Child of the Sit-Downs_ The Revolutionary Life of Genora Dollinger - Carlton Jackson [7]
Outside of her working life, Genora enjoyed piano lessons from her mother but endured hateful messages from her father, who joined the Ku Klux Klan. This trauma impacted her life significantly, as she continually strove to separate her own persona from that of her father. Later, as an adult, Genora joyfully joined the NAACP. Her motive here was to do well by a mistreated minority, but there could have been a subconscious rebellion against her bigoted father. It is probable that she loved her father, but she did not like him. Chapter 1 also shows the influence on Genora of Carl Johnson, father of Kermit Johnson, Genora’s first husband. Carl was a “prairie populist,” and his writings had an influence on Genora’s young, developing, and impressionable mind. She became a Socialist by fifteen and remained one for the rest of her life.
Chapter 2 deals with the sit-down strikes of 1937 against General Motors, the most powerful automobile maker in American history. Genora’s first husband, Kermit Johnson, was a strategic leader against GM, and Genora and her female colleagues wanted to work with him. But they refused to do the usual things in strike situations—such as making sandwiches and coffee and offering vocal encouragement. Genora was bound and determined that she and her ladies-in-arms be in the front line of these events. She and her followers joined the strike as equals with the sit-downers. Few labor histories have credited these women with major accomplishments, but it does seem clear that they were instrumental in bringing victory in 1937 to the UAW against mighty GM.
Chapter 3 discusses the lure of Trotskyism for Genora, especially during the heady days following the end of the sit-down strikes in February 1937. She was now famous on the local level, well-known throughout the state, and even noticed internationally when the photo of her and her son Jody standing in a picket line was printed in European newspapers. Her role in the Flint strikes further deepened the estrangement with her father because many of his friends began asking him about his “Bolshevik” daughter.
The Socialist Party in Flint, wishing to make the most of Genora’s notoriety, sent her on an extensive speaking tour to industrial cities in New England and along the Atlantic seaboard. She spoke to thousands of union people: here was a high school dropout lecturing the rank and file of unionism and giving advice to union leaders on how to win victories against major corporations. She always included discussions of the WEB, which had contributed so much to the victory in Flint.
With the Great Depression, many unemployed persons set up tents in Flint’s Oak Park after being ejected from their homes because they couldn’t pay rent. A confrontation resulted between several unemployed workers and the city of Flint. Genora and Kermit quickly joined them, eventually helping to win their case. The Johnsons were not totally altruistic: they did a bit of proselytizing for Socialism. But factionalism in the Flint Socialist Party led to the ultimate expulsion of the Johnsons. Immediately they became members and leaders of the Socialist Workers Party, positions they held for several months. This chapter also addresses the growing separateness of Genora and Kermit. No matter how famous one becomes, there is always the need for balance between career and family, as explained in chapter 3. The chapter ends with her introduction to a man named Sol Dollinger, to whom she would be married for more than a half-century.
Chapter 4 touches on World War II and the continuing problems of being a revolutionary on the one hand and a wife and mother on the other. Sol was away with the U.S. Coast Guard for lengthy periods, leaving Genora with two small children (from her marriage to Kermit Johnson), households to manage, and recruitment activities