Mike Hamlin (1935-2017) was an American labor activist and social worker. Hamlin was born in Mississippi and moved to

Ecorse, Michigan Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,305 at the 2020 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroi ...

just outside of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 1947. Hamlin is featured in the documentary ''Finally Got The News'' which documents the formation, movement practices, and philosophy of the

League of Revolutionary Black Workers The League of Revolutionary Black Workers (LRBW) formed in 1969 in Detroit, Michigan. The League united a number of different Revolutionary Union Movements (RUMs) that were growing rapidly across the auto industry and other industrial sectors—i ...

(LRBW), a Marxist–Leninist organization of Black workers in Detroit that he co-founded.

Early life

Hamlin was born to a sharecropping family on a rural plantation near Canton, Mississippi. In August 1947 he moved to the industrial town of

Ecorse Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,305 at the 2020 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

. Hamlin attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

before being forced to end his studies as a result of limited financial means. In 1956 he joined the Army and began his basic training in 1957 at a military base in Missouri.

Activism

Upon return in 1960, Hamlin landed a job at the

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

assisting drivers. His involvement post the 1967 Detroit rebellion led him to join in the creation of Inner City Voice, a local periodical circulating in Detroit communities. The role of the Inner City Voice community in shaping the emergent

Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement The Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM) was an organization of African-American workers formed in May 1968 in the Chrysler Corporation's Dodge Main assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan. History Detroit labor activist Martin Glaberman est ...

(1968) and

(1968) has been documented in numerous periodicals, books, and academic scholarship. In the updated edition of ''Detroit: I Do Mind Dying'' Hamlin explains, "What distinguished the League of Revolutionary Black Workers was that we were able to engage masses of black workers at a time when people didn't know how to approach or mobilize them". Hamlin went on to organize numerous other groups and coalitions in

. He returned to college eventually earning his Masters of Social Work, working with the UAW, and as a professor of Black Studies at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. He died on April 18, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlin, Mike 1935 births 2017 deaths Activists from Detroit 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics African-American activists African-American trade unionists American community activists Members of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers People from Canton, Mississippi Trade unionists from Michigan University of Michigan alumni Wayne State University faculty