John D'Emilio, professor of History and Gender and Women's Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago, spoke Sept. 7 at Center on Halsted about a significant overlap in both the histories of the LGBT community and the American labor movement. It was the featured launch program for Lavender University in Chicago, presented by Windy City Times and Center on Halsted.
D'Emilio's talk, "No Race-Baiting, Red-Baiting, or Queer-Baiting: The Marine Cooks and Stewards Union from Depression to Cold War," was largely conceived and written by author Allan Berube, who was best known for the landmark history of gays in the military, Coming Out Under Fire, which was published in 1990. Berube died in 2007.
During the course of his research for Coming Out Under Fire, Berube was told repeatedly that he should look into the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union (MCS), which was active on the West Coast in the first half of the 20th century and saw its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s.
D'Emilio is literary executor of Berube's estate, and along with Estelle Freedman co-edited My Desire for History: Essays in Gay, Community, and Labor History, compiled from Berube's writings. He and Freedman have been trying to prepare Berube's MCS writings for publication.
A number of cruise ship stewards in the early 20th Century were gay, D'Emilio said, and many of them were either unable or unwilling to serve in the Navy because of thie homosexuality. They often dominated the employee culture of their ships. To be named a "queen" by them was a high compliment; the term implied respect and authority. They gave each other female nicknames as well.
The stewards' onboard working conditions were brutal, however, and stood in stark contrast to the luxurious traveling conditions many of their passengers knew. They slept below deck in cramped quarters and heat so intense that their shoes would become warped if they were left on the floor overnight.
But many of their conditions improved as MCS became active. By the mid-1940s, the union had about 15,000 members. About half of those members were African American, D'Emilio said. Unlike some labor organizations, MCS was not hostile to the idea of Black members and officials. Furthermore, many of MCS's leaders were openly gay and members of the Communist Party.
"The idea of solidarity with these white working men (was) a huge act of faith for these (Black) stewards," D'Emilio said.
MCS was active in the movement to integrate ships with all-white crews in the late 1930s. Union members would tie up ships that refused to allow Black stewards.
But the union weakened during the communist scare of the 1950s, when the government used the Taft-Hartley Law to bust union shops. Black members were largely loyal to the MCSU, but white members split into different political factions. Gay union leaders were outed and others were prosecuted in charges related to their communist ties.
MCS may have dissolved, D'Emilio said, "But they went down fighting. It's remarkable that they held out for so long. Their history is unknown today because of fear and intimidation. It was first rewritten as an un-American activity, then dismissed as an insignificant failure, and finally erased from our nation's memory as if what they achieved had never happened."
D'Emilio and Freedman redacted three different drafts of the book. "Each draft is a completely different startover," he said, admitting he is still unsure of what final form the material will ultimately take for publication.
D'Emilio's talk on the MCS was the first in the nine-month Lavender University series of LGBTQ educational programs featuring prominent scholars presenting innovative research and work. The programs, presented by Windy City Times and Center on Halsted, will take place one Saturday of every month, except the November presentation, which takes place on a Sunday.
See www.centeronhalsted.org/newevents-details.cfm .
