The veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

The Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was an organization of the American volunteers returning from the Spanish Civil War, who believed in preserving their legacy through activism in progressive causes. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives is an offshoot of the VALB organization. ALBA was founded in the 1970s, at a time when people were recovering the legacy of the 1920s and 1930s activists, which had been repressed during the 1950s anti-communist era. ALBA, a non-profit with an educational mission, helps maintain the vets’ archival materials at the Tamiment Library at New York University; produces touring exhibits,  books, and films based on the archives and other materials; and created lecture series, essay contests, and eventually a teaching institute to train teachers, with a curriculum of classroom lessons and workshops on the Spanish Civil War. It also administers the yearly ALBA-Puffin Human Rights Award. It took over the VALB office and programs after the vets passed away.