Episode 24 - Songs Of Liberation: Give Me That Textile Workers Union Renegade Paradise

In the late 1920's and early 1930's Textile Workers across the country engaged in a series of industrial actions which changed the landscape and fortunes of organized labor in the US forever.  This episode tells the story of two strikes of this period that occurred in the upstate of South Carolina.  In Honea Path and Pelzer, workers fought against local mill owners and anti-union forces for better conditions and several of them paid with their lives.

A part of labor struggles throughout history has always been the music, a joyful and artistic silver lining that sometimes gets overlooked. As part of our Songs Of Liberation series, we'll also talk about many of the artists and songs associated with labor organizing in both South Carolina and the south in general. Below is a list of tunes for this episode:

Joe Glazer - Give Me That Textile Workers Union: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFXIifVQAR8

Dave McCarn - Cotton Mill Colic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCX_iMh6MzQ

Dixon Brothers - Weave Room Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uggT6J-xWjQ

Pete Seeger - The Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues: https://youtu.be/uSg6sIipjMU

New Harmony Sisterhood Band - Cotton Mill Girls: https://youtu.be/9N2wL_xLoAc

Ella May Wiggins - The Mill Mother's Lament (performed by Pete Seeger): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q69onG2nXtg

The Almanac Singers - Talking Union: https://youtu.be/xpWGixCO_9M

Joe Glazer - The Mill Was Made of Marble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79OsTBsVReE

Joe Glazer - Working Men Unite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BjddZvN7N4