ESSAY: Henry Foner, Labor Legend (2004)

Henry Foner, Labor Legend
From: John Pietaro

An Arts-Activism Report from the Cultural Workers
Consort...

Friends,

We on the Labor-Left have had an awareness of the Foner family for many years. Activists, historians, organizers, union officials, coalition builders, teachers, artists, makers of merriment and tireless fighters for the working class. Philip, Moe, Henry and a bit later, Eric--and beyond.

In recent years, Moe Foner was posthumously honored at NYC's Town Hall for his work on behalf of all unionists, but particularly his efforts to build and lead 1199's Bread and Roses Cultural Project. This writer was proud to have been a part of that program. But what better way to honor someone than to celebrate their life while they are able to be a part of the evening? Yes, last night (3/23/04), New York University's Tamiment Library/Robert Wagner Labor Archive hosted HENRY FONER'S 85th BIRTHDAY
CELEBRATION. And, happily, no one seemed to enjoy the moment more than the honoree.

The program was put together by, among others, Tamiment's Rachel Bernstein (co-writer of "Ordinary
People, Extraordinary Lives"). The host was retired NYS Legislator and NY Supreme Court Justice Frank Barbaro. Being a Brooklyn native, I've long known of Mr Barbaro's name and reputation as "one of the people", but it was really wonderful to see him preside over a gathering one could only call downright radical. And he never missed a beat ("I would say 'God bless Henry', but it would probably be more appropriate to say 'Marx bless'," he said, accompanied by a roar of laughter). The audience included so many long-time Labor and otherwise activists. Hard to name them all, but I was happy to see Nora Guthrie, daughter of Woody and head of the Woody Guthrie Archive there, as well as Harold Leventhal, manager of so many of our folk music legends, and Esther Cohen, director of Bread and Roses.

After an address by the Archive's director, Michael Nash, Jackie Steiner, topical singer (and writer of "The
MTA Song", by the way) offered a song parody in honor of Henry. Pete Seeger, long a heroic figure in Left circles (and so many other circles from Sesame Street to Pennsylvania Avenue!) came on next. Though Pete had told the event's organizers that he would not be singing-- only speaking--he brought along both his banjo and guitar anyhow. Wonderfully, he led the crowd in a gentle but profound "Turn, Turn, Turn", his composition from the early 1960s. This deeply progressive crowd was so obviously anti-war and so far removed from the notions of the Bush administration. Pete never had to say another word; his song spoke volumes to us all, as it did several wars back.

Other speakers included Anne Foner (Moe's wife), Keri Amanda Myers (an archivist, friend and one of the
event's organizers), Sonia Bernhardt Bloom (lifelong friend of the honoree), Laura Foner (Henry's niece, who also sang a loving song parody with other family members, Eric Foner (Henry's nephew and the well-known professor and historian), Henry's daughter Rachel and grandson, assorted old friends including one of the veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and Paul Robeson Jr. The latter read spoke from the heart about Henry, the director of the Paul Robeson Society, and read him an original poem. Also on hand was a delegation from the British firefighters’ union, and Ed Ott of the NYC Central Labor Counsel spoke and offered a beautiful statement as well as a Proclamation from the CLC. He made it clear that, through it all, Henry was and is one of the good guys.

This writer was quite honored to be among the musical performers, particularly Pete whom I'd performed with only once several years before. I humorously told the crowd that as a player of the 5-string banjo, it was
quite precarious to have Pete sit in the front row singing along to my performance of "Solidarity Forever".
On behalf of Henry, I dedicated my favorite verse of that anthem to the current White House inhabitant--"Is there ought we have in common with the greedy parasite/who would lash us into serfdom and crush us
with his might?/Is there anything left for us/But to organize and fight!/The union makes us strong". Ted
Casselman, Tamiment librarian, joined me as we performed several verses he wrote with Henry in mind. These included both Yiddish and Latin! I suppose that Henry's reputation as a joker brought on so much song parody.

All in all, this was a perfect evening. Henry appeared so moved, so touched by the honor the crowd brought to him. For one of the good guys--we were all so pleased to be there.

