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Song, Struggle, and Solidarity

The New York City Labor Chorus in Its Twenty-fifth Year

Mark Abendroth

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.

Hamilton Books

Pages: 188 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-7184-2 • Paperback • November 2019 • $40.99 • (£35.00)

978-0-7618-7185-9 • eBook • November 2019 • $38.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Music / EthnoMusicology, Music / Genres & Styles / Choral, Music / History & Criticism

Song, Struggle, and Solidarity

The New York City Labor Chorus in Its Twenty-fifth Year

Paperback

eBook

Summary

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.

Details

Hamilton Books

Pages: 188 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-7184-2 • Paperback • November 2019 • $40.99 • (£35.00)

978-0-7618-7185-9 • eBook • November 2019 • $38.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Music / EthnoMusicology, Music / Genres & Styles / Choral, Music / History & Criticism

Author

Mark Abendroth is associate professor of education at SUNY Empire State College. He is author of Rebel Literacy: Cuba’s National Literacy Campaign and Critical Global Citizenship.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. A Brief History of Singing for Justice in the US Workplace

2. A History of the NYC Labor Chorus

3. Songs of the 25^th-Anniversary Gala Concert

4. The 25^th-Anniversary Year

5. Findings from Interviews

6. Final Discussion and Conclusions

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Reviews

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 be 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

Song, Struggle, and Solidarity

The New York City Labor Chorus in Its Twenty-fifth Year

Mark Abendroth

Song, Struggle, and Solidarity

The New York City Labor Chorus in Its Twenty-fifth Year

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