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Moe FonerMoe Foner
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Session:         Page of 592

Q:

Right, exactly. So that, you know, it's just problematic.

Foner:

I know what you're saying. First of all, I come with my own baggage in to it. However I bring baggage tempered by a lot of experience, and I've seen a lot of things happen in this field so I think I have knowledge. Put aside the dramatics, because I think there we tried to bring the now as well as the old and the new.

Q:

Also ‘Take Care’ was so immediate that it was perfect.

Foner:

Yes. You take Images of Labor. It's not going to grab people, because I don't know how you can do art that's going to grab people, unless you do cartoon illustration. If an artist is going to work on something, he's limited in what he can create that would get people to react. So if you're in the art field that's the problem. We try to bridge it as best we can. The Images was relatively simple. The more you bring in graphic designers, the simpler it is. The book was a -- “Oooh, that's a pretty book.” Remember I can't reach workers, except in our own union people got it and they took it and they loved it. It's easy, it's a flipped page book kind of thing. Lawrence 1912 is an easy read book, and it's a moving book. It's a good book for working people. The postcards, easy kind of thing. Although workers don't send out postcards with workers' photographs on, right? The calendar. I did a calendar in 1199 before Bread and Roses that workers' got, and we gave it as a gift.

We did things that I haven't even told you about. We did an 1199 pin that was designed by Stanley Glaubach. For Political Action you gave five dollars, you got the pin. We sold maybe 15,000 pins -- but it was part of a sale for Political Action. Some people wanted to get the pin, some people just wanted to give for Political Action, but it didn't hurt. Some of the things we put out -- I don't know, the Earl Dotter portfolio photographs is of such high quality that I don't know who, it's a piece of art -- that's what it is -- of working people! I don't know, if you go down the list of our -- the records. Did you ever listen to “Ossie and Ruby and Bread and Roses?”

Q:

I don't think I did.

Foner:

If you get a chance listen to it. It's very very good. Workers reacted to it. It's not a performance, it was edited for the record.

I don't know what to say. The television program, that's a good example. Let me stay on that for a minute. I showed the documentary to -- first we had a ten minute version that I would show. We showed





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