Tag: black history month

Black Women’s History Month: A New Book Review

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Black Women’s History Month: A New Book Review

One thing I have been doing this semester is creating display boards that feature a specific subselection of the HPNL’s New Book Collection. In February, I did a display on Black History Month, in March, I did a display on Women’s History Month, and now, for April, it’s time to combine all of that for a new display on Black Women’s History Month. As the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library is also the African-American reference center, we have a ton of books for me to choose from to go on this display. As April is also National Stress Month, I wanted to get into something mental health-related, as stress has such an impact on a person’s mental health every day. So, I chose to find a book on mental health specifically relating to black women for this article. 

Continue reading “Black Women’s History Month: A New Book Review” →

Ben Fletcher: Leader in the IWW

Posted on by Kimberly Lerch

 

 

picture of the cover of Peter Cole's book, "Ben Fletcher: the Life and Times of a Black Wobbly"
The cover of Peter Cole’s book, “Ben Fletcher: the Life and Times of a Black Wobbly”

Simply put, Ben Fletcher was an African American dockworker from Philadelphia, a member of the Local 8 IWW (International Workers of the World) union in the early 1900s.

But Local 8, the IWW (known as “the Wobblies”), and Ben are not as simple as that. Fletcher became a man that “helped lead a pathbreaking union that likely was the most diverse and integrated organization (not simply union) despite the era’s rampant racism, antiunionism, and xenophobia” as stated on page one of Peter Cole’s Ben Fletcher: the Life and Times of a Black Wobbly.

Some of the existing unions Ben could have chosen to join (if they would allow a black man to join were):

Ben chose to join the Socialist Party and the IWW early on in his working life. As an international union, it attempted (and is still attempting) to unite all workers, skilled or unskilled, of any race, gender, or creed against the owners of businesses across the world. They wanted to create O.B.U. (one big union). They were anti-capitalist and believed the workers, not the businessmen should reap the rewards of their work. Continue reading “Ben Fletcher: Leader in the IWW” →