Sacco and Vanzetti 96th Anniversary Commemoration

Each year the Community Church of Boston hosts a memorial ceremony in honor of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants and anarchists who were falsely accused of robbery and murder, held in prison for seven years, and ultimately executed on August 23, 1927. In 1970, I worked as assistant costume designer on an Italian film that told their story. Aside from costume sketches I also made on-location drawings of the product itself. This year, I exhibited my drawings and sketches at the Community Church and shared come of my experiences as part of the film crew.

Shoshanah outside the front door of the Church on Copley Street. It’s an old building right across from the magnificent Boston Public Library.

Shoshanah with Michele Fazio, Professor of English and Co-coordinator of the Gender Studies Minor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Michele is working on a book project exploring the cultural legacy of Sacco and Vanzetti, and is the person who connected Shoshanah to the Community Church, which is a peace and justice church. On the wall are several dozen of my on-location drawings.

Seven costume sketches displayed above the Church’s recent donation of books covering history, politics, Sources for historical accuracy included famous photographs of Jacob Riis (1849-1914), an American newspaper reporter, social reformer, and photographer who documented the living conditions of immigrants living in New York’s Lower East Side.

Shoshanah setting up her exhibit by using thumbtacks and extra strong magnets to keep the drawings on the wall of the assembly hall of the Church.