For decades, the circumstances of Lewis Bradford?s death ? and the commitment to working people that defined his life ? was unknown, even to many members of his own family. But through a new ?jazz opera? to be performed this month by Macalester College students, his story is receiving long overdue recognition.

The work, titled ?Forgotten: The Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant,? was written by Bradford?s great-nephew Steve Jones, a Washington, D.C., composer, pianist and labor activist. The St. Paul performances, scheduled April 29 at the United Auto Workers Local 879 hall and April 30 at Macalester?s Concert Hall, mark only the third time the new drama has been performed.

Many of the Macalester performers are also part of a unique course, ?Telling Labor?s Story through Music,? that is a collaboration between the college?s history and music departments. Students are excited about the opportunity to perform, to work directly with Jones, who has visited the campus ? and to relate a true-life story.

?The fact that the story is forgotten and nobody knows about it and we?re getting it out is very exciting,? said Maureen Franks, a Macalester freshman.

The poster promoting "Forgotten."

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Unearthing the truth
Several years ago, Steve Jones and his brother, Peter, began looking into the history of Lewis Bradford, one of five members of their grandfather?s family who all became Methodist ministers. Bradford?s case was unusual in that, in the 1930s, he left the ministry to take a job on the assembly line at the Ford Rouge plant, which by the mid-1920s was the largest manufacturing operation in the world.

Although his motivations aren?t totally clear, Jones believes Bradford was on a mission to make peace between labor and management ? and working on the line was one way to get to know the workers and their issues. Although he shoveled sand in a glass pit for 75 cents an hour, Bradford was ?not your average worker,? Jones notes.

Bradford held regular meetings with workers outside the plant to hear their concerns, and every Sunday convened a group called ?The League of 1,000 Men.?

It was a time of turmoil, with the fledgling United Auto Workers union organizing workers by the thousands in the auto industry ? and company owners like Henry Ford fiercely resisting the campaign, using company thugs to intimidate workers and drive out union sympathizers.

On May 26, 1937, in what became known as ?The Battle of the Overpass,? UAW leader Walter Reuther and three other union organizers were attacked by company thugs under the command of Harry Bennett, the much-feared head of Ford?s Service Department who enforced the company?s anti-union policies. Six months later, Bradford died on the assembly line, with clear evidence he was the victim of homicide.

Jones believes Bennett was responsible.

?The family was told there had been an accident in the factory,? Jones found in the course of researching his relative. ? ?He must have fallen and hit his head. We?re really sorry ? and by the way, you better leave town.??

Jones later obtained a copy of the original autopsy, which indicated Bradford?s injuries were consistent with a homicide. But no charges were ever brought, his wife and daughter left town, and ?the family couldn?t talk about it.?

Jones realized he could tell the story, using his skills as a composer. ?I was really driven to try to do something about this,? he said.

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?Jazz opera?
The form of ?Forgotten? is perhaps best defined as ?jazz opera,? Jones said. Nearly every word is sung and the performers are accompanied by a trio of three jazz musicians. Songs include ?Ford Hunger March,? about the Detroit demonstration where five workers were killed and many others injured, and ?We Speak Louder than Machines,? written with Jones? friend Elise Bryant, an artist at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies.

Bryant directed the world premiere of ?Forgotten? in Detroit in March. The work had an earlier reading in Washington, D.C., but the Motor City performance was the first full production.

Audience members included many members of Bradford?s family, whom Jones said were moved to tears by the portrayal of Lewis? life and death, the importance of family and spirituality and the tumultuous times of the 1930s. The work is not all somber, though, as it mixes in moments of humor to poke fun at Henry Ford and illustrate how workers persevered despite tough times.

Student performers bring a new dimension to ?Forgotten,? said Jones, who visited St. Paul in March and spent a few days watching and working with them.

?It?s great to have these really bright, articulate, thoughtful kids,? he said. ?To build solidarity between students and union members is a great idea.?

Composer Steve Jones at the keyboard. Photo courtesy Steve Jones

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Unusual course
Macalester History Professor Peter Rachleff and Music Professor Bob Peterson are team-teaching the one-of-a-kind class which is producing ?Forgotten.? During the first part of the semester, students learned about the legacy of working people in music, from the songs of slaves to the works of Woody Guthrie, protest music of the 1960s and others.

Everyone in the class is involved in some aspect of the production, and students outside of the class were recruited to complete the cast.

?This has been for me a chance to teach labor history through music,? said Rachleff, who has been active in labor causes for many years and mentors many students who have gone on to work in the movement.

Both professors visited Detroit to watch the performance directed by Bryant, which Peterson described as ?a tremendous production that was extremely emotional.? He welcomed the rare opportunity to collaborate directly with the composer of a new work and to bring in guest speakers, such as Rob McKenzie, president of UAW Local 879, which represents workers at the St. Paul Ford plant.

?The fun part is watching them (students) connect to a piece of history,? said Peterson.

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Relating it to their lives
Cast members said they have learned a lot from ?Forgotten.?

Freshman Andrew Ancheta said he has done volunteer work for unions back in his home state of New York, but knew nothing about the historical connections between music and workers. He is particularly intrigued by the 1930s as captured in ?Forgotten? and in other works, such as the landmark play, ?Cradle Will Rock.?

?Most people don?t know much about that period today,? he noted.

?I don?t think I realized the violence that was involved ? the reaction of Ford and others to the labor movement,? said Laura Miller, a junior majoring in chemistry.

Added sophomore Laura Meinke, ?I am amazed at how much progress unions have been able to make, taking on these huge corporations. It makes doing things today seem a lot more doable.?

For Yongho Kim, who was born in Korea and raised in Chile, the class and play show ?the hidden faces in the U.S.? A junior majoring in anthropology, Yongho is currently doing an internship with the Twin Cities Religion and Labor Network.

?It seems the workers today face the same issues as the 1930s,? he said.

After more than three years of interviewing relatives and reading letters and diaries to gather all the information he could about Bradford, then crafting it into a musical drama, Jones is proud to honor his legacy.

?Thousands of people built the union,? he said. ?It was a big sacrifice. People died to make this happen.?

But Jones wants ?Forgotten,? to be more than ?a window on the way things were.?

?Lewis Bradford and his story could be happening and it is happening right now in places like Colombia,? he said.

To see ?Forgotten?
?Forgotten: The Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant? will be staged Thursday, April 29, at 8 p.m. at the UAW Local 879 hall, 2191 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, and on Friday, April 30, at 8 p.m. at the Concert Hall, Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, at Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul. Admission to both performances is free.

For more information
Visit the website dedicated to ?Forgotten:? www.forgottenshow.net

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