The painting on the cover of this issue of New Labor Forum is titled “The March of the People.” It is one panel in a larger mural called the “The City at the Crossroads of History” by renowned labor artist, Mike Alewitz.  The mural was commissioned by the Puffin Foundation for a new gallery at the Museum of the City of New York, one that would be devoted to the history of social activism in the city.

Several years in the making, the mural was completed and submitted in 2014. It was unanimously accepted by the foundation and the museum’s advisory committee of leading intellectuals but was rejected by the museum’s director.

Alewitz, whose defiant images have frequently been censored, commented, “The museum never issued a formal statement explaining the rejection—my guess is the mural was too radical, too pro-union, and too damn revealing about how some donors got their fortunes.”

“Unfortunately,” Alewitz added, “the rejection was meekly accepted by the advisory committee and the foundation.  In turn, the city’s progressive media, always fearful of offending funders, suppressed the story. After all, foundations and cultural institutions are here to prop up the system, not help bring it down.”

“Fortunately, I painted the mural on canvas panels instead of on site, so we may yet find it a home.  Working people deserve to have their story told.”

These events remind us that censorship of art is not new. Among the most notorious examples is Diego Rivera’s mural, “Man at the Crossroads.” Installed in a building in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, it was destroyed by the Rockefeller family in 1933. Fortunately, Mike Alewitz’s mural is here for us to appreciate. New Labor Forum is honored to feature “The March of the People” on our cover.

View “The City at the Crossroads of History” full mural here:  https://tinyurl.com/Click-Here-for-Complete-Mural