African American delegate raising his hand to speak during the 1943 NMU Convention.

See this image and listen to Paul Robeson sing the classic folk song “Joe Hill” by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson in the exhibit Paul Robeson and the NMU. Through text and recordings the exhibit tells the story of Robeson’s deep connection to the NMU’s fight to integrate America’s ships. 

Other exhibits in the series include, Why Unions? Art from the National Maritime Union, on graphic art from the period, Sailor Stories, Sailor Songs, with NMU stories and songs, and Fighting Jim Crow on the High Seas, on the long haunting story of the Fall Strike that built the NMU.

NMU Convention Proceedings, 1943. Courtesy of Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives and Tamiment Library of New York University.