense. This film depicts the scary reality of the U.S justice system gone array, and demonstrates that it is often done without much push back. Berg asks the audience to examine how we as a society react to crimes. There is a sense of balance that needs to preserved. Justice to the victim and to the accused. However, it is often harder to understand justice for the accused than for the victims.