Author: Allison Duerk

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Workers Memorial Day: April 17th, 2025

The Greater Terre Haute Branch of NAACP, the Central Wabash Valley Building & Construction Trades Council, and the Eugene V. Debs Museum invite the public to attend a Workers Memorial Day service on April 27th, 2024 from 2:30-3:20 PM at the Debs Museum, 451 N 8th St, Terre Haute.

The program will feature music, remarks from community and union leaders, and a reading of names of local workers who lost their lives after sustaining workplace injuries. The program will include proclamations from the Office of the Mayor, the Vigo County Council, and the Terre Haute City Council. Light refreshments will be provided and a short museum tour will follow the program.

Workers Memorial Day was established by the AFL-CIO in 1989 to recognize and honor the thousands of workers who lose their lives on the job every year –– more than 5,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. Workers Memorial Day also commemorates the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Workers Memorial Day is recognized around the world and draws needed attention to the urgent and ongoing fight for worker health and safety protections in every industry.

Located in the 1890 home of Eugene and Kate Debs, the Debs Museum explores the life and legacy of Terre Haute’s groundbreaking labor organizer, connecting working class history to the struggle for economic justice today. Debs recognized health and safety as a core demand of workers in the labor movement and allied political struggles. The Greater Terre Haute Branch of NAACP and the Central Wabash Valley Building & Construction Trades Council support safe working conditions for all and universal dignity in the workplace.

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2023 Debs Award Honoring Lynne Fox, Workers United

Long-time labor leader Lynne Fox, international president of Workers United since 2016, will receive the Debs Award for her lifetime commitment to labor, especially her work organizing Starbucks workers. The award will be presented at the 2023 Debs Banquet to be held October 28, 2023, at the Terre Haute Convention Center. The banquet will top off a day of activities centered on Debs and his work. In accepting the award, Fox said, “Honoring the legacy of Eugene V. Debs and keeping alive his spirit of humanitarianism and social criticism is an honor.  When Workers United embarked on helping the Starbucks Workers achieve their dream of being able to have a voice in their workplaces, we did it because it was the right thing to do and because they needed help to be heard.  It is an amazing privilege to be involved in this historic campaign as it’s happening and taking on responsibility for this story, as it has evolved universally.

Just as Eugene Debs founded the American Railway Union, which was one of the nation’s first industrial unions, in an attempt to affect an ‘emancipation of the working class,’ so too are mass numbers of workers asking for a voice on the job.  On behalf of the thousands of workers who have already spoken up, and for the thousands who have yet to speak; we are honored to accept the Debs award.” 

Events will kick off with an open house at the Debs House Museum featuring guided tours by museum director Allison Duerk. As traditional, a graveside remembrance will be held at noon in Highland Lawn Cemetery at Gene and Kate’s grave. Those wishing to stay after can accompany researchers John and Micki Morahn for a tour of other Debs family graves. 

At 2pm, the new film Brewing Change: The Fight for a Starbucks Union will be screened at Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University, followed by a discussion led by Lynne Fox. ISU Special Collections, which hosts the Debs Collection, will be open after the movie featuring items related to Debs. 

The banquet will be held Saturday evening, with social hour at 6 and dinner at 7. Tickets will be available for online purchase soon. We hope you can join us! 

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Debs in Our Voices: Organize!

Join us Saturday, June 17th for our 5th annual live reading event. This year’s theme is all about organizing –– bringing to life Debs’ best writings and speeches on labor rights and economic justice. We’ll gather at the Vigo County History Center and on Zoom for a hybrid virtual event.

Readers can participate in-person, on Zoom, or by submitting a video in advance. We need YOUR help: spread the word and sign up to be a reader at this link. Reader registration closes at midnight on Thursday, June 15th. Readers will be emailed further instructions.

The public is welcome to observe the readings and partake in discussion and refreshments. The event will be on the third floor of the Vigo County History Center and admission is free. To watch the program live on Zoom, register at this link (this is not a reader sign-up form).

