A tale of two Detroit murals

A tale of two Detroit murals

Author: laborhistorytoday December 1, 2024 Duration: 31:18
Dr. Jay Cephas considers two Depression-era murals in Detroit and their contrasting messaging about workers, labor, and power. Diego Rivera’s famed Detroit Industry murals (top), commissioned by Edsel Ford for the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1932, champions industrial and technological progress and the factory workers who fueled it. In contrast, Walter Speck and Barbara Wilson’s 1937 untitled mural (bottom), which originally hung in the UAW Local 174 union hall and now hangs behind the reference desk at the Reuther Library, champions the progress those industrial workers made laboring for their own welfare via union action. Dr. Cephas is Assistant Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture at Princeton University. His essay “Detroit Industry and ‘The Mural’: Representing Labor and Reappropriating Care in the Museum and in the Union Hall,” was published in the 2023 volume, Architectures of Care: From the Intimate to the Common.Originally aired on the Tales from the Reuther Library podcast.On this week’s Labor History in Two: The World Loses the Miners’ Angel. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. @ReutherLibrary #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  r4

Behind every weekend, every safety regulation, and every paycheck that feels fair, there's a story-often a forgotten one. Labor History Today digs into those stories, moving beyond dry dates and names to recover the voices and confrontations that built the world we work in. Each episode connects a pivotal moment from the past, like the fight for an eight-hour day or the rise of a major union, directly to the conversations happening on picket lines and in break rooms right now. You'll hear about the strategies that succeeded, the personalities that led the charge, and the setbacks that reshaped movements. This isn't just a history podcast; it's a deep look at how understanding the battles for worker rights, from centuries ago to just decades past, provides essential context for today's struggles over wages, conditions, and dignity. Tune in for a grounded, narrative-driven exploration of how yesterday's strikes, protests, and organizing victories continue to fuel the demand for a more just tomorrow.
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