By Harold Goldberg
By Harold Goldberg
Years ago before we officially became became nonprofit, we were just beginning to teach writing, journalism and narrative at Bronx schools. One afternoon, we heard excited students talk about a field trip to Broadway to see “Hamilton.” Just as when students meet our Board member and former president of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime, those theatre-going student would remember the day they went to see “Hamilton.”
This year as an well-established nonprofit, we were able to take some of our journalism students from the Lab School for Finance and Technology to see “Good Night, and Good Luck.” In the lauded play, Academy Award-winner George Clooney is legendary CBS television reporter Edward R. Murrow during the dark days of the of McCarthyism when a power-hungry U.S. senator made his career by destroying the careers of journalists and writers by calling them “communists.”
Clooney was superb, and, as the actor said after the show, “This is a special day….There are about 1,000 students here in the audience.” It was moving to see the expensive front row seats filled with young people of color.
“You are our future. And we need you. Very badly,” Clooney said to the assembled young people. It was as if he was their mentor, however briefly.
After the taut drama of Murrow versus McCarthy, a video montage played which showed the difficult times when freedom of speech has been maligned and threatened in the United States. The piece was so powerful, students gasped, and I choked up.
The message was clear: We don’t want to lose our democracy, and we don’t want to lose our freedom of speech. This was indeed a performance that students would remember. Even more, they would remember how necessary it is to preserve our freedoms at all costs.
The New York Videogame Critics Circle and its Playing With Purpose program wants to thank Peter Avery, who arranged tickets for students at the school in which we teach – and for all the schools which attended. He’s a good man who’s done a good thing with this program.
Journalist/author Harold Goldberg is the founder of the New York Videogame Critics Circle and the New York Game Awards. He is also games columnist for The New York Times.
