Honors 399 Final Paper Ideas

 

Honors 399 Final Paper Ideas:

 

-       How would Spike Lee make Do The Right Thing today?

-       Views about the ending of Do The Right Thing

-       Did Spike Lee do the right thing in his film?

-       Minor characters in Do The Right Thing and their significance

-       The role of music in Do The Right Thing

-       Symbols and images in Do The Right Thing—the heat, primary colors, names, the music

-       Women and organizing in Norma Rae

-       Race and ethnicity in Norma Rae

-       Race and class in Norma Rae

-       The outsider in films as different as Norma Rae and Just Mercy

-       Men versus women in these films

-       The issue of class in the films of this course

-       From the rainy streets of 1920s Berlin to the hot sidewalks of Bedford-Styvesant—what connects the films of this class, or what contrasts do we find?

-       From Murnaw’s doorman to Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp to Spike Lee’s Mookie, what do they share or how are they different?

-       The idea of struggle-whether it’s James Allen for freedom, Rip Murdock for justice in a friend’s death, Bed-Sty’s fight against the “Man”, and Norma Rae versus the cotton mill bosses—and how they might be linked or be different

-        A comparison/contrast of Do The Right Thing and Just Mercy

-       The evolution of race as an issue or at least a presence from I Am A Fugitive on a Chain Gang to Just Mercy

-       Systemic racism in Just Mercy

-       From I Am a Fugitive on a Chain Gang to Chaplin to Just Mercy, a critique of the criminal justice system

Eli Zivkovich

 

Eli Zivkovich is the real life labor union organizer that in part inspired Reuban Warshowsky in the 1979 film Norma Rae. Information on Zivkovich's early life is difficult to come by, however his career as a labor organizer is easier to track down. Zivkovich got his start in labor organization in West Virginia. Zivkovich was a 55 year old West Virginian coal miner who was once an organizer for the United Mine Workers (UMW) union, and prior to his arrival in North Carolina had no experience within textile mills or factories. Interestingly, Zivkovich was fired from from his organizing role in the UMW from the fallout of the union's 1969 election. He was the supporter of Tony Boyle, the current UMW president, and Boyle played a role in orchestrating the murder of his presidential rival Yablosnki and his family. Despite Zivkovich having no participation in the murders, his connection to Boyle lead to the UMW firing him in 1974. This left Zivkovich unemployed with two school age children, and Zivkovich searched for further work within the labor organization movement sweeping the South East which lead him to settle in North Carolina.

Zivkovich found work with the Textile Workers Union of America in 1973 and started in Greenville, NC, passing out leaflets for the organization. He relocated to Roanoke Rapids shortly after to work on the Steven's mill TWUA campaign, where mill workers harbored preexisting union sentiments which inspired Zivkovich to increase his leaflet campaigns and house calls for organization.  The vast majority of his initial following were the African American mill workers, who made up one third of Steven's mill employees. It was at a union meeting in Roanoke Rapids regarding the Steven's plants that Zivkovich first met Crystal Lee Sutton, the woman for whom Norma Rae is based. Sutton attended the May 13th meeting at the Chockoyotte Baptist church wherein she heard Zivkovich's speech, and decided to join the TWUA. 

Zivkovich and Sutton formed a quick friendship and mentorship that led to greater success in unionizing the Steven's plants and mills. In one example, the mill issued a notice that the TWUA was a front for the Black Power movement, given that the vast majority of union members in the early days were African American laborers. Supervisors were said to have been watching the bulletin board on which the letter was placed to fire suspected union members, and Sutton made it her goal to either copy or steal the letter for Zivkovich. 

This is the link to download a dissertation titled "THE MANY NORMA RAES: WORKING-CLASS WOMEN IN THE 1970s CAMPAIGN TO ORGANIZE J.P. STEVENS" that was used as a reference in this blog post: The Sweat Stains of Sally Field | Norma Rae (1979)www.brightwalldarkroom.com › 2020/10/05 › sally-fie...

Here is an hour long interview with Zivkovich from Youtube

Ella May Wiggins

Ella May Wiggins actually had nothing to do with film in her life, but she is important for this topic nonetheless. She was a very strong, dependable woman. She formed her own union titled the "National Textile Workers Union." She accomplished this after her precious job refused to accommodate her schedule. She was unable to care for her sick children, so they died.

An interesting belief of hers was that including African-Americans in her organization, along with Caucasians, would help strengthen the union. This type of ideal was very rare during this time.

