HERE is a unique account of the hidden class and race conflicts that punctuated that region's history during the first wave of industrialization. H is also the engaging autobiography of a remarkable radical named Covington Hall, who broke with Deep South traditions and who captured in moving words and poetic images the hard lives of black and white workers and the bloody fights they waged against an oppressive social order. -James R. Green
In the half-century since it was written, Covington Hall's Labor Struggles in the Deep South, published here for the first time, as become an underground Classic among activist historians writing on the South and on working people. Hall-a journalist, organizer, rebel, professor and above all poet-brings to life the dramatic early twentieth-century struggles of the waterfront workers of New Orleans and the militant timber workers or Louisiana and East Texas.
Writing about events in which he played a central role and bout the broader history of Southern labor, Hall describes many f the finest hours of integrated industrial unionism in the U.S. and the role of the Industrial Workers of the World in creating agile unity across racial lines.
The always lively narrative is heightened by dozens of rare IWW cartoons and other period illustrations. Also included is a sampling of Hall's articles on labor history and education as well 5 his editorial opinions, poems, and "factful fables," revealing their aspects of Hall's remarkable creativity, humor, imagination, and lifelong dedication to libertarian socialism.
David Roediger's introduction expands our knowledge of Hall and his influence, and assesses his legacy in the light of current-day struggles against white supremacy and wage slavery.