Debs in Our Voices: Organize!
Saturday, June 17th, 2-4 pm
Vigo County History Center (929 Wabash Ave) & live online via Zoom
Admission: FREE
Contact: Allison Duerk, museum@debsfoundation.org

 “I realize that finally the right must prevail. I never so clearly comprehended as now the great struggle between the powers of greed and exploitation on the one hand and upon the other the rising hosts of industrial freedom and social justice. I can see the dawn of the better day for humanity. The people are awakening. In due time they will and must come to their own.”

Eugene V. Debs, 1918

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(2022) Honoring the A. Philip Randolph Institute

The Eugene V. Debs Foundation each year honors a person or organization that demonstrates a long experience in the fields of labor, education, or public service. This year’s Eugene V. Debs Award will be presented to the A. Philip Randolph Institute. Founded in 1965 by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, the AFL-CIO’s first constituent organization continues the important work in trade unionism and social justice begun by those two legends. Randolph and Rustin forged an alliance between the civil rights and labor movements, recognizing that working people of all races and creeds share the same goals: political and social freedom, and economic justice.

In 1967, A. Philip Randolph was the third recipient of the Debs award. He was nominated by Norman Thomas (winner of the second award) who wrote to the Debs Foundation, “we would honor ourselves” by honoring Randolph. According to Thomas, “He has rendered a very great service to labor, a service transcending the boundaries of the Sleeping Car Porters,” and has become “a genuine elder statesman in the struggle for civil rights.” The institute bearing his name continues this great work.

The 1967 award was presented on September 23, with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall addressing the banquet in honor of Randolph. In his speech, Udall called A. Philip Randolph “the unofficial conscience of the labor movement,” and compared Randolph and Debs pointing out many similarities. Udall noted both men were “self-educated” and “dedicated and skillful labor organizers,” who “abhorred violence” and “sought to educate their fellow workers.” Importantly, “both men extended their vision beyond the narrow confines of trade unionism to work for the broad social goals that would create a better America” and “both men believed in achieving these goals through the democratic process.”

The banquet to honor Randolph was attended by many prominent politicians, including Indiana Senator Birch Bayh and Congressman John T. Myers. All international union presidents were invited and more than five attended, with many others sending representatives. In presenting the award on behalf of the Foundation, Patrick Gorman, President of the Debs Foundation and Secretary/Treasurer of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America spoke for the Foundation saying “Agitator of the highest order, man or courage and conviction and unswerving devotion to the cause of peace and human brotherhood, and for decades, unofficial conscience of American labor, we proudly present to you, as a worthy disciple of him whose memory we revere and whose honor we perpetuate, this 1967 Eugene V. Debs award in the field of labor and public service.”

As the trade union movement has seen tremendous growth and enthusiasm recently, it is vital that we continue to connect with the past. We must remember those who forged the path that brought us to this moment. Both the Debs Foundation and the A. Philip Randolph Institute are dedicated to preserving this important legacy. The Debs Foundation is honored once again, to honor the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and salute those who keep his flame alive.

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(2022) Live Reading: Debs and Randolph in Our Voices

Image text: Debs & Randolph in Our Voices A Live Reading Event Online and in Terre Haute, Indiana Saturday, June 18th, 2022 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern

Join us! On Saturday, June 18th, 2022, the Debs Foundation and Museum will recognize the Debs Day and present Debs and Randolph in Our Voices. This live reading event will take place from 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern Time.

Together, we will read passages from both Eugene V. Debs and A. Philip Randolph, reflecting on how their words still resonate today. In recognition of the 2022 Debs Award honoree, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, we invite you to contemplate the words and legacies of two leaders who connected the struggles for racial and economic justice.

This is our first hybrid event: join us in-person at the Terre Haute Labor Temple or virtually via Zoom.

About Zoom Attendance

Register here to participate via Zoom by June 17th. Registrants have the option of participating in the live reading, or watching the event without reading. Please indicate whether you would like to be a reader on your registration form.

About In-Person Attendance

Those wishing to participate as in-person readers should register at this link by Friday, June 17th. Please join us at the Labor Temple at 31 South 13th Street in Terre Haute, Indiana. Free parking is available on-site.

A program recording will be shared after the event. Please contact museum@debsfoundation.org with any questions.

