Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM) graphics
“Strike your blow against racism / do your part / no work today / black workers strike”.
A flyer for a wildcat strike rally in 1969. The text at the top is set in Futura Bold, the bottom in Flash Bold. The dollar sign ($) that was repurposed as ampersand (&) as well as the DIY T in “TODAY” suggest that this was composed with press type.
From the Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University (by way of Josh Lipnik).
The Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM) was an radical organization of Black workers formed in May 1968 at the Chrysler Dodge Main Plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. Forged in the crucible of a wildcat strike, the workers sought concessions from both Chrysler and United Auto Workers, and in a short time got them from both. Despite folding within a few years, DRUM forced the overwhelmingly white UAW leadership to reckon with racism, helped end Detroit’s lethal STRESS police unit, and improved working conditions in Detroit-area factories.
A booklet chronicling the origin and political philosophy of DRUM and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, 1970. The title is set in Microgramma Bold Extended, the remaining text in Univers.
One issue of the movement newsletter. The title is set in Cooper Black, “Hail James Johnson” (a worker at Chrysler's Eldon Avenue Gear and Axle Plant who killed his foreman) in Futura bold italic.
