People’s insistence on describing Anne Frank as a schoolgirl scribbling in her notebook rather than a writer creating a piece of art reminds me of depictions of Rosa Parks. She is persistently described as a seamstress who happened to stay seated on the bus because her feet were tired. In fact she was a trained and experienced political activist whose act of defiance was a planned strategy in a long campaign of collective action against Jim Crow. Both Frank and Parks are held up as icons yet deprived of their agency, as if they had accidentally stumbled into history.
People’s insistence on describing Anne Frank as a schoolgirl scribbling in her notebook rather than a writer creating a piece of art reminds me of depictions of Rosa Parks. She is persistently described as a seamstress who happened to stay seated on the bus because her feet were tired. In fact she was a trained and experienced political activist whose act of defiance was a planned strategy in a long campaign of collective action against Jim Crow. Both Frank and Parks are held up as icons yet deprived of their agency, as if they had accidentally stumbled into history.
Great connection.
An exciting milestone. Looking forward to reading.
Is the Israel/Palestine book group reading now?
Hi Ann! So nice to see your name pop up. The current book is Isabella Hammad's The Parisian.
I can't wait for the book.
Ruth, when are you discussing The Parisian?
do you have a link for pre-orders yet?
Hi Mary - thanks for asking! I don't have a personal link but you can preorder from anywhere online. Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Anne-Frank-Jewish/dp/0300248121/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3D0PVA2SS09FE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XihYE7FpaP71Qb6sKlM_dVebljOUqY6oYwhRbiSTqYNQxa07IeZeKegP4TNAUo0zxvv4hRwWU5uOz6TMzMEf_itx3sUoyZQBtM-tZwKdB8QROfJrrHnioNdL2TaCvtaOc96YqXndkP9NeeFMurExrCW8yVjNNkzlCbtFmBNKhPyq8q0nSBlnaHkT3d-szxoRmNbzLiewGes7FxICLtpC0B8QmlT00ju_OIDKoAk0MPw.7VRUAncOhyjaBotzwjv7fUtaL9p_yNGs1lxIFtkIRog&dib_tag=se&keywords=anne+frank+ruth+franklin&qid=1725273107&sprefix=anne+frank+ruth+franklin%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-1