Mary Rizzo
History prof at Rutgers-Newark. Author of Come and Be Shocked: Baltimore Beyond John Waters and The Wire and Class Acts: Young Men and the Rise of Lifestyle.
Anti-ICE activist in NJ. Diehard sewist.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoAbolish. ice. 💔
- Financial complicity with ICE and ICE detention must stop! We're demanding the Newark Board of Education end its contract with Driscoll Foods, which also supplies food to Delaney Hall, the largest detention center on the east coast which is in Newark. www.tapinto.net/towns/newark...
- More great press coverage about the fight against ICE detention and profiteering in NJ. patch.com/new-jersey/n...
- Reposted by Mary RizzoThe work being done by these observers of ICE to document, illuminate, and share what is being done in Minneapolis, in below freezing temperatures, given all that has transpired is so remarkably courageous. They are being killed for that courage, as ICE further reveals their cruelty and cowardice.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoConflicting info about whether Pretti was murdered by ICE or CBP makes it clear that ICE is not single "rogue agency" ICE, CBP and ALL policing & borders must be abolished. This isn't just one agency; its an entire infrastructure of carceral control, illegalization & criminalization, and fascism.
- Went to @analiliafornj.bsky.social rally with @sanders.senate.gov last night as part of my union, AAUP-AFT. Highlights included Analilia's message that "blue no matter who" doesn't work, her adorable family, 1200 people shouting to Gov Murphy to sign the immigrant protection bills, and, my fave,
- @sanders.senate.gov calling Trump narcissistic and mentally unstable, saying he's acting like a spoiled child threatening to take Greenland because he didn't get a prize. Exactly.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoGreat day for @govmurphy.bsky.social to sign the immigrant protection bills.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoPlease contact Governor Murphy's office and urge him to sign the immigrant protection package into law immediately. Call: 609-292-6000 Text: 732-605-5455 It doesn’t matter if you don’t live here. These bills have drawn national attention and codifying them into law will give other states a roadmap
- Reposted by Mary RizzoFolks we have an urgent call to action here in NJ. We are waiting for Governor Murphy to sign three immigrant protection acts in the final days of his term that have already passed the assembly and Senate. URGENT ACTION CALL from immigration advocacy groups here:
- Reposted by Mary RizzoPlease attend Martin Luther King March of Resistance, Monday, January 19, 2026, 12:00 noon, Martin Luther King Statue, 495 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Newark, NJ. Sponsored by People’s Organization For Progress. Endorsed by 235 organizations. To endorse Call (973)801-0001.
- Excited that "Poems Written in the Same Place Decades Apart: The Chicory Revitalization Project," has been published in Public Humanities (open access!). How can public historians used vernacular poetry as history? How do we engage with poems as emotional history? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
- This is a lead in to the Chicory Revitalization Project's forthcoming book, Baltimore's Black Arts Then & Now: Behind the Scenes of a Collaborative Public Humanities Project. uipress.uiowa.edu/books/baltim...
- Reposted by Mary RizzoFaced with an overwhelming vote by its members to condemn scholasticide in Palestine, the American Historical Association council has vetoed the resolution. Entirely in character for an organization that’s long been useless, but still galling
- When Congress inevitably responds to the murder of Renee Good with proposals to train ICE agents about when and how to use weapons REFUSE with your whole chest. We cannot normalize the militarization of ICE and must learn from activists & historians of mass incarceration that reform is insufficient.
- I'm in Trenton today in support of three immigrant protection bills, being heard by the Senate judiciary committee. These bills are an important step so that the nearly 25% of New Jersey residents who are immigrants don't have to live in fear.
- Over the last few days, messages have spread warning immigrants in Newark's ironbound about possible ICE raids, telling them to stay home. These have no specific info and are probably intended to terrify people. Bc ICE is out of control, it's working. People are living in fear.
- These bills would help alleviate these fears, showing these NJ residents that they belong and have rights regardless of their status.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoMayor Jacob Frey: “To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”
- The video is horrible. This woman did not try to run over federal agents. They killed her in cold blood. This could happen to anyone and that should scare you.
- What's wrong with my brain? After a good semester, I had a stress dream that my students gave me a C on my course evals. When I opened the real ones this morning, with my heart actually pounding, I had some of the best scores and comments in my career. Why doesn't my teaching anxiety improve?
