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Blue Jenkins : working for workers / Julia Pferdehirt

Author
Pferdehirt, Julia, 1952-
Published
Madison : Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2011.
Physical Description
1 online resource (vii, 150 pages) : illustrations, maps
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Series
Contents
1. Meet Blue Jenkins.; 2. Coming Up North; 3. A New Life; 4. On and Off the Ball Field; 5. Dreams Cut Short; 6. Working Hard and Playing Hard; 7. Hard Times and Changes; 8. A Sit-Down Strike; 9. Moving Up in the Union; 10. Fighting for Equality; 11. The Civil Rights Movement Comes to Racine; 12. Last Years in the Union; 13. A Life Well Lived; Appendix: Blue Jenkins's Time Line; Glossary; Reading Group Guide and Activities; To Learn More about Blue Jenkins, Workers' Rights, and Civil Rights; Acknowledgments; Index.
Summary
"When William "Blue" Jenkins was only six months old, he moved with his parents from a Mississippi sharecropper's farm to the industrial city of Racine, Wisconsin with dreams of a new life. As an African-American in the pre-civil rights era, Blue came face to face with racism: the Ku Klux Klan hung a black figure in effigy from a tree in the Jenkins family's yard. Growing up, Blue knew where blacks could shop, eat, and get a job in Racine--and where they couldn't. The injustices that confronted Blue in his young life would drive his desire to make positive changes to his community and workplace in adulthood. This addition to the Badger Biographies series shares Blue Jenkins's story as it acquaints young readers with African-American and labor history. Following an all-star career as a high school football player, Blue became involved in unions through his work at Belle City Malleable. As World War II raged on, he participated in the home-front battle against discrimination in work, housing, and economic opportunity. When Blue became president of the union at Belle City, he organized blood drives and fought for safety regulations. He also helped to integrate labor union offices. In 1962, he became president of the U.A.W. National Foundry in the Midwest, and found himself in charge of 50,000 foundry union members"--
Report Numbers
HIS.3:B 32/J 46/2011
Subject(s)
Genre(s)
ISBN
9780870206573 (electronic bk.)
0870206575 (electronic bk.)
9780870204272
0870204270
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 42861447