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Regular Hours Resume at Debs Museum

The Eugene V. Debs Museum is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM Eastern time.

Museum tours are available on a walk-in basis. Each tour runs 1-2 hours, depending on visitors’ interest and preference.

Masks are required for all visitors with no exceptions. Groups are limited to 10 individuals. Thank you for prioritizing the safety of our guests, volunteers, and staff.

To schedule a tour outside regular hours, please email museum@debsfoundation.org.

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(2021) Honoring the Innocence Project

Executive Director Christina Swarns will accept the Eugene V. Debs Award on behalf of the Innocence Project

The Innocence Project will receive the Eugene V. Debs Award on October 23, 2021 at 3:00 pm Eastern Time. Our first-ever virtual Award ceremonies will stream on this page as well as Facebook and Youtube. Christina Swarns, Executive Director of the Innocence Project, will accept the Award and offer remarks. Acclaimed musician and activist Bucky Halker will provide musical selections, a traditional element of the Debs Award ceremonies.

The Debs Foundation celebrates the Innocence Project’s extraordinary efforts which have contributed to the exoneration of more than 230 innocent people through DNA testing and by other means. In addition to freeing the innocent, the Innocence Project works continually to address the key causes of wrongful convictions and to prevent future injustices through the courts, the legal system and legislatures throughout the country. Its social work department also provides support to exonerees as they rebuild their lives post-release.

The connections between the Debs Foundation and the Innocence Project are profound. Gene Debs had deep personal experiences during his incarceration. He was imprisoned first in Woodstock, Illinois, for leading the Pullman Strike of 1894 and again decades later in the Atlanta Federal Prison for speaking out against the role of the U.S. in the First World War, sentences many would say were unjust. While in the Atlanta Prison, he ran for President of the United States on the Socialist Party ticket and received nearly a million votes. After Debs’ death, his family published Walls and Bars, a collection of essays exposing the conditions and injustices of the U.S. penal system of a hundred years ago. Debs was keenly sympathetic to the plight of those oppressed by the injustices of incarceration. The Innocence Project carries forward the humanism and compassion of Debs as an essential component in today’s struggle to ensure justice for all. More information about its work is available on its excellent website, innocenceproject.org.

Please contact us by emailing info@debsfoundation.org with any inquiries.

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(2021) Debs in Our Voices: Beyond Walls and Bars

Post-Event Update

Thank you to all volunteers, readers, and supporters who made this event a success. A recording of the program will be available on our YouTube channel shortly.

Join us!

On June 12, 2021, the Debs Foundation and Museum will recognize Debs Day and present Debs in Our Voices: Beyond Walls and Bars. This event will take place from 2-4 pm Eastern Time via Facebook Live.

Click here to watch on June 12 at 2 pm Eastern! The live video is accessible to anyone with or without a Facebook account.

Together, we will read selections from Debs’ writings on prisons and reflect on how his words speak to us today. This year’s program features performances by musical guests Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino of Magpie.

We need volunteer readers!

Click here and complete this form to sign up as a live reader for Debs in Our Voices.

About Walls & Bars
Exactly 100 years ago, Eugene V. Debs could be found serving a ten-year prison sentence in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. His crime? Speaking out against the First World War in his famous Canton Speech of 1918. Undeterred, Debs led his fifth and final presidential campaign from his prison cell, earning nearly a million votes for the Socialist ticket in November of 1920.

Prison life profoundly affected Debs. As he experienced inhumane prison conditions, Debs also witnessed the common humanity of his fellow prisoners. He described these experiences in a series of articles and essays. In 1927, his brother Theodore published these writings in the volume Walls and Bars shortly after Eugene Debs’ death. Beyond simply describing prison life and conditions, Debs created a blueprint for solving the problems of incarceration by addressing what he saw as the root of crime: unmet social and economic needs. Walls and Bars connects crime and prisons to the economic conditions created by capitalism, forging a path to abolishing prisons as we know them by transforming our economic system.

How can I get involved?
We need readers to bring Debs’ words to life! If you’re interested in participating in Debs in Our Voices as a live reader, please complete this form by June 8.

