My friend and relative the Reverend Gail Tapscott, an old radical like me, invited me to speak to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford, Mississippi, today (Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021) about "Labor and Religion" to mark the nation's observation of "Labor Day" on Monday, September 6. Below are my prepared remarks, which I'm leaving in all caps. That's the way I typed it to ease pressure on these old eyes! I thought I'd share my "sermon" with my readers at Labor South. By the way, I grew up in the Pentecostal Church but joined the Catholic Church in 1989.
THANK YOU, REVEREND GAIL. IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE.
YOU KNOW WE SHOULD BE CELEBRATING LABOR DAY ON MAY 1, LIKE MOST OF THE REST OF THE WORLD, BUT WE DON’T.
KNOW WHY? PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND AND THE POLITICAL/BUSINESS LEADERSHIP DIDN’T WANT AMERICAN WORKERS CELEBRATING IN SOLIDARITY WITH WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD. THAT’S S WHY HE SETTLED ON THE FIRST MONDAY IN SEPTEMBER. NOW BANKERS AND CEOS CAN ALSO CELEBRATE LABOR DAY. IT ALL GOT STARTED WITH THE PROTESTS FOR THE 8-HOUR WORKDAY, SOMETHING THAT LED TO THE HAYMARKET SQUARE PROTESTS IN MAY 1886, A DECISIVE DAY IN U.S. LABOR HISTORY.
BUT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT LABOR AND RELIGION. I HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.
SIRACH 34:22 > “HE SHEDS BLOOD WHO DENIES THE LABORER HIS WAGES
MALACHI 3:5 > “I WILL BE SWIFT TO BEAR WITNESS AGAINST THOSE WHO DEFRAUD THE HIRED MAN OF HIS WAGES.”
AND THE NEW TESTAMENT:
JAMES 5:1 > “THE WAGES YOU WITHHELD FROM THE WORKERS WHO HARVESTED YOUR FIELDS, (WHO ARE) CRYING ALOUD, AND THEIR CRIES ARE BEING HEARD BY THE LORD.”
I’LL LOOK MOST CLOSELY AT OUR JUDEO-CHRISTIAN HERITAGE TODAY, BUT I COULD ALSO LOOK TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD AT ZEN BUDDHISM, THE BUDDHIST MONKS WHO PROTESTED INJUSTICE IN VIETNAM IN THE 1960S AND IN MYANMAR IN THE 1990S AND LATER. THE BUDDHIST SCHOLAR D.T. SUZUKI NOTED THE POVERTY OF THE BUDDHIST MONK WITH HIS “ONE DRESS AND ONE BOWL, UNDER A TREE AND ON A STONE,” AND THEN IN THE WORLD “THE DESIRE TO POSSESS, ONE OF THE WORST PASSIONS, WHAT CAUSES SO MUCH MISERY IN THE WORLD. … AS POWER IS DESIRED,” HE WROTE, “THE STRONG ALWAYS TYRANNIZE OVER THE WEAK; AS WEALTH IS COVETED, THE RICH AND THE POOR ARE ALWAYS CROSSING SWORDS OF BITTER EMNITY.”
(To the right, Pope Leo XIII)
WE SEE THE RISE OF THE MODERN LABOR MOVEMENT PARALLEL THE GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AROUND THE WORLD AND IN THIS COUNTRY IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WAR WITH THE ELIMINATION OF SLAVE LABOR IN THE SOUTH. THE RISE OF FACTORIES AND ACCOMPANYING EXPLOITATION OF WORKERS LED TO KARL MARX AND FRIEDRICH ENGELS AND REVOLUTIONS ACROSS EUROPE IN THE MID-1800S. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FELT COMPELLED TO RESPOND TO THESE CHALLENGES. THUS POPE LEO XIII AND HIS ENCYCLICAL LETTER “RERUM NOVARUM” (“THE CONDITION OF LABOR”) IN 1891. HERE HE DEFENDS THE RIGHT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY. HE’S NO MARXIST THIS POPE. HOWEVER, HE ALSO DEFENDS THE RIGHTS OF THE WORKER TO A FAIR WAGE AND TO BE ABLE TO JOIN UNIONS WITHOUT FEAR.
THE LETTER BECAME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING, ONE THAT ASPIRED TO REFLECT THE TRUE TEACHINGS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE OF JESUS CHRIST. IN THE WAKE OF THIS LETTER, YOU’LL SEE WORKER PRIESTS IN FRANCE, LABOR PRIESTS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DECADES LATER, CATHOLIC PRIESTS WORKING WITH THE LEADERS OF THE SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT IN POLAND. THE NUNS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED IN EL SALVADOR. EVEN THOUGH THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP TO ITS SHAME OFTEN SIDED WITH THE POWERFUL, THE CAPITALISTS, THE ESTABLISHMENT, SOMETHING THAT HAS GONE ON SINCE ROMAN EMPORER CONSTANTINE IN THE 4TH CENTURY LEGALIZED INSTEAD OF CONDEMNED CHRISTIANITY.
