the civil rights and labor with Dr. Michael C. Pierce (ep 2, 26).

In this episode, Dr. Michael C. Pierce, labor historian and professor at the University of Arkansas, helps us unpack the deep connections between race, labor, and the struggle for civil rights in Northwest Arkansas. Long before the region was known for corporate giants and suburban growth, it was home to radical union organizing, socialist movements, and even biracial political alliances. Dr. Pierce walks us through this overlooked history, from the coal miners of Sebastian County to the rise and transformation of political figures like Orval Faubus, showing how civil rights were never just about laws or integration, but also about power, work, and who gets to belong.Together, we explore how systems of wealth and political control used race as a tool to divide poor Black and white communities, weakening labor movements and preserving elite influence. We examine how immigration, racial expulsion, and disfranchisement were not only acts of social exclusion but economic strategies. And we reflect on what it means today to live in a region where massive economic power coexists with rising inequality and housing insecurity. This conversation is about more than the past, it’s about the stories we inherit, the ones we ignore, and how honesty might offer a path toward wholeness.https://www.theunderview.com/episodes/the-underview-labor-civil-rights-dr-michael-c-pierce-arkansasAbout the underview:The underview is an exploration of the development of our Communal Theology of Place viewed through the medium of bikes, land, and people to discover community wholeness.Send us a Voice Message at https://www.theunderview.com/Website: ⁠⁠theunderview.com⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠@underviewtheHost: @mikerusch