Did it look like this?
Posted on 06/20/2003 6:50:32 AM PDT by Jhensy
NEW YORK — The 50th anniversary of the executions of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg on charges of conspiring to steal the secret of the atomic bomb was commemorated yesterday at the City Center in Manhattan in a program that included the couple's two sons.
The June 19, 1953, executions of the Rosenbergs in the electric chair at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining took place at the height of the Cold War McCarthy era.
Last night's program, performed on a stage with a portrait of the Rosenberg couple emblazoned against the backdrop of an American flag, combined readings from the Rosenbergs' prison letters and childhood recollections of Robert and Michael Meeropol, the couple's sons.
As well as remembering the past, the show drew attention to the current political climate in the United States and helped raise money for the Rosenberg Fund for Children, which provides counseling, art and music lessons, summer camp and travel to children whose parents have been penalized for social activism.
More than 2,750 people attended, some of whom were old enough to remember the Rosenberg case. They packed the house, singing and clapping along to songs of the civil rights and Vietnam eras.
Before the show, singer, actor and producer Harry Belafonte said he was saddened by the fact history appeared to be repeating itself.
"Those of us who participated in that time in history are filled with a serious sadness that humankind has not learned to do better," he said. "Political oppression seems to be on the rise. Legislation passed in the name of homeland security gives the government the right to arrest people without charges and to imprison them without access to lawyers."
Robert Meeropol, 56, the Rosenbergs' younger son, who runs the fund, calls it his "constructive revenge." Through the organization he founded in 1990, Meeropol says he has assisted hundreds of children.
"We have built a $1.4 million endowment with $25 donations," he said. "People come up and thank me, but I feel it is a privilege to be doing what I am doing. I figured out how to take a negative experience from my own childhood and do something beneficial for other children I view as in similar situations."
He was orphaned at age 6 and has spent the past 30 years as an activist, attorney, writer and speaker. His memoir, "An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey," was released by St. Martin's Press in time to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his parents' death.
Belafonte read a message honoring the Rosenbergs from Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981. His supporters say he was framed for the crime.
Mazi Ibn Jamal, son of Mumia Abu-Jamal, said the fund has helped him cope with his father's imprisonment.
Michael Meeropol, who was 10 when his parents were executed, said in an interview before the performance that the current political climate is reminiscent of the McCarthy era that claimed his parents' lives.
"The political climate in the United States today chillingly mirrors the McCarthy era, when our parents were executed," said Michael Meeropol, an economics professor at Western New England College. "We must redouble our efforts to resist our government's wars abroad and repression at home."
The brothers have kept the name of their adoptive parents, Anne and Abel Meeropol, both of whom are deceased.
Janiece Thompson, a New York concert and sessions singer, sang "Strange Fruit," the anti-lynching song written by Abel Meeropol.
In a pre-performance interview, Thompson said, "For a long time, people have been lax about political activism because they felt safe, but in the new political climate, a lot of people don't feel safe anymore."
Peter Yarrow — of Peter, Paul and Mary — and actress Tovah Feldshuh read from the letters the Rosenbergs wrote to each other and their sons while in prison awaiting execution.
Singers Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert were accompanied by Michael Meeropol on the guitar in a song honoring his adoptive mother.
Pete Seeger, 84, was expected to attend but could not because of illness. Susan Sarandon was filming in Canada, leading Michael Meeropol's wife, Ellie, to step in as master of ceremonies.
Backstage before the performance, Yarrow said he was participating in the Rosenberg commemoration because he has grave concerns about civil liberties under the Bush administration.
"They have taken control of all three branches of government," he said. "Now, more than ever, there is a need for open dialogue about government policy."
Did it look like this?
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