(A garment industry sweatshop in 1890)
IN THE LAST YEARS OF THE 19TH CENTURY AND FIRST DECADES OF THE 20TH, JEWISH IMMIGRANTS ESCAPING THE POGROMS IN RUSSIA AND EASTERN EUROPE POURED ONTO ELLIS ISLAND IN NYC AND POPULATED THE GHETTOS OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE, BRINGING SOCIALIST IDEAS WITH THEM AS THEY WENT TO WORK IN THE SWEAT SHOPS OF THE GARMENT INDUSTRY.
THE RABBIS OFTEN SIDED WITH THE FACTORY OWNERS, BUT NOT ALWAYS. THERE WERE RABBLE ROUSERS LIKE NATHAN DAVIDOWSKY IN YIDDISH WRITER SHOLEM ASCH’S NOVEL EAST RIVER WHO TOLD THE CROWDS THINGS LIKE THIS: “WHEREVER GOD’S WORD HAS COME TO US—THROUGH MOSES OR THE PROPHETS, OR THROUGH JESUS AND THE APOSTLES—GOD HAS CHAMPIONED THE OPPRESSED AGAINST THE OPPRESSORS. GOD IS ALWAYS ON THE SIDE OF THE WORKERS AND AGAINST THOSE WHO EXPLOIT THEM.”
IN MY OWN RESEARCH I’VE FOCUSED ON MY NATIVE SOUTH, AND YOU SEE AND LABOR AND RELIGION COME TOGETHER IN THE COTTON MILLS OF THE CAROLINAS AND IN THE COTTON FIELDS OF THE ARKANSAS DELTA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY. POOR FARMERS ESCAPING THEIR DEAD FARMS FOUND THEMSELVES DOING THE SO-CALLED “STRETCH-OUT” IN THE NEW FACTORIES, WHERE THE BOSSES DEMANDED INHUMAN LEVELS OF PRODUCTION ON THEIR NEW MACHINES.
LABOR LEADERS SENT PEOPLE LIKE LUCY RANDOLPH MASON, DAUGHTER OF AN EPISCOPALIAN MINISTER, ARISTOCRATIC RELATIVE OF ROBERT E. LEE, ACROSS THE SOUTH TO ORGANIZE THOSE WORKERS. DEEPLY RELIGIOUS WITH A FAITH THAT SOCIAL JUSTICE LAY AT THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY, MASON FOUND HER STRONGEST OPPOSITION OFTEN IN THE LOCAL CLERGY WITH THEIR CALVINIST BELIEF IN AN ORDER THAT MADE SOME PEOPLE MASTERS AND OTHERS SERVANTS.
HERE IS THE STORY OF MASON'S ENCOUNTER WITH "PREACHER JONES" FROM HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY TO WIN THESE RIGHTS:
"THE PREACHER DROPPED HIS BULL-LIKE HEAD AND HUNCHING FORWARD SAID TO ME: `YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN NO KIND OF RELIGION--YOU BELIEVE IN A SOCIAL RELIGION AND THAT AIN'T CHRISTIANITY.'
"I, TOO, LEANED FORWARD AND ASKED EARNESTLY, BUT POLITELY: `THEN YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS? ... YOU CAN'T BELIEVE IN WHAT JESUS TAUGHT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SOCIAL RELIGION. HIS WHOLE LIFE, HIS TEACHINGS, AND HIS DEATH WERE ALL PART OF A GREAT SOCIAL RELIGION. JESUS SAID THE COMMANDMENT TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF WAS SECOND ONLY TO THE COMMANDMENT TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL ONE'S HEART, MIND, AND SOUL.'"
WORKING WITH THE COAL MINERS IN WHAT SHE CALLED “MEDIEVAL WEST VIRGINIA” WAS ANOTHER POWERFUL AND FIERY WOMAN OF LABOR, MARY HARRIS JONES, BETTER KNOWN AS MOTHER JONES. MOTHER JONES WOULDN’T HAVE HAD MUCH PATIENCE WITH PREACHER JONES. FAMOUS FOR HER MOTTO “PRAY FOR THE DEAD AND FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE LIVING,” MOTHER JONES ALSO SAID THIS: “I WOULD FIGHT GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF IF HE DIDN’T PLAY SQUARE WITH ME.”
(Highlander historical marker)
IN THE 1930S YOU SAW THE RISE OF LABOR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE HIGHLANDER IN EAST TENNESSEE, A LABOR SCHOOL AND TRAINING CAMP ORGANIZED BY SEMINARIAN MYLES HORTON AND THEOLOGY STUDENT DON WEST. ROSA PARKS WOULD BE AMONG ITS FUTURE STUDENTS.
