At DGH we believe there is an intrinsic relationship between art, health, education and Human Rights. Art, in its various forms, inspires our daily work. Every Spring we’ll share some of the books, movies and music that have touched us. We invite you to recommend some works that have moved and enlightened you. Send your suggestions to Monica Sanchez at newsletter@dghonline.org, or P.O. Box 1525, Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10013.

A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest J. Gaines, Alfred A. Knopf Books, 1997, Fiction, ISBN 0-679455-61-2. On a night in 1948, a retarded black man accepts a ride from friends and ends up the lone survivor of a bloody shootout. Despite his innocence, he is condemned to death. Refusing to eat or speak, he accepts his subhuman status, until a caring teacher takes on the task of inspiring him with strength and dignity.

Blood & Tears: Poems for Matthew Shepard, Edited by Scott Gibson, Painted Leaf Press, 1999, Fiction, ISBN 1-891305-15-8. When Matthew Shepard was found tied to a fence in Wyoming in October 1998, beaten and left to die, the New York Times reported that his head had been covered in blood except for a clean spot where he’d been crying and the tears went down his face. In this anthology, 75 poets honor his memory.

The God of Small Things, By Arundhati Roy, Harper Collins, 1998, Fiction, ISBN 0-060977-49-3. Set in the India of 1969, this beautifully written novel tells the story of young twins and their family. But behind the compelling personal tragedy of the characters is a sweeping background of civil unrest and societal breakdown.

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, By Pearl Cleage, Avon Books, 1998, Fiction, ISBN 0-380794-87-X. This gritty and surprisingly funny novel follows a woman as she learns to live and love with HIV. According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution this is "a smart novel that will have readers laughing in recognition of the foibles of human nature as it lays bare its character’s—and our own—assumptions about class, sexuality, AIDS and love in unexpected and thoroughly gratifying ways."

Sodbuster-San Isidro, 1981, 84 x 288 x 63 inches. Sculpture in fiberglass with urethane finish from the traveling exhibit Working Class Heroes. A retrospective of Luis Jiménez’s work shown at the Mexican Fine Arts Center in Chicago from Jan. 14 to May 28, 2000. It featured seven of Jiménez's huge fiberglass sculptures, sculptural maquettes, drawings and prints. This is the first touring retrospective of the work of one of the country's most celebrated contemporary Latino artists, and covers 30 years of his work, from 1967 to 1996. The exhibit is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, By Martin Prechtel, Putnam, 1998, Nonfiction, ISBN 0-87477-900-6. This is a true love story: the author’s 14-year love affair with a Tzutujil Mayan village in Guatemala. His spellbinding narrative is an ode to the people he so clearly respects and finally found a home with.

Dying for Growth: Global Inequality and the Health of the Poor, Edited by Kim, Irwin, Millen and Gershman, Common Courage Press, 1999, Nonfiction, ISBN 1-567511-60-0. DGH Board Member Tim Holtz is a contributing author to this extraordinary collection of 14 hard-hitting case studies exposing the truth about who wins, who loses and why a fifth of the world’s population is consigned to live—and die—on less that $1 a day. The studies are rooted in the lives of ordinary people around the world waging heart wrenching struggles against a new systemic form of poverty. Among the factors considered are the effects of international restructioring strategies on the poor, the increasing control transitional corporations exert over world health and the impact of US drug policy on global inequality.

Slaves in the Family: A Writer’s Journey Into His Family’s Slave-Owning Past, By Edward Ball, Random House, 1999, Nonfiction, ISBN 0-345431-05-7. Using his family’s plantation records, and black and white oral tradition, Ball tells the story of the people who lived on his ancestor’s lands—the violence and opulence, the slave uprisings and escapes. The Village Voice praises his courage: "By daring to zero in on his own family’s role, Ball breaks hundreds of years of silence from white people—the only way to begin this dialogue between black and white."