Because her radical ideas were gaining power in the workforce, she became a target. On September 14, 1929, Wiggins became a martyr. She was shot by a group of armed men. These men were going to be charged with her murder, but they were acquitted after a very short discussion of the jury. Her headstone reads "She was killed carrying torch of social justice." 

J. P. Stevens

John Peters Stevens is widely known as the founder of one of the largest American textile firms. After attending Philips Academy, Stevens relocated to Boston Massachusetts. Here, he worked in the dry goods commission business. He then moved to New York where he established the J.P. Stevens Textile Corporation. Stevens’ grandfather had previously started a textile company and by selling products from this company, Stevens’ company experienced much growth.

The company ran 59 textile plants and employed 27,800. J.P. Stevens Textile Corporation became South Carolina’s third-largest employer. Like many Southern textile companies, the company consistently violated labor laws. There were long work hours and unions were few. The company had fifteen violations brought against them, and on November 30, 1978, many across the US participated in a boycott. It became known as “Justice for J. P. Stevens’ Workers Day.” Seventy-four cities across the US took a stand against one of the largest textile companies. 

Many attempts were made by the union. When a worker would try to get payback, Stevens prolonged the process until it no longer mattered. The union made one more final attempt and won their election, but the company did not sign a contract. After the release of Norma Rae popularity for the cause was reignited.

Brown Lung

 

Byssinosis or brown lung is a lung disease that is similar to a type of asthma.  It is caused by inhaling particles of unprocessed cotton in the air.  Mild cases can last for less than week and only include a tight chest and some difficulty breathing.  The severity of the symptoms depends on length of exposure to the raw cotton, and extended exposure could cause permanent issues with fatigue, pain, breathing, and a cough.  Often, the best cure would be limiting exposure to the cotton.

In the textile industry, especially during the time period of Norma Rae, workers were highly at risk to Byssinosis.  Work conditions were poor, and the workers’ health was not a priority for employers.  Over a third of workers had brown lung, and because of the confrontational relationship with factory owners, little was done to help the working people.  This issue, along with the lack of various health benefits, was a leading issue with unionizers. 

Ron Leibman

Ron Leibman was an American actor born in October of 1937. Leibman was raised in an upper middle class family in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Leibman is most remembered for his roles as the union organizer in "Norma Rae" and his Emmy-winning role as "Kaz" from CBS. He began his acting career in the theater in 1959. He was a success in the theater and began making small appearances in feature films. The actor debuted in film in 1970 in "Where's Poppa?" He is also remembered for his roles in "The Super Cops" (1973) and "Rhinestone" (1984). According to Rotten Tomatoes, his other films proved to be generally "disappointing". His approach to roles was not well-suited for television either. Leibman was in several television shows that just could not pull enough ratings. Leibman did win a Tony award in 1993 for his role as Roy Cohn in "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches."

In "Norma Rae", Ron Leibman plays the union organizer Reuben Warshowsky. Reuben is a New York-based union organizer who brings hope for change into town. Reuben and lead actress Norma Rae become strong allies in the film.

                                         

He also found some success in my all-time favorite television series "Friends" where he played Rachel Green's father. His appearances in the sitcom were slim, but he was known for his short-tempered, uptight character. 

ACTWU

 The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) began as a national organization in America known as the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) in 1914. It was initially successful in Cleveland, Ohio but was organizationally slowed by the recession of the 1920s. In 1924, it started organizing the Joseph & Feiss Co. By 1934, the company recognized ACWA after 1,600 workers went on strike. This win encouraged more organizing in other Cleveland shops. ACWA was able to negotiate huge improvements in working conditions and wages and fringe benefits. 

In 1934, ACWA joined the American Federation of Labor (AFL) but split from the AFL a year later to form the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). This was a powerful and organized union, and this allowed the ACWA to go further in helping textile workers. By 1939, the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) was formed. Ten years later, it used the Sidney Hillman Building at 227 Payne Ave. for members’ use and community use. 

The ACWA was able to hold on to its wages and benefits despite the clothing industry recession in the 1950s. In 1976, the TWUA and ACWA joined for increased strength to create the ACTWU. ACTWU is famous for its impressive and successful clothing unions, securing improvements and benefits for its members, and these benefits include cooperative housing, banks, and insurance. Three years later, most industries in men’s attire were represented. In 1995, ACTWU merged again with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to form the Union of Needletrade, Industrial and Technical Employees (UNITE). This union was one of America’s largest with 16 local affiliates in the Cleveland area and 350,000 members nationwide.