IN TYRONZA, ARKANSAS, YOU SAW THE RISE OF THE SOUTHERN TENANT FARMERS UNION, FOUNDED BY SHARECROPPER-TURNED SOCIALIST H.L. MITCHELL AND GAS STATION OPERATOR CLAY EAST. THE SCHOLAR ELIZABETH ANNE PAYNE, WHOM SOME OF YOU KNOW AND WHO MAY BE OUT THERE LISTENING, WROTE ELOQUENTLY ABOUT THE “QUASI-RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT” THAT THE STFU WAS EVEN AS THE COMMIES TRIED TO MOVE IN AND TAKE OVER, HOW THEIR MEETINGS WERE LIKE RELIGIOUS REVIVALS WITH FIERY SERMONS AND HEARTFELT HYMNS SUNG.
(A call to strike by the Southern Tenant Farmers Union in the 1930s)
LABOR WRITER STANLEY ARONOWITZ, A GREAT SOUL WHO RECENTLY PASSED AWAY, HAS COMPARED THE EARLY PENTECOSTALISM OF RURAL SOUTHERNERS WITH THE CATHOLICISM OF SICILIAN AND POLISH IMMIGRANTS, HOW PENTACOSTALISTS, THOSE USUALLY POOR AND POWERLESS HOLY ROLLERS, LOOKED TO AN OLD TESTAMENT GOD WHO HAD NO PATIENCE WITH RUTHLESS TYRANTS WHO SUBJUGATED GOD’S PEOPLE.
OF COURSE, SOME OF TODAY’S PENTACOSTALIST PREACHERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE ON TELEVISION, AREN’T SO POOR ANY MORE, AND THEY TEND TO SIDE WITH THE TYRANTS. MANY OF THE GRANDCHILDREN OF CATHOLIC IMMIGRANTS, TOO, HAVE FORGOTTEN THEIR ROOTS.
(Pentecostal preacher)
FATHER CHARLES OWN RICE OF PITTSBURGH, PA., ONE OF THE GREATEST OF THE LABOR PRIESTS, CALLED THE PHENOMENON OF CATHOLIC REPUBLICANS “ANOTHER CROSS TO BEAR IN MY OLD AGE.”
THE WRITER AND FOUNDER OF THE CATHOLIC WORKER DOROTHY DAY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE WRITERS AND TO ME A KIND OF HERO. SHE DEDICATED HER LIFE TO HER FAITH AND HER WORK WITH THE POOR AND THE WORKING CLASS. SHE WORKED WITH UNIONS BUT SHE ALSO SAID THEY COULD BE BAD AS WELL. SHE COULD BE A SHARP CRITIC OF UNIONS THAT BECOME SELF-ABSORBED AND SELFISH AND DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD AS THEY BECOME MORE SELF-INTERESTED THAN DEVOTED TO THE WORKING MAN AND WOMAN. YET HER SOLIDARITY WITH THE WORKER NEVER WAVERED.
(Dorothy Day)
OF COURSE, THERE IS ATHEISTIC COMMUNISM, SHE SAID, BUT, AND THERE’S ALSO ATHEISTIC CAPITALISM THAT TURNS GREED, POSSESSION AND ACCUMULATION INTO GODS. AND HER WORDS: “WHAT IS WORST OF ALL IS USING GOD AND RELIGION TO BOLSTER UP ONE’S OWN GREED, OUR OWN ATTACHMENT TO PROPERTY, AND PUTTING GOD AND COUNTRY ON AN EQUALITY.”
THIS NATION’S LABOR MOVEMENT ONCE WAS THE PREMIER SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN THE COUNTRY. AS IT FADED AND BECAME MORE INWARD LOOKING, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TOOK HOLD.
IN MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WE SEE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT JOIN WITH THE IDEALS OF THE OLD LABOR MOVEMENT WHEN HE CAME TO MEMPHIS TO STAND WITH THE STRIKING SANITATION WORKERS. IT COST HIM HIS LIFE.
(To the right, Martin Luther King Jr.)
THERE ARE THOSE CARRYING ON THAT LEGACY TODAY. THE SOUTHERN FAITH, LABOR AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IS AN EXAMPLE. THE FARM LABOR ORGANIZING COMMITTEE’S FIGHT FOR IMMIGRANT WORKERS IS FUELED BY THE RELIGIOUS FAITH OF ITS FOUNDER, BALDEMAR VELASQUEZ, AN ORDAINED MINISTER AND EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN. WHO ONCE LOOKED AT RELIGION AS A “ANGLO TRICK”. HERE IN MISSISSIPPI, FATHER JEREMY TOBIN WAS A CHAMPION OF THE UAW ORGANIZING EFFORT AT THE NISSAN PLANT IN CANTON.
SO RELIGION AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS GO HAND IN HAND, AND THEY HAVE FOR A LONG TIME AND STILL DO. KARL MARX MAY NOT LIKE IT, AND DONALD TRUMP AND MITCH MCCONNELL MAY NOT EITHER, BUT THEY’LL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.
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