Scene between the National Guard and Black men, Chicago Race Riot, 1919
Tag: chicago
Whites in Chicago protesting against the Martin Luther King led campaign to desegregate housing, 1966.
The vast majority of American historical monuments were constructed between about 1880 and 1930 or so. This means that most of them in some way reflect white supremacy, truly a bipartisan and national
I recently watched the 1984 PBS production The Killing Floor, about the Great Migration and Black labor in Chicago meatpacking during World War I and leading up to the World War I race riots. It’s quite good, clearly pro-union but clearly not agitprop, giving dignity to everyone in the film, from the main character who […]
There are so many amazing social movements happening at any given time that one cannot hear about all of them. Thus I am very thankful for this Guardian piece about a hunger strike in Chicago after a
In the thread on cop media from a couple of days ago, a few people in comments mentioned how cops in early films were not portrayed as heroes, but rather were often bumbling idiots. This reminded me o
On April 6, 1905, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters began a sympathy strike in support of striking clothing cutters at Montgomery Ward in Chicago. This moment significantly raised tensions in the strike, leading to the second most fatalities of any twentieth century American strike. The failure of this strike would also lead to a severe […]
The Chicago Teachers Union victory is a big one in the recent strike wave. I didn’t write about it much because I didn’t have a lot to say that others weren’t saying better. And also
On July 6, 1968, the first Chicago bus drivers’ wildcat strike of that summer ended, a key moment to discuss the relationship between Black Power, the workplace, and racial issues within union l
On May 1, 1867, workers in Chicago went on strike for an 8-hour day, the first mass-scale labor action for that demand that directly challenged political power. The 8-hour day is popularly known for its embrace by the Knights of Labor. Moreover, the May 1 workers’ holiday has its origins in Chicago, particularly around the […]
One of the few things about American politics making me happy in the last couple of years is that the charter scam has been fully exposed for the union-busting, profit-taking, public institution-destr
This is the grave of Daniel Burnham. Born in 1846 in Henderson, New York to a Swedenborgian family, as a young man he failed to get into either Harvard or Yale and also failed at an initial attempt to