Dynamic photo of Jack Stachel addressing a crowd of angry lettuce pickers and activists, in early 1930. As recounted in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF STRIKES IN AMERICAN HISTORY: “One strike […] was the farm workers’ strike of January 1930 in Imperial Valley, California. On New Year’s Day 1930, hundreds of Mexican and Filipino lettuce workers in Brawley, California, participated in a spontaneous work stoppage over wage cuts and unbearable working conditions. Within a week, 5,000 farm workers joined […] turning the Imperial Valley strike into an important struggle.” Though not noted on the photograph, it came to us attributed to Seema Weatherwax. Weatherwax, a Russian-born photographer, began her career with The Film and Photo League and was a lifelong activist for leftist causes and the image is clearly taken by a skilled cameraperson: Stachel looms large above the crowd, who hold signs that read “We demand stop to deportation of militant foreign born workers” and “Murdere by Imperial Valley Lettuce Growers.” Vivid testament to the long fight for workers rights.

$250