- Reposted by Mary RizzoI made more phone calls today than I normally do in a week between these and other lame duck legislation. It's really important these get passed this week. Go to Delaney hall on visiting day & see all the families lives torn apart. For nothing.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoThis year, History Workshop Journal will celebrate two milestones: its 50th anniversary and its 100th issue. To mark the occasion, eleven historians share how they've used the journal in their own teaching.
- Reposted by Mary RizzoRutgers full-time faculty: The window for applying for a pay equity adjustment is open, now through March 1! Come to a Salary Equity Program info session on Zoom to learn what's involved – Tuesday, Jan 13, at 12pm. RSVP here: loom.ly/yaMngaw
- Reposted by Mary RizzoYesterday, the State Assembly advanced three critical bills to protect immigrant families and stand up for New Jersey. We’re grateful to the hundreds of New Jerseyans who showed up to support. Now, it’s time for the State Senate to send this bill to the Governor’s desk! #PassthePackage
- I love that I live in an area where there are still fabric stores so I can touch and drape and crumple till my heart is full. This is MiVia fabric in Lodi, NJ.
- Is there a public history community here? I have a public history tab but it's not even close.
- Interesting choice for the US to celebrate its 250th anniversary by seizing Venezuela as a colony.
- My prediction: in addition to stealing its oil, we will turn Venezuela into a penal colony by deporting undocumented folks in the US there.
- ICE says Jean Wilson Brutus died of natural causes but there's nothing natural about being in ICE detention. Shame on this system of racist capitalist exploitation. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/n...
- My undergrads are really whiffing this final. I tried to make the class engaging: debates, guest speakers, etc, but I'm not sure they learned as much as thru traditional methods. Maybe they're just as burned out as I am.
- I've always included short answers on exams I've given. This year, though, the students are just terrible at them, even with practicing in class. They're good on the multiple choice and essays, but the short answers stump them. Might have to rethink for next time.
- Dammit why do I feel bad when a student uses AI??
- Mini social experiment: offered my undergrads 1 point extra credit on the final if they told me what they thought their participation grade should be and why. 73% answered, which seems low for a free point. I appreciated the student who talked maybe once who said he deserved a solid A, tho.
- If you see this, we IMPLORE you to post a picture from whatever device you're using without explanation.
- Hey, kitty (or doggo) owners. Does an automatic feeder exist that you can program so it remembers the feeding schedule but use it later? A friend is feeding our cat while we're away but he can't the day we get back. Could we set up the feeder before we leave so he just fills it and turns it on?
- The best use of AI is creating these spam emails to authors soliciting more readers for your book, for a price. Look at this prose! What's the market price for a "duckpin bowling row House" in Baltimore these days?
- Out of the dark, light! Japanese American National Museum awarded 20 million by Mackenzie Scott in recognition of its refusal to stay silent as Trump undermines democracy. Learn more about JANM & like-minded museums in my article "No Going Back" @historyworkshop.org.uk share.google/ngZzopbneqlX...
- Forget the snow, the real storm hitting NYC tonight is the confluence of SantaCon and a hockey game. I believe meteorologists call this a "douchenado."
- Can someone give me the courage to send in these final edits on the page proofs for the Chicory book? I've spent so much time over the last couple weeks reviewing them while also dealing with a Graves flare and I'm worried that I've missed things that will haunt me if they appear in print.
- Update: sent!
- Let me get this right. At the same moment that trans folks are having hormone treatments curtailed, the FDA wants to give cis men testosterone just because they're tired and flabby? I have that right? www.npr.org/2025/12/12/n...
- Having Graves disease means that not only does everything take me longer to do than it used to because of the fatigue and brain fog, I do a worse job at it! Fun!
- Asked my deck how I should understand and approach my utter exhaustion at this moment. Here's the card I pulled:
- Reposted by Mary RizzoWhat do you say when you open a tin of cookies only to find Grandma's sewing kit??? Darn it!
- Let me assure you that it's exactly as awesome as it sounds that on a day set aside for carefully scrutinizing page proofs my right eye is burning and tearing.
- Last day of classes here so ofc had a teaching stress dream. I hadn't read the right material, no one was paying attention, my laptop wasn't working. And then former NJ governor Jon Corzine showed up and started rubbing my shoulders. Thanks melatonin!
- Reposted by Mary Rizzo[Not loaded yet]
- Rutgers student magazine doing some great reporting on Delaney Hall, the immigration Detention center in Newark. scarletmag.substack.com/p/protesting...