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(2021) Academic Conference

Post-Event Update

Thank you to all scholars and volunteers who made this event a success. Recordings of several conference sessions will be available on our YouTube channel shortly.

“While There is a Soul in Prison, I Am Not Free”: The History of Solidarity in Social and Economic Justice

Special Conference Sponsored by The Eugene V. Debs Foundation, The Cunningham Memorial Library, Indiana State University Department of History, Terre Haute, Indiana

April 10, 2021

Schedule
All times refer to Eastern Daylight Time.

9:30 AM: Log into digital space. Test technology.

9:50: Opening remarks and introduction by Micki Morahn, The Eugene V. Debs 
Foundation.

10:00-10:50: First Panel and Discussion
Revisiting the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA) The Relevance of Social Movement Unionism for the Twenty-First Century.
Panel Moderator: Nancy Gabin
Harry Targ, “Class and Race: The Model of the Packinghouse Workers for Other Progressive Social Movements.” 
Russell Hall and Eric Waltenburg, “Media Framing of Class Conflict in the Meat-Packing Industry: Bargaining, Negotiation, Strikes, and the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA-CIO).” 

11:00-11:50: Second Panel and Discussion
Mass Incarceration and Social Justice
Panel Moderator: Wesley Bishop
Cale Erwin, “Society’s Responsibility Ends There: Mass Incarceration, Background Checks, and Social Condemnation.” 
Shanleigh Corrallo, “BUILD and FIGHT: Black Power Organizations and the Attica Prison Rebellion of 1971.”
Joseph Hower, “Solidarity for Some, Solidarity for Later? Prison Guards, Police, and the (Labor) Politics of Mass Incarceration in the United States, 1960s-1990s.”

12:00-1:00: Keynote Address, Professor Peter Cole, Western Illinois University, 
“Prisoner No. 9653: Eugene Debs on Capitalism, Incarceration, and Solidarity.”

Break for Lunch: 1:00-2:00

2:00-2:50: Third Panel and Discussion
Art, Resistance, and Representation
Panel Moderator: Lisa Phillips
Ismail Frouinin, “Intersectionality in Afro-American and Moroccan ‘Resistance Literature.’”
Alessandra Rosa, “Protest(arte): reimagining and redefining Puerto Ricanness in the 21st Century.”

3:00-3:50: Fourth Panel and Discussion
Nature and Resistance in Social Justice Movements
Panel Moderator: Micki Morahn 
Kaitlin Rothberger, “The Earth and the Fullness Thereof: Walking the Landscape of Pedagogy.”
Eduardo Erazo Acosta, “Alli Kawsay (Buen Vivir) in the Indigenous Movements of Columbia-Ecuador, Political-Economic Practices as a Global Model: In Defense of the Rights of Mother Nature and the Global South.”
Griffin Mahon, “The Emergent Strategy of Eugene Debs.”

3:50-4:00: Closing Remarks by Wesley Bishop, The Eugene V. Debs Foundation.

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(2021) Guest Lecture: Margaret Haile

Post-Event Update

Thank you to Cindy Ringer and all supporters who made this event a success. A recording of the program is available at this link.

The Forgotten Comrade: Margaret Haile

January 31st at 4 pm Eastern

Margaret Haile co-founded the Socialist Party of America and was the first woman to run for legislative office in Canada. But who was she, really? Precious little is known about this pioneer socialist and associate of Eugene V. Debs. Join us in welcoming guest speaker Cindy Ringer for a special virtual presentation, “The Forgotten Comrade: Margaret Haile.” Ms. Ringer’s research, combined with letters she inherited, casts new light on a remarkable woman who played an active role in the early years of socialist movements in the United States and Canada. A question and answer session will follow this one-hour presentation.  

Registration is required to view the presentation in Zoom Webinar. Follow this link to register. The program will also stream live on Facebook.

This free virtual program is brought to you by the Eugene V. Debs Foundation and Museum. Support our work and help keep the Debs legacy alive.

“I cannot eat my daily bread alone,
Give none to me if these cannot be fed.
With them I stand or fall, for we are one.
Father, give ALL of us our daily bread.”
-Margaret Haile, 1903