Here is one more piece of James Ryan's  story.  

Check out this 2017 WBUR article that focuses on his commencement speech to the Harvard Graduate School of Education Class of 2016 and the book he wrote based on that speech.  At the time of the article, the speech  had already been viewed over 8 million times on Facebook.   You can view the speech, linked in the article (right). It's well worth the time. 

The article also contains some interesting information about Ryan's background, beginning with the fact that he was adopted as a newborn and raised in a small blue-collar town in New Jersey by parents who were not college educated.  His life and accomplishments are remarkable.

Explain again why this remarkable man was forced out of his job.  How many others are suffering the same fate at the hands of the current administration?

Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway 

March 12 - June 8  2025

Good Night, and Good Luck is a historical drama play written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov.  It is adapted from their 2005 film, Good Night, and Good Luck, and focuses on the conflict between veteran CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.  

The play has been an outstanding success, receiving positive reviews and nominations for five Tony Awards.

Click on the graphic at left to read a review of the play from The Daily Evergreen (student voice of Washington State University).  April 17, 2025

Note: Edward R. Murrow attended Washington State College (now Washington State University) from 1926-1930.  He majored in Speech and was active in college politics.

See the WSU webpage, "About Edward R. Murrow" HERE

 If you're in New York, you can see a screening of the documentary,  Paint Me a Road Out of Here, at the Film Forum.  But, if not,  there is a screening scheduled for March 6 at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in Cambridge!  For more information and an opportunity to sign up click HERE.

Watch the trailer below.

“What is it you wanted me to reconcile myself to? I was born here, almost 60 years ago. I’m not going to live another 60 years. You always told me ‘It takes time.’ It’s taken my father’s time, my mother’s time, my uncle’s time, my brothers’ and my sisters’ time. How much time do you want for your progress?”                         James Baldwin

Although no one alive today can be held in any way responsible for this massacre carried out by an organized mob, there are several important reasons to recall this blight on American history as we enter 2025:

First, not until September 2024 did the federal government undertake a comprehensive account of the events of May 31 through June 1, 1921 - over a century! 

Second, had the current civil rights laws (Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act-HERE) been in effect in 1921, federal prosecutors would have had the legal authority to pursue hate crime charges against both public officials and private citizens. 

Lastly, should the Hate Crime Prevention Act be compromised or reversed, the justice that MLK envisioned will not “roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream”, again African Americans, and all Americans, will have to wait.