Working the Boats: Masters of the Craft
Both Atlantic Portals and Working the Boats: Masters of the Craft are in post-production, and pending securing finishing
Working the Boats: Masters of the Craft, a six webisode documentary series, captures the golden years of Local 1329 of the I.L.A. (the International Longshoremen’s Association) in the voices of those who built it and from the community they supported. Founded in Providence, Rhode Island in 1933 by Manuel Q. Ledo, a Cape Verdean community leader, Local 1329 of the I.L.A. (the International Longshoremen’s Association) was the first predominantly Cape Verdean labor union in New England.
“Masters of the Craft” refers to the men in charge of the gangs that unloaded and loaded cargo in the ports of Providence. It was a job that demanded great skill: it was a major mark of distinction to rise through the ranks and become a walking foreman, or “Master of the Craft.” Local 1329 was the “table that fed the community”: it was a way of life, not a job, and the economic lifeline for three generations of Cape Verdean men from Fox Point who worked the boats in the ports of Providence.
The l940s to early l970s was a booming period for the waterfront. Providence, Rhode Island was one of the busiest ports on the eastern seaboard, with scrap iron and loose lumber being two of the biggest cargos coming into the Port of Providence. “Working the Boats” was the economic lifeline for the Cape Verdean community in the Fox Point section of Providence, RI, providing jobs and security for between 200 to 250 Local 1329 members and their families. Jobs were passed down from father to son, and new members learned their “craft” on the job from their fathers, brothers, cousins, neighbors and extended family.
The horsing around, pranks, fights, tragedies and stories about the old country, Cape Verdean mariners and whalers became the lore of the waterfront that was shared over meal breaks or the long bus rides back and forth to the ports further down Narragansett Bay at Davisville, Quonset, Portsmouth, or Melville. The webisode brings the story to the present, as modernization, cranes, generational tensions and changing demographics are distancing Local 1329 from the traditions and lifestyle that sustained a community.
This webisode is the second in a trilogy of documentaries about the Cape Verdean community in the Fox Point. “Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?”: A Cape Verdean American Story, the first in the trilogy, is the story of the community and the untold tragedy and scandal of what happened when the Cape Verdeans were forcibly displaced by urban renewal to make way for fancy coffee shops, antique stores and elegantly restored houses.
Working the Boats: Masters of the Craft WEBISODE.
Each segment is around ten minutes
1) Fox Point Community – This segment talks about the relationship between the workers of Local 1329 and the community.
2) Craft – This segment explores the skills required to work on the waterfront and how the work has changed over the years.
3) Dangers – The waterfront is a dangerous place. Many of the interviewees talk about the injuries they have suffered and the accidents they’ve witnessed in this segment.
4) Generations – Several generations of families have made their lives on the waterfront. With each generation, new challenges arise and conflicts between the new and the old emerge.
5) Union – Safety, proper compensation, seniority and many other benefits the workers of the waterfront now enjoy were fought for by the previous generations through the union. The workers contemplate the future and wonder who will take on the fight now that many of them are on the verge of retirement.
6) The Women – The longshoremen’s wives and daughters talk about their life and role within the community at the waterfront.
Dear Friends, We are pleased to announce that we have reached our $10,000 goal: $8,505 in online donations and $1,495 direct mailed/special event donations. Many of you have donated more than once, and we appreciate your faith, support and encouragement for the long haul as well as this final campaign that helped us cross the finish line for this documentary webisode This campaign has provided us with working capital that allowed us to move forward and work on the episodes. The special screenings of each completed episode has brought much joy to and positive feedback that is encouraging and uplifting .
Visit our website www.spiamedia.com for updates, subsequent screenings and broadcast of the webisode.
Donors will receive a credit on the webisode.
THANK YOU!
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