[1] The award is named for Joe Hill, a radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World.
He was executed for the murder of a Salt Lake City grocer and his son, a crime for which the police released a more likely suspect.
[2][3] Hill's conviction and unsuccessful appeal generated international calls for clemency, including by President Woodrow Wilson.
Joan Baez's Woodstock performance of "Joe Hill" in 1969 is the most well-known recording.
The Labor Heritage Foundation began presenting the Joe Hill Award in 1989.