Authors: Mark Torres & Chris Verga
In their books, Long Island authors Mark Torres and Chris Verga detail dark events in Long Island’s past, sharing difficult histories from which we, and future generations, can learn. Verga, a local investigative journalist, researched the story of the Ferguson brothers, three unarmed Black men whose murder at the hands of a police officer sparked civil rights efforts, to write The Ferguson Brothers’ Lynching. Attorney Mark Torres discusses his book, Long Island Migrant Labor Camps, about the first migrant labor camp in Suffolk County, established during World War II, a project based on exploitation and slum-like conditions. What progress has Long Island made since these harsh days, and where do we have yet to go?