Ford Strikers Riot
Ford Strikers Riot is a 1941 photograph which shows a strikebreaker getting beaten by United Auto Workers (UAW). Photographer Milton Brooks captured the image and it won the first Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 1942.[1]
Background
The image was taken in Dearborn, Michigan at the Rouge Plant of the Ford Motor Company during a worker Strike action on April 3, 1941.[2] The image was captured by The Detroit News photographer Milton Brooks.[3] A peaceful picketing of the Ford Motor Company was interrupted when a single man clashed with the Union men who were picketing. The man ignored the advice of the Michigan State Police and crossed the picket lines. Brooks waited with other photo journalists outside the Ford factory gates. Brooks described what happened, "I saw a man pick a fight with some of the pickets." Brooks took only one photograph and he said, "I took the picture quickly, hid the camera... ducked into the crowd... a lot of people would have liked to wreck that picture.[4]
Description
The image shows a strikebreaker being beaten by striking United Auto Workers (UAW) strikers.[5] The picture shows a man with his coat pulled over his head. The man is surrounded by eight men who have clenched fists and clubs. After the photo was taken, the man was bleeding and stunned and had to be taken to the Ford Motor Company's hospital.[4]
Reception
The image won the first Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 1942.[5] The members of the Pulitzer jury were Herbert Brucker, Richard F. Crandell and Roscoe B. Ellard.[6] There were 109 entries to the new photography category. The Pulitzer jury selected 11 finalists and after deliberating they selected Ford Strikers Riot as the winner. The Pulitzer jury said that it is a "brutal picture, it sums up much of the labor history of 1941."[7] The award was accompanied by US$500 prize (equivalent to $9,324 in 2023).[8]
In Carol Quirke's 2012 book Eyes on Labor, she stated that photography plays a partisan role for both employers and employees. She said the image is a portrayal of the struggle in America between capital and labor.[9] The Los Angeles Times referred to the photograph as a "dramatic picture of a gang in action".[10]
See also
- Battle of the Overpass, another famous photograph and incident.
- Ford Hunger March
- List of photographs considered the most important
References
- ^ Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich; Fischer, Erika J., eds. (2010). Press Photography Award 1942–1998: From Joe Rosenthal and Horst Faas to Moneta Sleet and Stan Grossfeld. Vol. 14. DeGruyter. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9783598301841. ISBN 3598301847.
- ^ Finley, Nolan (23 August 2023). "The Detroit News at 150: A timeline". The Detroit News. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Obituary of Milton E. (Pete) Brooks". Detroit Free Press. 6 September 1956. p. 29. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ a b Fischer, Heinz Dietrich (2011). Picture Coverage of the World: Pulitzer Prize Winning Photos. Berlin, Germany: LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 4, 5. ISBN 978-3-643-10844-9. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ a b King, Gilbert (30 April 2013). "How the Ford Motor Company Won a Battle and Lost Ground". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Milton Brooks of The Detroit News". www.pulitzer.org. The Pulitzer Prizes. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Fischer, Heinz Dietrich (2011). Picture Coverage of the World: Pulitzer Prize Winning Photos. Berlin, Germany: LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-643-10844-9. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Pulitzer Prize Awards". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 5 May 1942. p. 15. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ DiGirolamo, V. (1 March 2014). "Eyes on Labor: News Photography and America's Working Class". Journal of American History. 100 (4): 1242–1243. doi:10.1093/jahist/jau088. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "'Ford Strikers Riot,' Pulitzer Prize News Picture of 1941". The Los Angeles Times. 17 May 1942. p. 80. Retrieved 12 February 2024.