Happy Birthday, Henry!

In Solidarity,
John Pietaro
http://lists.acomp.usf.edu/pipermail/fl ... 00520.html (http://lists.acomp.usf.edu/pipermail/flam/2004-March/000520.html)--ORIGINALLY POSTED ON THE H-LABOR ARTS LIST AND WIDELY THROUGHOUT THE INTERNET--

BOOK REVIEW: 'Wobblies!' (2005)

Book Review by John Pietaro:

WOBBLIES! A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD
Edited by Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman, 2005, Verso

Like a beacon in the night, this collection of comic book depictions of the founding and struggle of the Wobblies beckons the reader. Here's one Labor history book that is infectious, exciting, informing, intense, hip. And it will piss you off in the best possible way; but, hey, that's what cultural workers do. This collection is prepared with all of the documentation and artistic integrity one would expect from editors Buhle (one of the upper echelon of progressive historian-authors) and Schulman (international artist and an editor of 'World War 3 Illustrated'). WOBBLIES! offers an eclectic collection of underground-type comic book settings which are very dedicated to an accurate telling of some of the Labor's greatest victories, as well as many of its saddest losses. But it also includes beautiful artwork and selections of poetry and prose that were produced by Wobbly creative forces at any point over this last hundred years. In telling of the IWW's fights for social justice, they explain the story of all working people. Hence, this book should be viewed not only as a piece in honor of the IWW's 2005 centenary, but as a staple of the people's history. Strong segments on Mother Jones, Big Bill Haywood, Joe Hill, Lucy Parsons, the 'Bread & Roses' strike, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Carlo Tresca, the Paterson Pageant, free-speech battles, Emma Goldman, Black Wobblies, Ralph Chaplin, Frank Little and Mexican agrarian revolts stand out. But there is no weak material to be found between these pages.

WOBBLIES! opens with a kind of prologue, a brief introduction to the advances of the early twentieth century which bridged the arts to progressive thinking. Artist and writer Sabrina Jones (who also contributes other pieces)includes Isadora Duncan, Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, Dada, the Ashcan School, , Cubism and more in just a few swirling frames. And this is but the intro. The "chapters" which follow all begin with opening statements by the editors and then delve into the comic book stories. But these have little to do with the "Justice League of America" or "Batman" comics I read as a boy. These are the type of stories and artwork that the genre title 'graphic novel' was created for. Often dark, heavily-outlined frames detail visions of striking workers, mine collapses, factory scenes, picket lines, fat-cat bosses, and free-speech fights. And these are constantly imbedded with the pride of the workers. And with so many contributing artists and writers, there is ample room forevery powerful grain of information.

Surely too numerous to be fully credited here, some of the artists and writers include Carlos Cortez, Mike Alewitz, Fly, Trina Robbins, Sue Coe, Ralph Chaplin, Tom Keough, Jay Kinney, Mike Konopacki, Peter Kuper, Franklin Rosemont, Mac McGill, and bits of Joe Hill and T-Bone Slim, as well as contributions by the editors. And continuous quotes by IWW heavies. The variety of art styles---sketches, inks, traditional cartooning, paints, realism, purposeful distortions, Modernist imagery crossed with youthful enthusiasm and underground edginess---makes for an immediate impact. You will not tire of this reading. And i don't think the kids in your life will either, and that seems to be the whole idea. I am surely going to buy copies for my teenaged nephews and nieces. And for those who are traditionalists, there is also a section on IWW originals. No stone is left unturned.

Buhle and Schulman, in making certain that this collection is not a mere history book, includes a section on more recent IWW struggles, from 1966 till today. Wobblies in SDS are discussed, as well as the IWW's connection to Judi Bari and UCWA. And they also list current contact info the the IWW and a detailed section of source material. Now, if we could just get this same group to put out volumes on every fight the people have waged for social change, we might be able to
influence every child to take a closer look at what's happening in Washington---and their parents' workplace----right now.

-THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN Z MAGAZINE, JUNE 2005-

BOOK REVIEW: The Protest Singer (2009)

BOOK REVIEW by John Pietaro:

THE PROTEST SINGER: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF PETE SEEGER

Alec Wilkinson, 2009, NY: Knopf

The Protest Singer is a biography of Pete Seeger unlike most any other. Reading more as a recorded conversation than a biographical portrayal, Alec Wilkinson based most of his little book on a series of visits to the Beacon NY home of his subject. Pete’s recounting of important social justice battles, musical interactions and historic moments are, as always, fascinating and serve as an affirmation of Pete’s place as a legend of not only folk song but progressive political action.

What makes this account so unique, though, are Wilkinson’s descriptions of his time spent in the company of not only Pete but Toshi, his wife since 1942. To many, Toshi remains Pete’s heart, indeed his spirit, as she has been at his side throughout most of the intense periods he’s been a major part of. Laid out here are not only the stories as told by Pete and commentary by Toshi, but also the quiet moments that go on in their home daily: Toshi tells Pete that she is leaving a lunch and apple tarts in the oven for them and the writer and folksinger continue their discussion over lunch and desert; the reader feels almost as if they are a part of this meal. In this respect, the book’s subtitle remains true—this is about as intimate a portrait of Pete as one could get, as he’s often protective about his private life. Now, in his 90^th year, Pete allows the reader not only facts and memories but a bit of the insider’s view. Seeger’s only requirement for agreeing to this biography is that it be a document that could be read in one sitting; this book comes very close to that as it tops out at just 119 pages, followed by two wonderful Appendix pieces.

This biography opens with some background info on Pete, good stuff for those less initiated, and then moves forward before returning to background info---at two separate points. But rather than serve as redundant filler, this device lays out the foundation for the conversational style herein. But admittedly, this historic information on the man is presented in a careful manner which could initially be off-putting to those on the Left. While the book’s title indicates that it is a view of Seeger’s more radical moments, in the opening section when Pete’s close ties to the Communist Party are first discussed, the author initially glosses over this in a parenthetic statement. Wilkinson writes “Seeger knew students at Harvard who were Communists, and, idealistically, he became one for several years too”. This is a curious choice as Seeger later speaks openly about his membership and many of the cultural actions he engaged in on behalf of the Party, including extended information about his battle with HUAC. As has been documented elsewhere, Pete refused to name names and did so without invoking the Fifth Amendment, bearing the weight of a Contempt of Congress charge. And for the sake of completion, Wilkinson includes the entire transcript of Seeger’s 1955 testimony in front of the Un-Americans, er, rather the House Committee on Un-American Activities. This is a welcome addition which gives but one example of the valiant fight progressives engaged in against those who attempted to quell our dissent and silence us with fear.

The Protest Singer offers today’s reader strong recollections of events, both legendary and infamous, including the Peekskill Riot, an array of civil rights marches, anti-war rallies and the fight for labor rights. Sadly, contemporary youth not raised in progressive households may have had no exposure to these pieces of embarrassing US history and this friendly, often first-person account is an excellent means to fill in the gaps left out of our educational system, one that is dangerously avoidant of such elements of our past.

But the author chose to write about Pete with apparently little prior knowledge and states in the body of the text that he saw him perform only once, when he was about five years old, and has no recollection of that performance. It seems odd that he would approach a subject without having investigated a little closer. Perhaps his intent was to sit down to write this study with a blank slate and this is notable, but the book comes across to the informed reader in a manner which reveals the writer’s lack of fore-knowledge. And while this allows for Pete’s conversational approach to shine, the historic sections Wilkinson includes feel sketchy, almost like he’s grasping. Facts are thrown out more as an outline, skipping from one part of Pete’s life to the next, and usually with little to thrive on.

Bringing it all back to the intimate portrait which this book has as its goal, Wilkinson’s description of Seeger’s actual responses and facial expressions in one-on-one conversations are dead-on:

“When he speaks at any length, he tends to look into the middle distance, as if addressing an audience there…His eyes are blue and heavily lidded and so small that he seems to be regarding a person from some remove. His gaze is surprisingly fleeting and indirect for someone whose manner is so straightforward.”

