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Recent Posts
- Just after the Depression years, the Grand Rapids City Government provided direct relief and created a public works project for those unemployed
- Some examples of the conditions for blacks in Grand Rapids and what types of discrimination blacks faced on a daily basis in the early part of the 20th Century
- “Maybe America has forgotten how smoke smells”: The state of Black Grand Rapids from the perspective of Paul I Phillips in the mid-1970s
- African Americans from Grand Rapids who were part of the US Civil War
- 1970 document sheds light on the housing crisis in Grand Rapids and the lack of political will to solve it
Tag Archives: 1911 furniture workers strike
10,000 March in Labor Day Parade in 1911
According to the September 4 issue of the Grand Rapids Herald, 10,000 people planned on marching in the 1911 Labor Day Parade. According to the Herald, fifty-two unions participated in the march, which began at 10:00am on Bridge street, making … Continue reading
The 8 Hour Work Day Battle and May Day in Grand Rapids
It is easy for us in the present to take for granted the 8 hour work day. However, organized labor spent decades fighting this battle all around the world, in the US and right here in Grand Rapids. The Knights … Continue reading
The 1916 City Charter change in Grand Rapids was nothing short of Class Warfare
During the 1911 Furniture Workers Strike and its aftermath, the business community and leading industrialist, began to develop a plan that would significantly alter the way electoral politics was done in Grand Rapids. The 1911 Furniture Workers Strike revealed several … Continue reading
When Grand Rapids Saw Red: Early Grand Rapids Labor History Part II
(This is Part II of a two part series by local labor historian Michael Johnston. Click here for Part I) It didn’t matter that he was dressed in his army uniform, medals for heroism pinned to his front shirt pocket. … Continue reading
Grand Rapids People's History Project 