Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

history

  • Reconstructing the Past and Present

    History provides us with an understanding of our place in time. The words of authors glide into topics that pull us into paragraphs of digression. These allow us to consider the character and nature of those women, men, and events… Continue reading

  • On Libraries and Freedom

    I hesitated in the grip of withdrawals. “Go! Get out!” Lynn Tanaka firmly told me on my final day on Mayne Island. Taking a few reluctant steps towards the door, my eyes locked on the neatly arranged shelves in her… Continue reading

  • The Running Man

    EXPECTATIONS, EXCEPTIONS & DEPORTATION It happened quickly. He knew the risks, but what choice did he have? There was a family to feed. Maybe today, they wouldn’t notice him. He kept to the speed limit. Then, in the review mirror,… Continue reading

  • Dissent, the Secret of Democracy

    The United States is a nation founded upon dissent. Colonialists often voiced their protests against the British government’s policies. On the 1st of November, 1765, when the Stamp Act was about to be enacted, New Yorkers flew flags at half-staff… Continue reading

  • DAY OF DEFIANCE

    REPRINTED FROM THE EVORABERG INDEPENDENT A number of letters have come to the paper complaining bitterly about President Trump’s planned military parade. I have asked the Woodhull Journal to reprint Mrs. Eleanor Harrington Parker’s letter for its readership on this… Continue reading

  • WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN

    PART ONE: DEFINING FASCISM Today, as I begin this essay that I envision to be written in three parts, is 24 April,  Yom HaShoah. This is Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. We pause to remember The Night of state-sponsored persecution and… Continue reading

  • FEAR, DISSENT AND CIVIC UPRISING

    A mutual acquaintance arranged our clandestine meeting. We left the lecture hall and entered the fluorescent hallway that appeared shadowy that night. He hesitated, glancing around. Then he motioned me to follow him. We came to a narrow, corner space… Continue reading

  • THE SALT OF INDIVIDUAL ACTION

    PART ONE: THE QUESTION BEFORE US On the morning of 12 March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi began walking from his ashram in Ahmedabad towards the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. The distance of 240 miles required walking twelve… Continue reading

  • ONE VOICE IN A CHORUS OF VOICES

    “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:9). What are my obligations in these times of the emergence of a dictatorship, political discord, and economic chaos? I am merely one voice in a chorus of… Continue reading

  • THE TIME HAS COME FOR AN AMERICAN SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT

    April 5th marks the beginning of a Solidarity Movement here in the States. Those of us who are older remember the nonviolent struggle against the Polish authoritarian communist government. The movement was a coalition of union workers, students, intellectuals, farmers,… Continue reading