Over 80 people came out to get an early start on Labor Day when Traction showed The Uprising of ‘34 at Culture Crawl in downtown Durham on 8/18/06.
Mary Coles, whose father was president of Durham’s textile union during this walk-out and mass movement, graced us with her presence and shared memories from the perspective of an 11-year old girl. We also heard from Durham historian Jim Wise and Tractivists working on modern-day labor issues — including the Justice as Smithfield campaign — through Student Action with Farmworkers, National FarmWorker Ministries, and IUE-CWA, a local union for the employees of non-profits.
Turns out Frank Stasio (host of The State of Things) was there in the audience, and their show today will be about this historical moment, plus the fight at Smithfield. So listen in! We’re thrilled that Traction had a role in inspiring the show and raising more awareness of labor issues, past and present.
Many thanks to Theo, JoAnne, Dave Z., Lori, Tony, Denise, Becky & Devin, Veronica, Kelly, Tom & Tema, and the Transom Gallery (and probably many others) for helping with this event! And to Wessel for taking pictures under tough conditions. We’ll see if we can resize this one and do it justice…









