Art Against Injustice
Region 5 donates historic artwork to the union
“Art must communicate. That’s what it’s about. For me there is no other reason to paint,” said Don Cincone, the Louisiana-based, internationally acclaimed artist. Cincone painted “And the Truth Goes Marching On,” the colorful, 51¼-by-12-foot mural-like painting that now adorns a wall inside the Walter and May Reuther UAW Family Education Center at Black Lake in northern Michigan.
It was donated to the union by Region 5.
“When J.D. Gray, Region 5’s education representative, gave me books and articles to read about the UAW in preparation for this project, I realized the union movement paralleled and overlapped all the movements against injustice in this country,” said Cincone.
These dazzling images of historical figures and events are already provoking union members to inquire about and discuss worker history and the UAW’s mission as a social movement.
“I was at the Civil Rights Conference in September at Black Lake. Delegates would walk by the mural and something would catch their eye. Every time they stopped by, they would see something different and find something new to talk about,” said Cleo Garrett, Region 5 Civil Rights Council president and Local 2244’s community relations liaison at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, Calif.
“Someone would ask, ‘Who is that person?’ And someone else would say, ‘That’s Walter Reuther or A. Phillip Randolph.’ Then another delegate would point out the image of a child carrying a dead child and ask, ‘What’s this about?’ And then someone would say, ‘That’s when South African police shot the children protesting apartheid.’ ”
Hearing union members talking with each other about the universal struggle for social and economic justice, learning their union has always been a part of that struggle and sharing their own life experiences would have thrilled Cincone, who was commissioned 11 years ago by Region 5 to paint the mural although finishing touches weren’t completed until the past year.
The painting depicts historical events as early as the 1937 Battle of the Overpass where UAW organizers were attacked by Ford security goons, and as recent as members of the New York Fire Department working to rescue victims of the 9/11 terror attack at the World Trade Center.
Region 5’s Martin Luther King Steering Committee and Civil Rights Council played major roles in raising funds to make the mural possible. “Not only is the mural a beautiful illustration of our union’s history and its leaders, but it is a testament to the solidarity of Region 5’s membership and the great leadership of Region 5 Director Jim Wells,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.
