by Ian Lyness-Fernandez

Why does the United States celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday of September? As a child, I never gave it much consideration. Any importance was overshadowed by having the day off from school. The answer lies in the checkered history of the American labor movement, which is as much about setbacks as it is about resilience. Workers fighting for their rights, from the railroads to the streets of Chicago, were often met with violent resistance. Nonetheless, those hard-won victories have shaped the experience of modern workers to this very day.

American labor is by its nature intersectional, with roots in the economic and social divides that culminated in the Civil War and shaped the centuries to follow. It is a history where the shop floor, Sunday service, and the union hall shared the same spaces. The advancement of technologies, from railroads to steel drills, brought both opportunity and exploitation. These emerging conditions forced workers to organize, not just for wages but for dignity. As these struggles unfolded, they drew upon the power and potential of immigrant communities, civil rights groups, preachers, and artists alike.

Music has been a constant companion of the laborer, carrying meaning and messages farther than words alone. From the plantations and fields came spirituals like Go Down, Moses, which turned suffering into a promise of deliverance. John Henry commemorates the toil of railroad laborers and transforms it into a ballad of defiance. Folksingers gave voice to the dignity of ordinary folk, whose effort and struggle sustain the very functioning of our society. Later artists like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie would carry this tradition forward, inspiring generations of protest music.

If you’re interested in learning more about the labor movement in the United States, check out this list of resources available at HCLS.

From Factories to Folksongs
For adults. Register here.
Celebrate Labor Day through the exploration of the music, industrial advancements, and struggles that define this long history.
Fri, Sep 5 | 11:30 am – 1 pm
HCLS East Columbia Branch

Ian Lyness-Fernandez is not quite used to being an Instructor at HCLS East Columbia Branch. He hopes his passion for learning can somehow translate into a skill for teaching.