Happily, the author offers many such close-ups of Pete, who’s usually regarded as such a legendary figure that few look closely into the man, preferring to stand at distance enough to retain our own version whom we want him to be. Nearing a century old, Pete deserves to be seen up front and this book does offer us this important gaze---even if it is but a fleeting one.

--PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN POLITICAL AFFAIRS MAGAZINE ONLINE, JUNE, 2009--

BOOK REVIEW: 'A People's History of American Empire' (2008)

Book Review by JOHN PIETARO:

A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF AMERICAN EMPIRE

Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki and Paul Buhle (with additional scripting by Dave Wagner)

From the American Empire Series

2008 Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt & Co, New York

Springing from the head of historian Paul Buhle, A People’s History of American Empire, brings the visionary writings of Howard Zinn to life in a most mortal, yet powerful manner. While Zinn has, in the past few decades, been accepted as the dean of Left historians, Buhle has been making a joyful noise of his own, writing or editing over thirty books that tell the tale of workers, artists, the blacklist and those who stood up to it. More recently Buhle’s taken to presenting his people’s histories in graphic form: book-length comics. Successes with graphic histories of the IWW, SDS and Emma Goldman have led to this meeting of the minds: Buhle now takes on Zinn’s invaluable People’s History of the United States. To clarify, Buhle and company take chunks of Zinn’s writings from it, adding pieces of the old master’s own life story and later statements. In fact, Howard Zinn, befittingly, is this book’s central character.

Editor Buhle developed this project with Zinn, noted labor cartoonist Mike Konopacki, and writer/unionist Dave Wagner. The imagery within—drawings, photos and striking historic prints--meld into a strong collaborative effort. The results are jarring. We are invited into Zinn’s study, as he painfully contemplates the 9/11 attacks as they occur, with all of the obvious fall-out to come, before being walked through time.

With all of the flair of a classic film, we are transported to a lecture hall bedecked with anti-war banners. From the audience, the reader becomes witness to a priceless Zinn speech which artfully explains the rise of the United States as an Empire. Zinn stands at center stage. His humanity is as apparent as the urgency in his message, as his podium’s top reveals papers, a watch, a bottle of water. We, with the magical eye of a roving camera, observe from all angles including a birds-eye view. This graphic history is more story-board for the film between the book covers.

Zinn remains central throughout APHAE, even when not evidenced in the panel. His voice looms large as the story of Wounded Knee unfolds. This 1890 tragedy, where Native American families were slaughtered by US Calvary, is illustrated in gory reality, but the cartooning is enhanced by sad, chilling photos. The grainy photograph of a slain elderly chief, lying frozen in the snow with grasping hands suspended in rigor mortis—as if he fought even as death overtook him—adds new meaning to the word “graphic”.

The history of the ruling class’ privilege and murderous attempts to keep it are a common thread. The Empire oppresses and destroys its enemies, at home and abroad, and the people fight back. The Robber Barons, the Pullman Strike, the Spanish-American War, mine and factory rebellions, popular culture, life as it was and is.

Like its predecessor, this People’s History should be a staple for teachers with a back-bone. The Monroe Doctrine, which sought to “protect American interests”, sounds eerily familiar, though enacted in the 1850s. Quotes from politicians and military leaders throw egg on the face of those who would hide behind a flag pin. “Third World” nations as US pawns, humiliated and silenced native leadership; it’s an old story. The World Wars, Hiroshima, the Cold War, Civil Rights battles, Vietnam, Nixon, the hostage crisis, Reagan, Iran-Contra, Iraq, and George W Bush as Nero all stink of the greed that devised them. At strategic points, we are enlightened with “Zinnformation” frames, where parallels are drawn between historic events and today’s injustices. All that and the flair of an underground comic. While walking through history, brandish this tool to also reach across generations. Damn, what an idea.

--originally published (in an edited form) in Z MAGAZINE, July 1, 2008--

WHERE IS THE PHIL OCHS OF THESE DANGEROUS TIMES?

WHERE IS THE PHIL OCHS OF THESE DANGEROUS TIMES?

