The Untold Story of John Henry — Labor History Today

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On this week’s Labor History Today: Our friends at America’s Workforce mark Halloween with a chillingly real tale — the untold story of John Henry and his lasting legacy on labor. Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc talks with historian Scott Nelson of the University of Georgia, author of Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend. Nelson uncovers the truth behind the legend of John Henry — a 19-year-old Black convict laborer who died driving steel in a Virginia railroad tunnel — and how his story still echoes through labor history. Plus: Labor History in Two! on the 1835 Philadelphia general strike for the ten-hour day.

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Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.

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