MONMOUTH, Ill. — Peter Cole, associate professor of history at Western Illinois University, will present the first annual Labor Day lecture at Monmouth College on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Barnes Electronic Classroom, which is located on the lower level of Hewes Library.

Free and open to the public, Cole’s lecture, which is titled "Bombs and Banners: The History of Labor Day and Why It Still Matters," is co-sponsored by two campus organizations, Phi Alpha Theta and the History Club.

Cole, who received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from Georgetown University, focuses his U.S. history research on the intersections of class, ethnicity and race. Prior to teaching at WIU, he has also held faculty positions at Georgetown, Washington College, Western Maryland College and Boise State University. He is the author of "Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive Era Philadelphia" and "Black Wobbly: The Life and Writings of Benjamin Harrison Fletcher."