Archie Green: The Making of a Working-Class Hero celebrates one of the
most revered folklorists and labor historians of the twentieth century.
Devoted to understanding the diverse cultural customs of working people,
Archie Green (1917-2009) tirelessly documented these traditions and
educated the public about the place of workers' culture and music in
American life. Doggedly lobbying Congress for support of the American
Folklife Preservation Act of 1976, Green helped establish the American
Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, a significant collection of
images, recordings, and written accounts that preserve the myriad
cultural productions of Americans. Capturing the many dimensions of
Green's remarkably influential life and work, Sean Burns draws on
extensive interviews with Green and his many collaborators to examine
the intersections of radicalism, folklore, labor history, and worker
culture with Green's work. Burns closely analyzes Green's political
genealogy and activist trajectory while illustrating how he worked to
open up an independent political space on the American Left that was
defined by an unwavering commitment to cultural pluralism.