By John Pietaro

A bloodthirsty Right-wing power-grab. Virulent xenophobia. An ongoing illegal and immoral war. National divide. Governmental spying. Rising popular unrest. Social welfare in turmoil. Fear-mongering. A military industrial complex gone mad and a Democrat in the White House whose poll numbers are in rapid decline….

Contemporary headlines or those of the Vietnam War years? Today’s “great recession” notwithstanding, one overt difference in these times is the silence; God knows we don’t have Phil Ochs this time around.

History will demonstrate that Philip David Ochs (December 19, 1940 - April 9, 1976) was one of our nation’s most profound voices of protest. He was active in the fertile period that bridged the Civil Rights era with the struggle for peace and the youth movement; around him were erupting battles on campuses, town squares and in Washington DC. For an artist of conscience, there was much work to do, so Phil Ochs sang out against war and demanded equal rights and an egalitarian society. His songs damned the establishments that begat the murder of Medgar Evers and allowed organized labor to forget its true mission. He cried for our nation and praised its promise.

Ochs’ songs unashamedly revealed our faults but also offered the means to rectify them. Phil was a presence at demonstrations and other radical actions, not merely a voice on a record. A proud member of the IWW, Ochs traveled to Hazzard, Kentucky during the bloody strikes in the earliest 60s and boldly performed for the pickets and in ear-shot of the mine-owners’ threatening goon squads. Several songs document these struggles, including the hauntingly beautiful “No Christmas in Kentucky”. Shortly thereafter, Phil became entrenched in Civil Rights, traveling to many points on the Klan’s radar. His periods in the Deep South are chronicled in songs such as “Freedom Riders” and the brutally blunt “Here’s to the State of Mississippi”.

From Greenwich Village coffee houses to the national stage, Ochs sang his protest loudly. While his first two albums set the standard for topical singers henceforth, both All the News That’s Fit to Sing and I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore offer stark moments of beauty. Over the next few years, as he matured as a person and a writer, he’d offer the haunting “Changes”. And with “Crucifixion” he emoted about the loss of John Kennedy, but wasn’t he also singing about the loss of innocence, perhaps conscience itself? And “One More Parade”, “I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore” and then “The War is Over” gave us anthems that would carry the peace movement. “The Power and the Glory” spoke of his pride in our nation’s mission and greatness—even as the FBI began an investigation of him that would span a decade and fill 410 pages. “Cops of the World” spit back into the faces of the reactionary government. Ochs was nobody’s fool.

Phil toyed with fans, and surely his own sense of doom, by titling a 1968 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Its cover depicted his own gravestone with the year of death listed as, of course, 1968. Continually plagued by demons, both inner and outer, Ochs struggled with bi-polar disorder, anxiety and alcohol dependence. Often, his performances became strained as lyrics were increasingly forgotten and melodies faded. In his later period, gigs became arguments with the audience.

Ochs was a major part of the protest surrounding the ’68 Democratic Convention in Chicago, performing his best topical material right in Lincoln Park. Later, he was called in as a witness for the defense on behalf of the Chicago 7. Ochs told anyone who’d listen that he felt he spiritually died in Chicago, as the police riot rained blows upon democracy.

Ochs staged several ‘The War is Over’ concerts which featured many name performers in both folk and rock music. He would also travel to Chile and befriend the great songwriter Victor Jara. Shortly thereafter, the CIA-backed coupe would take the lives of Jara and thousands of others; this was a terminal assault to the faltering Ochs. By 1976, unable to prevail in this battle on every front, Phil Ochs would die by his own hand.

The protest song’s grandest voice dared to speak back to the criminal Nixon administration, uncovering and exposing with anger and wry humor. He alerted his audiences to corruption and brutality and especially to the right-wing’s manipulation of ‘the American dream’. Ironically, he also warned us that, “a protest song is something you don’t hear on the radio”. He dared us to care, at the expense of himself. And now, as the anniversary of what should have been his seventieth birthday approaches we are left to watch new generations of right-wing opportunists flail joyously with a new sense of slovenly power----the silence of Ochs’ loss has become deafening.