Join the Columbia University Libraries and the Department of History for a Panel Discussion at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: Tuesday, March 3, 7pm.
Confronting McCarthyism: Generational Lessons from Families who Resisted the Red Scare
“It Can Happen Here.” These were the chilling words whispered during the 1950s, as the witch hunt against communists 
claimed the livelihoods of thousands of citizens, trailed fear into the homes of millions, and stifled dissent nationwide.
McCarthyism impacted all Americans, but certain families faced its whole force head on. Join us for this historic conversation, as children and grandchildren of some of the Red Scare’s most significant targets reflect on these struggles and the continuing legacies of their families’ harrowing experiences:
- Michael Meeropol, son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
- MaryLouise Patterson, daughter of civil rights leaders Louise and William Patterson.
- Molly Jong-Fast, granddaughter of blacklisted novelist Howard Fast.
- Moderator Beverly Gage, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century.
At a time when authoritarians are reviving the tactics and terrors of McCarthyism, this conversation about the past and future of American civil liberties is more critical than ever before.
And explore these resources for more on Michael and Robert Meeropol’s lifelong efforts to find the truth about their parents’ case.
- Michael Meeropol, “A Spy Who Turned His Family In”: Revisiting David Greenglass and the Rosenberg Case
- Michael Meeropol, “Judge Irving Kaufman, the Liberal Establishment, and the Rosenberg Case”
- Emily Arnow-Alman and David Alman, Exoneration: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Morton Sobell