Communication or Excommunication:  a Question for Our Times

AfricaNow! June 28, 2023 Ben Fletcher & the IWW: International Labor Organizing & The Vital Role of Dockworkers

Topic and Guest: Today the show features a discussion that not only contextualizes labor as a broader category but also how it leads to specific radical movements.   Professor Peter Cole also focuses on the role of African American labor organizer Ben Fletcher of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) (a.k.a. Wobblies) in mobilizing workers in the early 20th century, connecting that movement's similarities to the new wave of unionizing that bypasses mainstream organizations.  In his most recent book Ben Fletcher: The Life & Writings of a Black Wobbly (PM Press, 2021), Dr. Peter Cole tells the story of a hero of the American working class.  As noted in book’s synopsis “In the early twentieth century, when many US unions disgracefully excluded black and Asian workers, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) warmly welcomed people of color, in keeping with their emphasis on class solidarity and their bold motto: “An Injury to One Is an Injury to All!” …A brilliant union organizer and a humorous orator, Benjamin Fletcher (1890–1949) was a tremendously important and well-loved African American member of the IWW during its heyday. Fletcher helped found and lead Local 8 of the IWW’s Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union, unquestionably the most powerful interracial union of its era, taking a principled stand against all forms of xenophobia and exclusion.” (From: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1144) 

Dr. Peter Cole, Professor and Graduate Director, Department of History, Western Illinois University.  Professor Cole researches the history of social movements, especially how workers and labor unions organize in ethnically and racially diverse societies. He also maintains scholarly interests in the history of African Americans, deindustrialization, South Africa, cities, technology, popular culture, historical memory, and the maritime world.  He is a Research Associate in the Society, Work and Development Institute (SWOP) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Cole is the founder and co-director of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19).  Cole’s most recent book, Ben Fletcher: The Life & Writings of a Black Wobbly (PM Press, 2021), is a much revised and greatly expanded version of one first published in 2006.  Other books and publications include:  Dockworker Power: Race & Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area won the Philip Taft Labor History Book Award; his chapter “Durban Dockers, Labour Internationalism, and Pan-Africanism,” published in Choke Points: Logistics Workers and Solidarity Movements Disrupting the Global Capitalist Supply Chain; Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia; co-editor of Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW.  Dr. Cole has won multiple awards and grants at WIU such as College of Arts & Science Scholar of the Year, President’s Excellence in Diversity Award (for Teaching) and more.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--YOU’RE PLAYING US TOO CLOSE” BY THIRD WORLD WITH STEVIE WONDER commemorating Caribbean American Heritage Month and Black Music Month in the U.S.; break--“JAZZ BATÁ 2” (Live) BY CHUCHO VALDÉS commemorating Caribbean American Heritage Month; sign-off--“KURIMA” BY CHIWONISO MARAIRE; closing--“FLYING BIRD (ANOMA)” BY OSIBISA remembering our WPFW colleague Donnie McKethan.

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFW write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jun. 28, 2023 Ben Fletcher & the IWW

In November of 2023, after 124 years, the statue in the center of Centralia, Washington memorializing the deaths of four members of the American Legion will finally be joined by a plaque remembering IWW organizer, Wesley Everest, and our fellow workers who were sentenced to 25-40 years in prison for defending their union hall as it and other IWW halls across the country were under attack by the same organized groups of war veterans doing the bidding of our newly-formed national secret police force, the FBI -- which was created with the express intention of destroying the radical labor movement.

Centralia

A song about an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, myth or reality I don't know.

Live At Club Passim (2000)

Song for Boxcar Betty

AfricaNow! September 4, 2024 Ben Fletcher & the IWW: International Labor Organizing & The Vital Role of Dockworkers

Topic and Guest: As we commemorate Labor Day this week here in the U.S., the show today features a discussion from our archives that not only contextualizes labor as a broader category but also how it leads to specific radical movements.   Professor Peter Cole also focuses on the role of African American labor organizer Ben Fletcher of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) (a.k.a. Wobblies) in mobilizing workers in the early 20th century, connecting that movement's similarities to the new wave of unionizing that bypasses mainstream organizations.  In his most recent book Ben Fletcher: The Life & Writings of a Black Wobbly (PM Press, 2021), Dr. Peter Cole tells the story of a hero of the American working class.  As noted in book’s synopsis “In the early twentieth century, when many US unions disgracefully excluded black and Asian workers, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) warmly welcomed people of color, in keeping with their emphasis on class solidarity and their bold motto: “An Injury to One Is an Injury to All!” …A brilliant union organizer and a humorous orator, Benjamin Fletcher (1890–1949) was a tremendously important and well-loved African American member of the IWW during its heyday. Fletcher helped found and lead Local 8 of the IWW’s Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union,....” (From: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1144) 

Dr. Peter Cole, Professor and Graduate Director, Department of History, Western Illinois University.  Professor Cole researches the history of social movements, especially how workers and labor unions organize in ethnically and racially diverse societies. He also maintains scholarly interests in the history of African Americans, deindustrialization, South Africa, cities, technology, popular culture, historical memory, and the maritime world.  He is a Research Associate in the Society, Work and Development Institute (SWOP) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Cole is the founder and co-director of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19).  Cole’s most recent book, Ben Fletcher: The Life & Writings of a Black Wobbly (PM Press, 2021), is a much revised and greatly expanded version of one first published in 2006 (Charles H. Kerr Press).  Other books and publications include:  Dockworker Power: Race & Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area (University of Illinois Press, 2018) won the Philip Taft Labor History Book Award; his chapter “Durban Dockers, Labour Internationalism, and Pan-Africanism,” published in Choke Points: Logistics Workers and Solidarity Movements Disrupting the Global Capitalist Supply Chain (Pluto Press, 2018); Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia   (University of Illinois Press, 2007); co-editor of Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW (Pluto Press, 2017).  Dr. Cole has won multiple awards and grants at WIU such as College of Arts & Science Scholar of the Year, President’s Excellence in Diversity Award (for Teaching) and more.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“RAINCHECK” BY SONNY ROLLINS commemorating his birthday (September 7, 1930—); break--“AFRICA, CENTER OF THE WORLD” BY FELA AND ROY AYERS commemorating Roy Ayers’ birthday (September 10, 1940—); sign-off--“KURIMA” BY CHIWONISO MARAIRE; closing song--“AFRICA” BY SALIF KEITA commemorating his birthday (August 25, 1949—).

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW during.  Donate online visit pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Sep. 4, 2024 Ben Fletcher & the IWW

If you're a card-carrying member of the IWW or just Wobbly-adjacent, this message is for you.  (If you've never heard of the IWW, it's also for you.)

Will the Real Wobbly Please Stand Up full episode

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), libertarian socialist, dad, lover of life.

New tracks tagged #Industrial Workers of the World