Finally Got the News
Date & Time:
05/01/2008 - 19:30
Kicker:
1968 REVISITED
FILM SCREENING & DISCUSSION
Co-sponsor:
Co-sponsor: Friends of the Brecht
Film Data:
Dirs Stewart Bird, Rene Lichtman & Peter Gessner | 55 minutes | 1970
Description:
"[The League of Revolutionary Black Workers]... was one of the most important radical movements of our century - a movement led by black revolutionaries whose vision of emancipation for all is sorely needed today."
—Professor Robin D.G. Kelley
Finally Got the News is a forceful documentary on the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit in the 1960s. Through interviews with the members of the movement, footage shot in the auto plants, and footage of leafleting and picketing actions, the film documents their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, would respond to worker's problems, such as the assembly line speed-up and inadequate wages faced by both black and white workers in the industry.
Beginning with a historical montage, from the early days of slavery through the subsequent growth and organization of the working class, the film focuses on the crucial role played by the black worker in the American economy. Also explored is the educational 'tracking' system for both white and black youth, the role of African American women in the labor force, and relations between white and black workers.
Bios:
Cleo Silvers is a former member of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and NYC based community organizer.
Matt Birkhold is a Brooklyn based writer, educator and activist. He is founder of the Political Education Outreach Collective and a member of the National Hip Hop Political Convention. In the fall he plans on returning to school at SUNY Binghamton to finish a PhD in Sociology.
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