W. Dean Hudson would often drive by John P. Green Place in the city’s Union-Miles neighborhood and wonder who its namesake was.
Then three years ago, she found out. She was invited to a Labor Day event at Woodlawn Cemetery in Cleveland at the gravesite of John P. Green. It was then that she learned that many consider Green the Father of Labor Day. As a Republican state representative from Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, Green introduced the 1890 bill establishing the holiday in Ohio. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.
“Hundreds and hundreds of people participate in the [Labor Day] parade, but they have no idea who John P. Green is,” she said.
Given the climate that we live in now, with books being taken off the shelf and statues taken down, we don’t want our history to be erased.”
W. Dean Hudson of the Cleveland Chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, which is helping to preserve the legacy of John P. Green, often known as the Father of Labor Day.
As a Black woman who long has been active in the labor movement, she was embarrassed that she didn’t know about Green and angry that his place in history isn’t well-known. When she spoke about him at a meeting of the Cleveland chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), many members had a similar reaction.
“A lot of people had never heard of John P. Green,” she said. “They started Googling him on the phone.”
That was then. Now, everyone in the Black union group knows who John Patterson Green was. They didn’t only have to rely on Google to find out. Many learned firsthand from Dorothy Salem, a retired Cuyahoga Community College history professor who is perhaps the most ardent supporter in Northeast Ohio of keeping Green’s legacy alive. As educational outreach coordinator of the Woodland Cemetery Foundation, she led the effort to turn Green’s gravesite into a memorial, which includes landscaping and an historical plaque. She has organized annual Labor Day tributes to Green at his gravesite, which she tirelessly tends.
From the archives: The legacy of John Patterson Green
Father of Labor Day was Black lawmaker from Cleveland
John Patterson Green, who introduced a bill in 1890 creating the holiday, is honored with a memorial garden at Woodland Cemetery.
The Black trade unionist coalition has joined her in preserving Green’s gravesite and holding the annual Labor Day observance to honor him. This year’s event will run from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at his gravesite. Enter through the Quincy Avenue gate, between East 66th and East 71 streets. More information is on the Woodland Cemetery Foundation website or from Salem: dorthysalem@yahoo.com or (216) 337-9217.
Hudson said she and the coalition are committed to joining Salem in honoring and raising awareness about Green.
“Given the climate that we live in now, with books being taken off the shelf and statues taken down, we don’t want our history to be erased,” Hudson said.
