Blogs

“Music hath charms to sooth a savage heart, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” –William Congreve 1670-1729

This quote, among others, was scribbled on notes belonging to the famous and first Labor Lawyer –Maurice Sugar, and can be found in the Reuther Library’s Maurice Sugar Papers.  read more »

Please join the Reuther Library for a presentation from our latest Fishman grant recipient this April 8, 2016, at noon.

Joel Suarez, a doctoral student from Princeton University, considers the values ascribed to work in the wake of its transformation in the latter half of the twentieth century. He explores how contending visions of the good life— among intellectuals and policymakers, but most importantly workers—were challenged and reconstituted amid changes wrought by industrialization, deindustrialization, and the ascent of low-wage service sector work.  read more »

This March 29th, please join the Walter P. Reuther Library for a panel discussion to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit on loan from Michigan State University. The exhibit spotlights the voices of Latin@ workers to explore their impact on the auto industry in Michigan, drawing from photographs, oral histories, and other archival records. Panelists will discuss the contributions of Latin@ auto workers from a variety of perspectives.  read more »

The Jewish community of the Detroit area recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the tragic death of a prominent leader, Rabbi Morris Adler. Born in Russia in 1906, Rabbi Adler was the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Detroit (later in Southfield, MI) from 1938 until 1966. On February 12, 1966, while presiding at religious services he was shot by a mentally disturbed congregant; he died 27 days later at the age of 59. The Reuther Library marks this sad anniversary and notes that Rabbi Adler’s legacy remains in several collections in the archives.  read more »