It was first broadcast on the Chicago based radio program Labor Express.

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However, since at least 1900 the leadership if the American Federation of Labor has had an unholy  relationship with the U.S. government in international affairs.  This top-down approach to solidarity has led the AFL, and the AFL-CIO after the 1955 merger, to be often more in sympathy with dictators, corrupt union bosses and reactionary politics rather to the needs of rank-and-file workers.

Out guest today, Jeff Schuhrke, does an excellent job of describing this top-down approach in his book Blue Collar Empire – the Untold Story of U.S. Labor’s Global Anticommunist Crusade. Jeff is a labor historian and Assistant Professor at the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies, SUNY Empire State University. The book is published by Verso Press.

After the interview we will have musical examples of bottom-up labor solidarity during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. We will have songs from the International Brigades sections from Germany, Italy and the United States. Hope you can stick around.

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I’m glad you are able to join me today in Facing Reality 4 Social Justice as we talk to them about how they are using their imagination and their art and their poetry to tear down walls of ordinary perception. They are part of a group that uses a journal – Locust Review – and a podcast – Locust Radio – and a space – Born Again Labor Museum – all of these to challenge us to think about things differently about our lives, our future and our past. See their work at https://www.locustreview.com/.

Along the way we'll have some poetry and music as well.

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In this interview, produced by Lennox Apudo for Hudson Mohawk Magazine Radio, Khalid Sudahmed discusses the role of women in the Sudanese communities who are protecting those communities during this very difficult time when the country is ravaged by waring armies. They are also part of the building of resistance committees throughout their communities as well.

After the interview, we will hear some traditional Sudanese music.

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In this episode, Sidahmed discusses the international players who have interfered in the Sudanese situation - why are they doing this and what do they gain. It's a sad story that has led to a major crisis of monumental proportions for the Sudanese people.

After the interview we will have two musical pieces of traditional Sudanese music.

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Stick around after the interview for some Sudanese music which we took from Internet Archive.

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After the conversation, we will hear a song formed during the student rebellion that has become a national voice of the struggle for freedom. Raised Voice Bangladesh is its name and the refrain that remembers the deaths during the struggle and looks to a new beginning.

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The interview will be followed by a one minute sound piece on the demonstrations that led to Hasina being forced from power - and from the country.

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This episode of Facing Reality 4 Social Justice talks to Kevin Lin, Managing Editor of Asian Labour Review, on why and how the Review is taking this step to develop a school for people to more deeply understand the conditions of working people in Asia and how to communicate this story.

The interview with Kevin will be followed by a short poem from a member of the Myanmar Rohingya community now living in Bangladesh as a refugee.

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Rebel Riot is also part of an international punk rock network using music as a beacon of anti-establishment thought - most often in a progressive direction.

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In today's episode of Facing Reality 4 Social Justice we talk to Sophia Gurule, a spokesperson for Labor for Palestine, a rank-and-file group that has been working on its issues since 2004. She is a member of the United Auto Workers Union and a member of UAW Labor for Palestine and New York Labor for Palestine.

After the conversation with Sophia, we'll have a short excerpt from an 18-hour radio series produced by a coalition called Radio Free Palestine 2008 - Commemorating 60 Years of the Palestinian Nakba. That will be followed by a song - The Unknown War Criminal.

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Summer in Detroit was hot in 1967. And people were anxious. War was raging in Vietnam and the body count was growing – and opposition to the war was growing right along with the count.

 John Kennedy has been assassinated in 1963 and Malcolm X had also been killed two years after that.

Dr. King and SNCC had been leading some very vocal civil rights actions but have only had some important but often only symbolic victories. For most people – especially for African-Americans – life went on as usual. The status quo held.

We’d like to thank you for joining us in Facing Reality 4 Social Justice as we look at a fictional account of what happened in Detroit during the summer of 1967.

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The interview will be followed by a song dedicated to a hero of the 1910-20 Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa, and sung by Amparo Ochoa.

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We have a conversation today with John Mullen, a Marxist and long term resident of France, who is also active in the NPF. He gives us an excellent description of the dynamics of mobilization that came together to not only defeat the neo-fascist party of France but also received more votes than the Center party that now runs the country. This is s story that needs to be followed.

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This episode of Facing Reality 4 Social Justice is using four of his poems - Anna Imroth, Fences, All Day Long and Masses - to show his understanding of how working people suffer under forces that might seem overwhelming. The poems will be accompanied with commentary and music.

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This episode of Facing Reality 4 Social Justice will feature five soldier poets who were part of that revolutionary movement. Manuel Altolaguirie, John Cornford, Jose Herrera Petere, Julio Guillen and Miguel Hernandez joined the battle for justice with their voices and with their bodies. Two of them - Cornford and Hernandez - died because of their efforts.

Their voices - their poems - are an important part of the culture of resistance that still has resonance today.

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The program ends with a short poem from an early martyr to the revolution, Khat Thi, whose poems have become battle cries by the Myanmar resistance. The poem will be read by a Myanmar resistance fighter in Burmese and followed with the English translation.

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The current upsurge against the U.S. government's financial and political support for Israel's destruction of Gaza has become part of this dynamic - the movement is seen in the major universities of our country but it has awoken also in mainstream America and its schools and unions and churches. It parallels the movements against the Vietnam War in the 1960s to the fight against U.S. policies in Central America and South Africa in the 1980s to today's support for Palestine.

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Penelope Rosemont has been a guiding force in this movement since the 1960s. In this interview she discusses the origins of the surrealist movement, its growth and relationship to economic depression and war, and its organizational crisis after Breton's death in 1966. She also looks to a vibrant future for the movement as it continues to inspire adherents with an increasing international reach.

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Sandburg was in the army during the Spanish-American War of 1898 and he combines his experiences then to the horrors of war in general and to the specific events of the "War to End All Wars". He identified as a socialist during this period and his poems reflect this humanistic reaction to world events.

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Shelley was already a critic of British politics but this event heightened his disgust. The four short poems used in this episode show the extent to which his criticism of British government became revolutionary.

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We end our program with the sound of children singing to oud music at a service center in Gaza. This happened in early April.

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