Song, Struggle, and Solidarity
The New York City Labor Chorus in Its Twenty-fifth Year
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University Press of America
Published:5th Nov '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The New York City Labor Chorus (NYCLC) was the first group of its kind when it formed in 1991 with members of different unions joining together in song. Song, Struggle and Solidarity: The New York City Labor Chorus in Its Twenty-fifth Year is the product of Mark Abendroth’s ethnography on the NYCLC during its calendar year from fall 2016 to spring 2017. Abendroth was in his sixth year as an active member of the chorus at that time. He kept field notes of nearly every NYCLC performance and weekly rehearsal during the year. He also interviewed twenty-eight of the approximately eighty-five members and studied documents in the group’s history. Chapters include a history of singing in the labor movement in the United States, a history of the NYCLC in its first twenty-four years, and a focus on developments during the group’s twenty-fifth year. The book ends with the author’s conclusions on the NYCLC’s accomplishments, challenges, and possibilities.
This exciting work of oral history, research in written sources, and auto-ethnography captures the history and internal life of a venerable working class institution. Theoretically sophisticated and full of characters it reminds us of when the U.S. labor movement was one of the “singingest” in the world. It shows compellingly what would gained by making it that way again. -- David Roediger, co-editor of The Big Red Songbook, Chair of the American Studies Department at University of Kansas
Music sustains a movement. The communal singing of protest spirituals and freedom songs empowered the civil rights movement. And the continued performance of labor songs, both old and updated, is vital to the preservation of the union movement. In its 25 years, NY City Labor Chorus has been a significant force in encouraging and uplifting the message music of multiple movements. My personal thanks to Mark Abendroth for having the foresight to chronicle the journey of this essential organization, singing these equally priceless songs. -- Robert F. Darden, Baylor University
ISBN: 9780761871842
Dimensions: 227mm x 155mm x 12mm
Weight: 308g
188 pages