October 28, 2016 Hello ,
In writing about Fannie Sellins, I pulled an unknown heroine out of obscurity to offer today's young women a broader picture of their history.
Along the way, I uncovered similar labor union women,
whose bravery has likewise been forgotten.
This week, I share some of their stories in honor of the birth day of Fannie Never
Flinched, which is Tuesday, in case you missed it! In this photo you see the grim faces of strikers outside a union hall in Walsenberg, Colorado after two strikers were shot dead by state police.
But you'll never see the face of the
woman who took charge of the strike after all the union leaders were arrested.
She's described as a "Mexican mother", a "Indian half breed" and "Mrs. Felix Arrellano" whose husband had been injured in a mine accident.
Though her name is lost to history, The Denver Morning Post recorded her words and deeds, telling how she lead a crowd of women
storming the jail, demanding to see their husbands and sons who'd been locked up, or transported across the state line under threat of death if they returned.
"If we were asking for diamonds we wouldn't deserve them," this nameless woman began her fiery speech."But we are asking for bread."
Half a dozen strikers were shot dead and scores wounded before mine owners finally gave in and settled the strike, though they refused
to
recognize the union.
Another labor union heroine is Emma Langdon, and we know her name because she set linotype at a union newspaper in the gold mining district of Cripple Creek, Colorado.
During the Cripple Creek Strike in 1904, national guard troops arrested the staff of the Victor Daily Record. But they overlooked Emma, maybe because she was a woman.
She sneaked into the newspaper office and working through the night, published the next morning's edition On Memorial day,1937, a steelworkers strike turned deadly in southeast Chicago. Police opened fire on a crowd of union families marching toward the front gate of Republic Steel. Ten
workers were shot and thirty wounded.
Lupe Marshall, a housewife and social worker was one of another fifty-five union sympathizers beaten in the melee of police clubs, tear gas and bullets.
During and investigation by the U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor, Lupe described what happened that day.
I
evaded these policemen that were immediately in front of me . . . . I was aware that my head was bleeding. I noticed that my blouse was all stained with blood, and that sort of brought me to, and I started walking slowly toward the direction from which a policeman had just clubbed an individual, and this individual dragged himself a bit and tried to get up, when the policeman clubbed him again. He did that four times....I screamed at
the policeman and said, “Don’t do that. Can’t you see he is terribly injured?” And at the moment I said that, somebody struck me from the back again and knocked me down.
Before Lupe and other victims received medical help, one mad died, his head in her lap. As often happened when strikes turned violent, police claimed they acted in self-defense
and blamed the violence on communists and radicals.
Some fifteen years later during the McCarthy era, Lupe Marshall was charged with communism and faced deportation under the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952. There is no evidence that she had done anything illegal or was a threat to national security, but
she moved to Jamaica and never returned to the U.S.
Huge thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who forwarded last week's newsletter to help get out the word about FANNIE NEVER FLINCHED!
I'm sorry if the FANNIE NEVER FLINCHED book trailer link did not work for you last week. You can click here to see it.
The book is featured on SCBWI/Book Blast. If you have a few seconds,
please click over there and click the ♥ to raise my score. Philip Dray, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, was kind enough to lend his expertise when I was writing Fannie Never Flinched. I did not finish his book, but only because it is 816 pages! Definitely an epic
story! What I did read was fascinating and I recommend it. Philip is a great storyteller. I'll leave you with a photo from my trip to Michelangelo's beloved
Florence, showing Santa Croce, the church in the neighborhood where he grew up.
Michelangelo died in Rome, but the people of Florence wanted him buried here. A group broke into Rome’s church of Santissimi Apostoli, stole
the artist’s body and smuggled it back to Florence.
Until next week... Have you read a great book? Tell me about it. Have a burning question? Let me know.
If you know someone who might enjoy
my newsletter or books, please forward this e-mail. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe below anytime with a single mouse click. To find out more about my books, how I help students, teacher and librarians, visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com. My best, Mary
Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. |
|
