
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
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. For years, acclaimed historian Peter Cole has carefully researched the life of Ben Fletcher. Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly (PM Press, 2021) includes a detailed biographical sketch of his life and history, reminiscences by fellow workers who knew him, a chronicle of the IWW's impressive decade-long run on the Philadelphia waterfront in which Fletcher played a pivotal role, and nearly all of his known writings and speeches, thus giving Fletcher's timeless voice another opportunity to inspire a new generation of workers, organizers, and agitators. This revised and expanded second edition includes new materials and much more.
Adam McNeil is a Ph.D. Candidate in History at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography
3.8
7474 ratings
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. For years, acclaimed historian Peter Cole has carefully researched the life of Ben Fletcher. Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly (PM Press, 2021) includes a detailed biographical sketch of his life and history, reminiscences by fellow workers who knew him, a chronicle of the IWW's impressive decade-long run on the Philadelphia waterfront in which Fletcher played a pivotal role, and nearly all of his known writings and speeches, thus giving Fletcher's timeless voice another opportunity to inspire a new generation of workers, organizers, and agitators. This revised and expanded second edition includes new materials and much more.
Adam McNeil is a Ph.D. Candidate in History at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography
5,426 Listeners
3,886 Listeners
38,614 Listeners
37,849 Listeners
3,187 Listeners
205 Listeners
26,192 Listeners
193 Listeners
161 Listeners
161 Listeners
62 Listeners
45 Listeners
18 Listeners
109 Listeners
293 Listeners
29 Listeners
61 Listeners
1,098 Listeners
6,693 Listeners
4 Listeners
513 Listeners
13,114 Listeners
2,143 Listeners
66 Listeners
74 Listeners