20 Years of Censored News, by Carl Jensen and Project Censored, Seven Stories Press, 1997, Nonfiction, ISBN 1-888363-52-5. The founder of Project Censored, a media watchdog praised by Walter Cronkite and others, compiles twenty years of news that wasn’t the real news at all. In 1994, for example, "the news media flooded America with O.J. Simpson sensationalism," while the EPA retreated in its stance on the ozone crisis.

Matewan, Directed by John Sales, Starring James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, William Oldham, 1987. This unflinching and involving film chronicles the dramatic real-life strike staged by the mine workers of West Virginia in 1920. A great history lesson to remind us all just how much blood was spilt getting us the rights we now take for granted—and are quickly losing.

Norma Rae, Directed by Martin Ritt, Starring Sally Field, Ron Leibman, Beau Bridges, Gail Strickland, 1979. This inspiring true-life story of a poor female textile worker who helps unionize a southern mill won Sally Field the Oscar for Best Actress.

Roger & Me, Directed by Michael Moore, Documentary, 1989. Moore’s sarcastic wit and touching interviews paint a vibrant portrait of just how unconcerned corporations (in this case GM) are with the fate of their American blue collar workers as they pay homage to the all-mighty bottom line.

Border Crossing (Cruzando El Rio Bravo), 1989, 127 x 34 x 54 inches. Sculpture in fiberglass with urethane finish.

Windhorse, Directed by Paul Wagner, 1998. Filmed clandestinely in Tibet, Katmandu and other remote locations in the Himalayan mountains, this movie tells the story of an aspiring Tibetan pop singer who wins favor with the Chinese government of occupied Tibet, but faces a crisis of conscience when her cousin, a Buddhist nun, is imprisoned for her beliefs. The singer and her brother join forces to secretly videotape the testimony of their cousin and sneak it out of Tibet. Though fictional, the story serves to illustrate for audiences the tragic outcome of over forty years of Chinese occupation of Tibet and the struggle of Tibetans to preserve their traditional culture and political freedoms.

Historia Oficial, Directed by Luis Puenzo, Starring Norma Aleandro, Hector Alterio, Argentinian, Spanish with English Subtitles, 1985. This emotionally gripping movie follows the political awakening of an Argentinian professor as she starts to look past the ‘official’ story and learn her country’s truly tragic history. Along the way she discovers just how personally the injustices perpetrated affect her own family.

Carla’s Song, Directed by Ken Loach, Starring Robert Carlyle, Oyanka Cabezas, Scott Glenn, 1996. A Glasgow bus driver risks his job by giving free rides to a mysterious Nicaraguan woman he is infatuated with. He soon learns the reason for her sadness: her boyfriend was tortured by the contras. He goes with her to Nicaragua to help her come to terms with her past, as he discovers more about himself and the politics of injustice.

Farewells & Fantasies: The Phil Ochs Collection, Wea/Altantic/Rhino, 1997. Phil Ochs’ songs against social and political injustice remain powerful, entertaining and in some cases topical over 30 years after he recorded them. This 3 CD set collects his work between 1964 and 1975, as well as several previously unreleased tracks, including his anti-war classic I Ain’t Marching Anymore.

The Black President: The Best of Fela Kuti, MCA, 2000. Z magazine reports that Nigerian Afrobeat innovator Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s propulsive blend of West African sounds, jazz and funk will be available to American audiences with 20 original albums being released this year. The place to begin is this recently released two-CD anthology. With tracks assailing Westernization, poverty, political and military corruption, this set traces an evolving activist art boldly attacking reigning regimes through a fiery African-based brand of pop.

In This Issue:

DGH Profile: Hal & Cherry Clements
President's Letter
What Liberation Medicine Means to Me
Human Rights in the Arts
Treating the Uninsured
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally
Low Insensity War on Health in Mexico
A Day's Life... Luke Rawlings
In Memory of Sandy Kemp

It is of a man walking purposefully and very quickly toward the destinies of others, when I think of you, of a man who heals with his eyes and his gift to show that the listener, the watcher, the wordsmith in your presence is one-on-one, as essential and important to his own and the world’s plans as any being alive.