Recap: Detroit Drunken Labor History

A little while back the Detroit Drunken Historical Society hosted "Detroit Drunken Labor History" at PJ's Lager House. The idea for this event grew out of an encounter that Amy Elliot Bragg had at a bar. The drunk sitting on the barstool next to her kept rambling about the history of the labor movement, and she felt that the experience would be best shared with as many other Detroiters as possible, scheduled that drunk (drunk at the time anyway) to speak at the next gathering of the DDHS.

Tony Paris of the Sugar Law Center (which specializes in labor and employment law) gave an accounting of the early labor struggles. He started with the Ford Hunger March (which caused five deaths), and went off on a tangent about the brutality and paranoia of notorious union buster Harry Bennett. From there Paris moved on to the Flint Sit-Down Strike; the first successful strike by the U.A.W.. The lecture ended with the rise of Walter Reuther, and the ouster of Maurice Sugar.

Paris often meandered, lost his train of thought, and went off on tangents. He also included a few acoustic songs about the labor movement. It was a true recreation of a drunken conversation, as promised.

The next event for the DDHS is "DDHS Book Club: Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliot Bragg" (Pages 40-104). Thursday, September 13, 7:00 PM, at Traffic Jam and Snug. (511 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI)
(I know, I probably didn't give you enough notice to go out and read the book)

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I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera