Class, race, and Power: rethinking class reductionism in the study of the 1922 Chicago and Northwestern Railway Strike in Milwaukee

Abstract

ABSTRACT The summer of 1922 was characterized by disturbing acts of violence when a group of over 100 armed White men attacked Black workers brought in as strikebreakers during the Chicago and Northwestern Railway strike in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This incident was representative of the racial tensions that resulted from the Great Migration, the upsurge of racial tensions all over the United States, and the interconnection between race and labor in the early 20th century. Milwaukee, under the socialist leadership of Daniel Webster Hoan, became a flashpoint for these tensions. The attempts of Hoan to mediate between White strikers and Black workers as the Ku Klux Klan activities became more rampant illustrate the complexities in dealing with the racial and labor realities of the time. The use of Black workers as strikebreakers not only augmented racial animosities but also exposed the tactical use of racial controversies within labor conflicts. This event is an example of the myth of class reductionism and the use of racial differences to undermine labor solidarity.