Labor and human rights activists haven’t forgotten Joe Hill, and for decades they’ve held out hope he’ll one day be exonerated of a crime they say he did not commit, Deborah Kadin writes for Oak Park-River Forest Patch.
Hill, a song-writing member of the radical International Workers of the World, was tried, convicted and put to death by firing squad in Utah in 1914 for killing a local grocer. Some say it was association with the group, also known as the Wobblies, that doomed him.
That execution may have taken place nearly a century ago, but the issues that Hill fought and died for remain part of today’s America, Kadin writes.
William Adler, author of a new book that brings to light evidence that might yet clear Hill’s name, will talk about similarities between the struggles of workers in Hill’s time and those of today during a forum scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday at Third Unitarian Church, 310 N. Mayfield Ave.
Bucky Halter, a historian, songwriter, collector and performer, will lead the audience in singing labor songs.
The church’s forum is a weekly, public discussion that takes place before the 11 a.m. service. The free event is open to the public.
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