World Premiere of New Mother Jones Play Opens Oct. 12
 |
The Theater of the First Amendment will present the world premiere of “Can’t Scare Me: The Story of Mother Jones at Washington, D.C.’s Atlas Performing Arts Center beginning with preview performances Oct. 12 and 13 and running through Oct. 30.
OBIE Award-winner Kaiulani Lee portrays Mother Jones in a riveting solo performance about the early days of the American Labor Movement. Mother Jones was called “the most dangerous woman in America,” and “educated, agitated, and organized” on behalf of child laborers, coal miners, steel workers, and all working people.
Through an artful blend of history, biography, and a liberal dose of Mother Jones’s famous wit, “Can’t Scare Me” brings out some urgent issues of yesterday and today in a riveting, passionate, and fiery solo performance.
The Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) and the Labor Heritage Foundation (LHF) are co-sponsoring a special matinee on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for the matinee but because there is a union discount the fee will be $20.
Anne Feeney Tribute Concert Set for Labor Day
 |
Join the Labor Heritage Foundation and music lovers throughout the Washington, D.C., area for a Labor Day tribute concert for legendary labor singer, song writer and activist Anne Feeney. The concert begins at 6 p.m. on Labor Day, Sept. 5, at Bus Boys & Poets at 5th and K Streets N.W., in Washington.
Feeney, who has been called the “best labor singer in North America,” is recovering from lung cancer.
An impressive cadre of artists will pay tribute both to Feeney and workers around the world. At the same time, they hope to raise funds to help support Feeney as she continues on her journey to recovery.
Feeney will perform at the concert along with the Charm City Labor Chorus, the D.C. Labor Chorus, Emma’s Revolution, Luci Murphy, Pam Parker and Joe Uehlein.
The concert is part of the “Bread and Roses” series hosted monthly at Bus Boys & Poets. Suggested donation is $20 but no one will be turned away for inability to pay.
You can purchase tickets in advance at www.annefeeney.com from Labor Heritage at 202-639-6204 or at the door.
Labor Heritage to Honor Trumka, Lucy and Nussbaum
 |
|
For more than two decades, the Labor Heritage Foundation (LHF) has preserved and promoted the cultural heritage of American workers through art, music, poetry, written works, theater and artistic works. Tomorrow, the foundation will honor three inspiring labor leaders at its annual “Evening of Labor Honors” fundraiser at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., beginning at 5 p.m.
This year’s honorees are AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) President and former AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy and Working America Director Karen Nussbaum.
Great Labor Arts Exchange Hits the Road
 |
|
For the first time in more than three decades, the Labor Heritage Foundation took the Great Labor Arts Exchange on the road. This year the Exchange brought its special blend of culture and the arts to Detroit June 18-21. AFSCME Local 25 is hosting the Great Labor Arts Exchange at its offices, 600 West Lafayette in Detroit.
For four days, some 100 union and social justice activists are participating in programs that combine union mobilization and outreach with songs, skits, art, poetry, theater, posters, cartoons and film. For three decades, the Great Labor Arts Exchange has celebrated the rich cultural heritage of working people and served as a forum that brings together talented labor artists, activists, cultural workers, educators and students.
Labor Heritage Foundation Chairwoman Elise Bryant says the Great Labor Arts Exchange reflects the important role that art plays in the union movement.
Labor History Month All Year Round
The month may be nearly over but union leaders, students, teachers and activists are taking advantage of new resources to keep telling our story and building our future beyond May, which is officially Labor History Month.
The American Labor Studies Center, www.labor-studies.org, offers links to materials from the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the Labor Department, the AFL-CIO, top university labor programs and much more.
“Labor History Links,” a site developed by labor historian Rosemary Feurer, provides a comprehensive bibliography of information, documents and links to U.S. labor history sites. The interactive site also allows users to recommend links. Click here to visit the site. The website includes teachers’ lesson plans, information organized by date and topic, biographies and oral history, labor culture through films, songs, literature, art and photos, listings of state and local historical sites and much more.
Organizing and Mobilizing with Flair
 |
||||
|
||||
For four days next week, the campus of the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md., will reverberate with the sounds of music, poetry and creative chants and art.
From June 20-23, some 100 union and social justice activists will participate in the annual Great Labor Arts Exchange and Conference on Creative Organizing, programs that combine union mobilization and outreach with songs, skits, art, poetry, theater, posters, cartoons and film.
For 31 years, the Great Labor Arts Exchange has celebrated the rich cultural heritage of working people and served as a forum that brings together talented labor artists, activists, cultural workers, educators and students.
Last year, the Great Labor Arts Exchange featured a wealth of new, young talent. Some of last year’s featured events included a giant puppet show by two members of the United Steelworkers (USW) who showed participants one way to use street theater to deliver a message. Tayo Aluko, a Nigerian who now lives in Liverpool, England, performed a one-man show on the life of actor and human rights activist Paul Robeson.
New Website Highlights Labor’s Art Heritage
 |
| On the Labor Heritage website, you can find information on events such as the Great Labor Arts Exchange, which features artists such as Chris Bricker, a member of the Screen Actors. |
For nearly 30 years, the Labor Heritage Foundation has worked to preserve and promote knowledge of the cultural heritage of the American worker through the arts, including music, poetry, written works, theater and artistic works.
Labor Heritage’s creative, user-friendly new website opens up the world of labor arts for labor activists and art lovers alike with the power to draw a new generation of artists.
At www.laborheritage.org, you’ll find many of the familiar services and some new ones. The main feature is a slide show with information about such popular events as the Great Labor Arts Exchange and Conference on Creative Organizing, the Joe Hill Award and a new Shades of Youth in Labor, where young people speak out on issues such as poverty and injustice.
Labor Heritage Foundation Chairwoman Elise Bryant says the website reflects the important role that art plays in the union movement.
Art displays the heart, soul and passion for equality and justice in the union movement. Union members learned long ago that life is more than work. We not only need bread, we need roses, too. Every successful progressive movement in the United States has been led by song. But we’re not just focusing on the past; we’re also introducing the new artists who are producing art for the union, peace and justice movements.
