Grindstone

Historian – and longtime First contributor – Wesley Hogan was sparked by The Help’s spin on the Southern turn toward freedom in the 60s. Her piece on the book and movie starts our mini-roundtable on this cultural phenomenon. Hogan’s Call generated a response from a reading group of retired black women who had their own … Read more

At the moment, the two year old battle for a union contract by Cablevision workers in Brooklyn has reached a behind closed doors moment. But here’s the story so far, in thirds. First third. Back in August 2011, (one month before Occupy Wall Street took off) unionized Verizon employees went on a highly public and … Read more

Headaches, nausea, asthma, crying, sleep disturbances, reluctance to go to school—in forty-five states, the children ready their pencils. Let’s Solve This, the Exxon announcer purrs, while bright, hopeful cities configure themselves in the background. Using your knowledge of oil companies, what can you infer about the speaker’s motives? How is Common Core like drilling in … Read more

Things are looking bad, but just hold on. There’s some good news from liberal prognosticators who’ve been staring into the future. The “relatively conservative white working class” is in decline! Women, Gays, Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, Singles, College Grads, and Digital Henry Fords are all compiling into a demographic wave that only needs one more decade … Read more

Staughton Lynd intended to read this speech at NYC’s Left Forum in 2008. He wasn’t able to deliver it then but First is honored to reprint his words here. In Youngstown, more than twenty-five years ago, several of us began to meet once a month at the local union hall for Utility Workers Local 118. The … Read more

Henry Czerny, confident that he has the situation well in hand, sits at table and says, “I can understand you’re very upset.” Tom Cruise, sitting opposite, bares teeth, says, “You’ve never seen me very upset.” And he pulls from his pocket exploding bubble gum, which he hurls at the glass wall of a giant fish … Read more

“Very few things happen at the right time and the rest don’t happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.” — Herodotus, by way of Mark Twain Like most biopics, The Fighter is a lavish celluloid Valentine to its subject. Unfortunately, it’s also a Valentine that’s unfinished, riddled with typos and unwitting backhanded … Read more