Try a Democracy Circle Resource!

If you start a Democracy Circle, you will receive our discussion resources which contain articles and questions for discussion about the most pressing issues facing our democracy today. The resources are organized into different sections:

  • How Democracy Works Now

  • Timely Articles on Legislation, Court Decisions, Political Strategy, and Public Debates

  • Historical

  • Arts and Culture

  • Your Story 

We invite you to read through the sample resource below from the “Arts and Culture” category. 

If you are interested in starting your own Democracy Circle, you can sign up here.

Learn more about Democracy Circles or email socialjustice@circle.org with your questions and one of our organizers will respond to you quickly. 

Broadway’s Jewish Representation: The Revival of Parade the Musical

Read 

“Night After Night, I Perform on Broadway and Tell a Devastating Story” The New York Times Opinion Piece by Micaela Diamond

In the musical Parade, Tony nominee Micaela Diamond plays Lucille Frank, the wife of Leo Frank, a Jewish man wrongfully convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl. The story is based on the real life of Leo Frank who managed a pencil factory in Atlanta in 1913 — the musical deals with racial supremacy, assimilation, Jewish identity, and judicial corruption in the South. Leo Frank is outwardly Jewish, and while Lucille is Jewish, she has assimilated into Southern life. True to the story, Frank was convicted of murder with little evidence. In this article, actress Micaela Diamond discusses her nuanced relationship to her identity and how her role has impacted her perspective on antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and the importance of telling difficult stories.

Discuss

Have you or your family experienced pressures to assimilate? What did that look like? What did that feel like? What were the limits of that assimilation?

  1. In the article, Micaela Diamond talks about the connection between anti-Black racism and antisemitism. How does she see the connection? How do you see it?

  2. What are some other examples (historical, modern, or from your life) of Black and Jewish solidarity? Or solidarity between other heritages and cultures?

  3. In the article, Micaela Diamond writes “The gruesome reality of white centralized power means history will always have an iron grip on us, holding us in the past.” How does white supremacy impact our country today? 

  4. Why is it important to tell difficult stories? 

  5. What do you think Micaela means when she writes, “we will find the music in it all?”