We do not discriminate. Our buildings are sanctuaries for everyone to tell their stories. We do not discriminate in which stories we will tell, which culture we may seek to know.
Jihadist groups on Sunday celebrated the Trump administration’s ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying the new policy validates their claim that the United States is at war with Islam.
The executive order targets the wrong people, complicates an already extreme vetting process that works, and damages our relationship with allies all while giving a new recruiting tool to extremists.
In her letter to the editor, Kate Maguire of the Berkshire Theatre Group writes: “There cannot be boundaries in the arts. We do not discriminate. Our buildings are sanctuaries for everyone to tell their stories. We do not discriminate in which stories we will tell, which culture we may seek to know.”
More than 2,000 people took part in the Four Freedoms rally and march on Saturday, January 7, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to protest the ascendance of bigotry and hatred in the national political environment. Edgecast producer Ben Hillman shot this film of the event; it is narrated by Jim Frangione.
“I am originally from Mexico, but I am not a rapist or a murderer or a thief. I am basically just a nice person. The American Dream can become the American Nightmare in times of intolerance when immigrants and naturalized citizens are made to feel afraid.”
-- Eleanor Velez, Director of the Berkshire Community College Multicultural Center
In her letter to the editor, Susan Bachelder writes: "Margaret Chase Smith well knew that liberty cannot stand without the support of reason and wisdom."
Town police had brought in machine guns from Hartford and kept them in the Town Hall basement, just in case violence erupted. Ted Hitchcock said an FBI agent hid in his attic — his house was encircled by the U-shaped park — with binoculars trained on the proceedings.
“What we’ve said we stood for and what we’ve done is in an unmitigated disgrace. We can’t build a stronger foundation on a lie.”
-- Will Singleton, president of the Berkshire branch of the NAACP