Honoring Organizing Legacies: American Agitators Screening at the James Green Memorial Lecture
The UMass Boston Labor Resource Center is hosting the James Green Memorial Lecture and Film Screening, featuring the powerful new documentary American Agitators.
Inspired by the legacy of grassroots organizer Fred Ross Sr., the film explores the enduring power of patience, deep listening, and collective action in building movements that advance justice. Ross’s organizing strategies shaped generations of labor and civil rights leaders, including Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, and continue to inform today’s campaigns for worker rights and social equity.
About the Program
The program will be introduced by Matt Garcia, Professor of History at Dartmouth College and author of From the Jaws of Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement.
Where: Democracy Brewing, 35 Temple Street, Boston, MA
When: Saturday, October 18, 2025 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Register here!
Why American Agitators?
American Agitators traces Ross’s life and work—from organizing Dust Bowl refugees in the 1930s, to fighting segregation in California schools, to supporting Japanese Americans resettling after WWII internment camps. His community-centered approach laid the groundwork for the landmark Mendez vs. Westminster case, which paved the way for Brown vs. Board of Education.
The film also connects Ross’s methods to today’s movements, from the Fight for $15 in Atlanta to teacher strikes in Oakland; his legacy demonstrates how persistence and grassroots power can combat racism, economic injustice, and corporate greed.
We encourage our network to attend this important conversation and screening to honor labor historian James Green and reflect on the enduring lessons of organizing.
Can’t make it? A second screening will take place on November 8 at the Brattle Theater.
American Agitators is ultimately a story of courage, persistence, and the power of ordinary people to achieve extraordinary change, an essential reminder for all working toward a just and sustainable future.
