A Short Q&A with Matt Hild, co-editor of Reconsidering Southern Labor History: Race, Class, and Power
Today’s interview is with Matthew Hild, a Lecturer at Georgia Tech.
1. Matt, tell me about the Introduction and Conclusion to RSLH.
In the introduction, we set out to provide a general framework for the topics discussed in the book and to briefly discuss each of the essays. We also tried to provide a general overview of southern labor history and historiography. In the conclusion, “Why Labor History Still Matters,” we set out to answer that question and explain the link between southern labor history and the challenges facing southern (and other American) workers today.
2. What sparked your interest in labor history?
My interest in labor history began with my experiences as a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) at a job that I had while I was in high school. After that, I began studying history in college. I then realized that examining labor history provided a different—and, in some ways, more meaningful—perspective than the more traditional history classes that seemed to focus largely on politics and wars.
3. Why do you think that the study of labor history is important today?
Again, we tried to explain this in our introduction and, especially, conclusion. In short, though, the American working classes are facing greater challenges today than they have in decades. The study of labor history—and, we hope, reading this book—offers some valuable lessons for meeting those challenges.
4. What are you currently working on?
Arcadia Publishing has just published a brief history of Georgia Tech, consisting of about 20,000 words and over 200 vintage photos, which I co-authored with my fellow Georgia Tech graduate alumnus David Morton. At the beginning of November, the University of Missouri Press will publish my book Arkansas’s Gilded Age: The Rise, Decline, and Legacy of Populism and Working-Class Protest. I also have two short works in progress, both dealing with late nineteenth-century southern labor history, which will be articles or chapters in edited books.