All across the nation the people heard the tale
And marveled at the concert, and knew we had not failed
We shed our blood at Peekskill, and suffered many a pain
But we beat back the fascists and we’ll beat them back again!

Those lyrics are four lines from “Hold the Line,” a 1949 song by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. What are they singing about? And why hadn’t I heard the song until last week?

I don’t have an answer to the second question. I had heard Pete’s songs all my life, I had often vacationed outside of Peekskill whenever my family visited our close family friends who had a second home there, my mother and grandmother were involved in the relevant politics, and I had learned a lot about U.S. history. So I don’t have an answer. But I can write about what happened there in 1949, now that I have researched it. Here is an extremely condensed version:

For those who don’t know Peekskill, the first thing to realize is that it’s in northern Westchester County, New York—not where you would expect the KKK or people who look like this (except that they’re all white):

This is not a MAGA rally, but it sure looks like the January 6 mob. Of course it was 72 years earlier, and it was KKK rather than MAGA. Here is a second photo from the Peekskill riot:

You may wonder what they were protesting. They were only trying to overturn a car, not an election, after all. Well, what they were protesting was a concert by Paul Robeson (along with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and others). Let that sink in for a moment.

What was this really about? In the words of The Forward:

Attackers screamed: “We’re Hitler’s boys — here to finish his job.” A crowd of drunken locals attacked the people who were setting up for the concert. One of their leaders, according to journalist Howard Fast, was a prominent businessman in Peekskill.

The mob increased to 500, then to 1,000. A little after eight o’clock in the evening, the attackers burned a 12-foot cross on the picnic grounds. From burning a cross they progressed to burning books, sheet music and chairs, while the performers and concert-goers, arms linked together, sang such songs as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “God Bless America” and “Solidarity Forever.” The concertgoers, artists and organizers tried to defend the concert site, but by the time the evening was over, every defender had been injured.

Afterward, a wave of hatred and panic spread through northern Westchester. Up and down the Hudson River towns, signs and bumper stickers appeared: “Wake Up America — Peekskill Did!” “Communism Is Treason. Behind Communism Stands — the Jew! Therefore, for my country — against the Jews!”

Fortunately, this couldn’t happen today.

No, wait…

Categories: Life