OCTOBER 5 “THIS WEEK IN THE MUSIC OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE”

Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labor activist, musician, and composer, was born this week in 1879 (October 7).

Hill was a member of the International Workers of the World (IWW), better known as the “Wobblies,” and wrote numerous songs in support of unions and labor. He also focused on the plight of migrant labor. While a supporter of questionably nonviolent tactics such as subtle forms of sabotage on the part of labor–putting sand in machinery–, Joe Hill used song to rally people to the cause of labor activism.

To learn more about Joe Hill, read Gibbs M. Smith’s Labor Martyr.

Listen to a labor ballad by Paul Robeson in memory of Joe Hill.