Today in Labor History July 17, 1913: Seattle’s Potlatch Riots began, when soldiers and sailors brawled with members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) during Seattle’s Potlatch Festival. Alden Blethen, publisher of the “Seattle Times,” who hated free speech and feared “radical elements,” had been fanning the flames of reaction against the IWW and local activists. He was highly critical of liberal Mayor Cotterill for allowing IWW organizers and anarchists to speak publicly in downtown Seattle. His red-baiting led to violence, as soldiers and sailors ransacked IWW and Socialist headquarters. The riots, which followed were essentially an attempt to suppress free speech and labor organizing, and were a harbinger of the nationwide red scare leading up to and following World War I. In response to the riots, Mayor Cotterill declared an emergency, took control of the police, shut down saloons, banned street speaking and attempted to temporarily shut down the Times.
July 17, 1917 – The Justice Department instructed its attorneys and special agents to keep tabs on local Wobblies (Industrial Workers of the World) to determine their plans, sources of income, and any evidence that might link them to anti-war or pro-German activity. No incriminating evidence ever surfaced. (From the Daily Bleed)
Today in Labor History July 17, 1944: Two ammunition ships exploded at Port Chicago, CA (now known as the Concord Naval Weapons Center). The explosion killed 322 sailors, including 202 African-Americans assigned by the Navy to handle explosives. The explosion could be seen 35 miles away in San Francisco, across the Bay. In response, 258 African-Americans refused to return to the dangerous work, initiating what would be known as the Port Chicago Mutiny. 50 of the men were convicted and sentenced to hard labor. 47 were released in 1946. During their court proceedings, Thurgood Marshall, working then for the NAACP, prepared an appeal campaign, noting that only black men had been assigned to the dangerous munitions loading job. At the time, navy had over 100,000 black sailors, but not black officers. Beginning in 1990, a group of 25 Congressional leaders began a campaign to exonerate the mutineers. However, Congress did not exonerate the men until 2019.