Kheel Center
A More Perfect Union: Crystal Lee Sutton and the J.P. Stevens Boycott
February 27 – December 23, 2023
Based on the inspiring story behind the 1979 award winning film “Norma Rae,” the Kheel Center’s forthcoming exhibit A More Perfect Union: Crystal Lee Sutton and the J.P. Stevens Boycott highlights the organizing work of the real Norma Rae, Crystal Lee Sutton, a mill worker in a Roanoke Rapids cotton mill in North Carolina. The story portrayed in Norma Rae depicts Crystal Lee’s early unionizing efforts, showcasing only one part of a massive national boycott of J.P. Stevens administered by the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). Bringing in artifacts, photographs, documents, and videos from the Kheel Center’s extensive collection of ACTWU and J.P. Stevens’ records on the boycott, this exhibit will tell the story from both sides of the labor and management divide – providing a new perspective on this classic film.
