The Story of One of the Most Important Free Speech Cases of All Time
Randall Kennedy talks to The Nation Podcast about the Angelo Herndon case.
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Angelo Herndon and the Radical Politics of Free Speech w/ Randall Kennedy | The Nation Podcast
Angelo Herndon was a Black coal miner turned Communist activist who was repeatedly “arrested, convicted of vagrancy, and incarcerated” for his efforts to educate and mobilize workers. In 1932, he helped organize an interracial protest against a county decision to cut off relief for the poor. But it wasn’t simply the protest that led to his chain-gang sentence — it was Herndon’s possession and distribution of Communist literature, which authorities used to charge him with inciting insurrection.
Herndon’s prosecution, and the wrongful conviction that followed, ultimately gave rise to Herndon v. Lowry — one of the most important civil-rights and free-speech cases of the twentieth century.
Herndon is also the subject of a recent book: Brad Snyder’s You Can’t Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads.
Joining us this episode of the Nation Podcast to discuss his review of Snyder’s book is Randall Kennedy, professor at Harvard Law School and author of Say It Loud: On Race, Law, History and Culture. You can find Randall’s review in our December issue of the Nation.
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Angelo Herndon.
(Bettmann via Getty Images)Angelo Herndon was a Black coal miner turned Communist activist who was repeatedly “arrested, convicted of vagrancy, and incarcerated” for his efforts to educate and mobilize workers. In 1932, he helped organize an interracial protest against a county decision to cut off relief for the poor. But it wasn’t simply the protest that led to his chain-gang sentence—it was Herndon’s possession and distribution of Communist literature, which authorities used to charge him with inciting insurrection.
Herndon’s prosecution, and the wrongful conviction that followed, ultimately gave rise to Herndon v. Lowry—one of the most important civil rights and free speech cases of the 20th century.
Herndon is also the subject of a recent book: Brad Snyder’s& You Can’t Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads.
Joining us this episode of The Nation Podcast to discuss his review of Snyder’s book is Randall Kennedy, professor at Harvard Law School and author of Say It Loud: On Race, Law, History and Culture. You can find Randall’s review in the December issue of The Nation.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.
The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
The Transformation of the New York Waterfront w/ Karrie Jacobs | The Nation Podcast
In its heyday, the Bush Terminal industrial complex spanned several city blocks along Brooklyn’s waterfront and employed more than 35,000 people. Built by Irving Bush in the late nineteenth century, it was an "early intermodal shipping hub." Goods arrived by water and left by rail. Bananas, coffee, and cotton came in through doors on one side of the warehouses and were loaded onto trains on the other.
But after World War II, as trucks replaced rail and shipping patterns changed, the Terminal’s purpose faded and the vast complex slipped into disuse.
Today, Bush Terminal is again at the center of New York’s vision for urban reinvention— and a debate around development, displacement, and the future of work in the city.
Joining us on a deep dive into Bush Terminal is veteran architecture critic and writer Karrie Jacobs. Her essay, “On the Waterfront,” appears in our December issue of the Nation.
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