Allegro

May is Labor History Month!

2007 Events and Exhibitions

Volume CVII, No. 5May, 2007

EXHIBITIONS

New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War
New York Historical Society
Central Park West at W. 79 St., NYC 10024
Through September 2, 2007
Tues. – Sun.: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Fri. until 8 p.m.)
Slaves, abolitionists, NY cotton merchants, NY Civil War regiments, 1863 draft riots, letters from Abraham Lincoln, interactive “dialogues” with Sojourner Truth & Frederick Douglass. $10; Srs./ Educators $7; Students $6; under 12 free; Free Fri., 6-8p.m. 212.873.3400.

The Jewish Daily Forward:
Embracing an Immigrant Community

Museum of the City of New York
Fifth Ave & E. 103 St., NYC
April 22 – September 17, 2007
Tues. – Sun.: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Jewish Daily Forward, founded in 1897 and still published today in English & Yiddish, once boasted a readership larger than The New York Times. Exhibit looks at the newspaper as a window into life in NYC – particularly during the heyday of Jewish immigration, 1900-1950. $9; Srs./Students $5; under 12 free. 212.534.1672

The Irish in Newark and New Jersey
The Newark Public Library
5 Washington St., Newark, NJ 07102.
March 14 – May 11, 2007
Mon.Fri.Sat. 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Tues.Wed.Thurs. 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Successive waves of Irish immigration and assimilation in Newark & NJ from colonial times to the present: photographs, letters, business records, newspaper articles, & primary source documents. 973.733.7775

Social Documentary Photography
Images of Work and Solidarity
www.LaborArts.org
Labor photographers John Albok, Dan Miller, Daniel Nilva, Sam Reiss, & Charles Rivers chronicled the lives of working people from the 1920s – 1980s. View their photographs at www.LaborArts.org, a web museum dedicated to presenting art by and about working people. 212.998.2637; info@laborarts.org

The Shirts Off Our Backs:
Union T-Shirt Quilts
American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark
83 Norwood St., Haledon, NJ 07508
Wed. – Sat.: 1 – 4 p.m. or by appointment.
May 1 – December 31, 2007
Colorful quilts created from T-shirts donated to the Museum by unionists & labor unions. $5; members free. 973.595.7953; labormuseum@aol.com; www.labormuseum.org


2007 EVENTS

Thurs., April 26, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Labor’s Voices 3 Conference
Challenging labor communicators to become more relevant to union members & unorganized workers by engaging them through a democratic media. Join Pablo Alvarado (NDLON), Amanda Cooper (UNITE-HERE), Rev. Nelson Johnson (Interfaith Worker Justice), David Bacon (Photojournalist), Janine Jackson (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), Lucas Benitez (Coalition of Immokalee Workers), Bhairavi Desai (NY Taxi Workers Alliance), Saru Jayaraman (ROC-NY), Bob Fitch (Author, Solidarity for Sale), Harry Kelber (Labor Media Activist), one-woman show by Melody Cooper; Afro-Cuban music by Los Pleneros de la 21; exhibit of political cartoons organized by Gary Huck & Mike Konopacki; book signings by David Bacon, Elizabeth Fones-Wolff, Keepa Kumar, & Tom Zaniello. $95; Srs./Students $45; $20 discount to NYLHA members. CUNY Graduate Center, 34 St. & Fifth Ave, NYC 10016. Conference continues Fri., April 27, 9 a.m. – 10 p.m., Sat., April 28, 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Contact: Heather Appel, 917.533.4796. www.laborsvoices.org

Thurs., April 26, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Bulwark against Communism:
The American Federation of Labor vs. the Communists, 1917-1924
Seminar: Jennifer Luff, College of William and Mary. Free! NYU. 70 Washington Sq. South, 10th Floor, NYC 10012. 212.998.2428. Michael.Nash@nyu.edu

Sat., April 28, 6 – 11 p.m.
SOLIDARITY:
A May Day/Cinco De Mayo Benefit Concert
Combined May Day, Mexican revolutionary holiday concert celebration. John Pietaro, folk singer Bev Grant & the Dissident Daughters, The Flames of Discontent, The ReadNex Poetry Squad, Bob Lusk, Zenote Sompantle, Voices for Peace, Ken & Julie, Bruce Markow, & poet Sana Shabazz. Backstage Studio Productions (B.S.P.) 323 Wall St., Kingston, NY 12401. 845.338.8700 www.flamesofdiscontent.org

Mon., April 30, 7:30 p.m.
The Anti-Immigration Movement
Surveys the constellation of think tanks, interest groups, private foundations, corporations, political action committees, politicians, media personalities, pundits, & grassroots organizations which have banded together to stem the tide of immigration – plus strategies to counteract the movement. $6/$10/$15. Brecht Forum, 451 West St., NYC 10014. 212.242.4201.

Tues., May 1, 7 p.m.
May Day Festival (outdoors!)
Musical & vocal performances by Anne Feeney, Chris Chandler & David Roe, George Mann & Julius Margolin, the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, & the New Jersey Solidarity Singers. Refreshments will be served. Tours of the Museum will be offered. In the event of inclement weather, the festival will be moved indoors. $10. American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark, 83 Norwood St., Haledon, NJ 07508. 973.595.7953. labormuseum@aol.com; www.labormuseum.org

Tues., May 1, 5-10 p.m.
Capital District May Day Festival
Screening of Peter Miller’s new film Sacco and Vanzetti, Solidarity Singers, flamenco guitarist Maria Zematuski, children’s stories by Barbara Chepaitis, Gene Rodriguez, Workers’ Center in Albany, Shamshad Ahmad, Albany Muslim Defense Committee, labor historian Gerry Zahavi, Michael Barrett (Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway), David Kaczynski (New Yorkers against the Death Penalty). Refreshments. Site: The Marketplace in South Troy. 518.273.2759

Tues., May 1, 12 noon – 5 p.m.
WBAI’s Building Bridges: May Day Special
Radio show reporting on workers’ protests all over the world & in the U.S. this May Day, WBAI, 99.5 FM. Contact: Ken Nash, knash@igc.org

Mon., May 7, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
North American Labor Assembly on Climate Crisis:
Building a Global Movement for Clean Energy
Conference hosts trade unionists from the U.S., Canada, Europe & numerous countries of the global South (where climate change is already impacting workers: via drought, disrupted harvests, & extreme weather events). Job-creating potential of energy conservation; renewable energy sources like wind & solar power; how unions are educating members on environmental issues; policy proposals being considered by Congress, & the “Blue-Green Alliance.” Speakers include Exec. Dir. NYC Labor Council Ed Ott; Steelworkers Pres. Leo Gerard, Sierra Club Exec. Dir. Carl Pope, New York transport workers leader Roger Toussaint, UFT Pres. Randi Weingarten, & Dr. Robert Socolow from Princeton University’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative. $130. United Federation of Teachers headquarters, 52 Broadway, NYC 10004. Conference continues Tues., May 8, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Contact: Dan Cerio, 212.340.2861. cornellgli@gmail.com; www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/events/climatechangeconference

Tues., May 8, 6 p.m.
The Irish in Newark and New Jersey
Panel discussion: Dermot Quinn, Seton Hall University, Tom McCabe, Rutgers University, & Tom Giblin, labor & political activist; exhibit tour by Brad Small, curator. Refreshments. Free! Newark Public Library, 5 Washington St., Newark, NJ 07102. 973.733.7756. bsmall@npl.org

Wed., May 16, 7:30 p.m.
Slavery in New York: Early African Settlers
Dr. Elizabeth Grant from the NY Historical Society discusses “Early African Settlers in NY,” slavery, & the underground railroad. $6/$10/$15. Brecht Forum. 451 West St., NYC 10014. 212.757.0981×206; shante@fohrp.org

Sat., May 19, 9:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Integrating Labor Studies into the K-12 Curriculum
Opening remarks by Irwin Yellowitz, Pres., NYLHA, & Paul F. Cole, Exec. Dir., American Labor Studies Center; James Yasko on labor relations in major league baseball; Seth Harris on child labor resources & classroom activities; Evelyn Jones Rich & Henry Foner on LaborArts.org (gathering, identifying, and displaying images of the cultural artifacts of working people and their organizations); Susan Owens, Valerie Lovelace, Rachel, Bliven, & teachers from Troy & Lansingburgh on local labor history as a case study: the Kate Mullany Story. Margaret Orner portrays “The Most Dangerous Woman in America” – Mother Jones. Free! New York State United Teachers, 800 Troy-Schenectady Rd., Latham, NY 12210-2455. 518.331.4474. laborsymposium@aol.com

Sat., May 19, 10 a.m. – 12 noon
Labor History Labor Lyceum
Panel discussion: Key Figures in U.S. Labor History. Speakers from United Auto Workers Local 1097, Sheet Metal Workers Local 46, Laborers Local 435, & International Brotherhood of Electricians Local 86. NYSUT Hall, 30 N. Union St., Rochester, NY 14607. Contact: Linda Donahue, 585.262.7860. lhd4@cornell.edu

Sun., May 20, 4 p.m
It Takes Fifty Years to Be a Chef:
Recollections of Giorgio Castiello
Book party (with pastries!) for Italian-born pastry chef, Giorgio Castiello. Hoboken Historical Museum. 1301 Hudson St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. 201.656.2240. rfoster@hobokenmuseum.org

Tues., May 22, 7 p.m.
Spanning the Industrial Age:
The John A. Roebling’s Sons Company
The history of the Roebling wire-rope company & the Roebling family. Free! Hamilton Township Library, 1 Municipal Drive, Hamilton, NJ 08619. 609.203.1718