The exhibit will open October 27, 2010 and run until July 1, 2011. The Reuther Library at 5401 Cass Ave. is across from the Main Detroit Public Library. “We are just the ambassador’s as so many people helped including the Office of the President, at Wayne State,” said Michael Smith.
Smith, Director of the Reuther Library at WSU and Marcin Chumiecki, Director of the ‘Polish Mission’ at St. Mary’s Schools at Orchard Lake got together last February and went to Miami to invite Lech Walesa to help kick off the exhibit.
The appearance of Walesa in Detroit is a historic event that will highlight the 30 year anniversary of the Solidarity movement.
Smith and Chumiecki went to the Polonaise Ball of Miami and networked with art maven Blanka Rosenstiel, President of the American Institute of Polish Culture. Walesa was appearing at the event and he joined on the project enthusiastically. “Blanka was also invaluable to help put this together in such a short time,” said Chumiecki.
The Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs at WSU is the largest labor archive in North America. Its mission is to collect, preserve and provide access to the heritage of the American labor movement. Reuther was the long time leader of the United Auto Workers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 1995 by President Bill Clinton. In Metro Detroit the I-696 Freeway is named the Walter P. Reuther Freeway in his honor.
The Polish Mission is a think tank and archival to promote Polonia. The St. Mary’s Schools include Madonna College-Satellite Campus, SS. Cyril+Methodius Catholic Seminary and St. Mary’s Preparatory High School. The Polish Mission has the goal to promote Polish-American culture and preserve artifacts supporting the history and traditions of Polonia.
“The Reuther Library has a strong tradition of reaching out into the community to document our labor history,” Smith added. “We will have some very rare photos and artifacts from Soldiarnosc in the exhibit. This exhibit is so important for Detroit.”
Smith and Chumiecki also travelled to Poland to research and document the background for the exhibit. There are first person accounts, which are the most valuable in a history account. Some items are on loan from the Polish Mission. Smith added, “Walesa said he was honored to come to Detroit to announce the opening of this exhibit. He was genuinely enthused and of course added insights that only he could do. This is living history.”
Walesa, who will be on a tight and restricted schedule during his Detroit visit, was the first democratically elected president in postwar Poland. He was President of Poland from 1990-95. He was front and center for the “Solidarity” trade union movement that eventually changed Poland and led to the break of control from Russia. This was the seeds for the political changing of the borders of the USSR.
A former welder at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his human rights efforts throughout Europe. The labor leader is semi-retired and limits his appearances.
Wanda Strozyk, President of Fiat Solidarity Union in Poland will also be appearing in Detroit. The visit just happens to coincide with a historic labor vote that will affect the aviation industry. Thru November 3, the Delta Airlines Flight Attendants and the former Northwest Airlines F/A’s are voting to determine if there is going to be representation by the Association of Flight Attendants-Communication Workers of America (AFL-CIO). Delta is now the largest commercial airline in the world.
Before he passed, Pope John Paul II said, “Solidarity is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that is, to the good of all and of each individual because we are all responsible for each other.” Pope John Paul was a big supporter of the Solidarnosc movement.
Groups can make arrangements to view the exhibit at 313-577-4024, starting October 27.
(Editor’s Note: Raymond Rolak is an aviation writer and attended Wayne State University)