Mary Harris Jones, aka Mother Jones, was an Irish immigrant, school teacher, dress maker, and union/labor organizer. She was feisty and fearless. She organized strikes and fought for union rights during a time when women were expected to stay home and did not have the right to vote (Civil War time, folks, this was a women way ahead of her time). She was once called the most dangerous woman in America. Don’t you love ❤️ her! Raise HELL!
“No matter what the fight, don’t be ladylike!”
“Sit down and read. Educate yourself for the coming conflicts.”
― Mother Jones
Lucy Parsons was an American labor organizer. She was the OG Anarchist (an Original Gangsta). Although little is known about her childhood, many believe she was born a slave. In the 1920s the Chicago policy department called her “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.” She fought for the 8 hour day and other workers’ rights.
Not only was she an active force in the US labor movement, she was a political activist and fought for prison rights on behalf of people of color, women, and the disenfranchised. She understood that poverty and unemployment was a class issue and fought oppression her entire life.
Lucy was a Badass and not afraid to stand up for others.
Jane Addams was an activist, social worker, woman suffragette, protester and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. She felt women should play an active role in the community and this started with the right to vote. She cofounded Hull House (a settlement house in Chicago) and the ACLU. Her focus on ethics provide guidance for those seeking social justice today. She called for people to teach by example, to practice cooperation, and to practice social democracy, that is, egalitarian, or democratic, social relations across class lines.
She was an active force in passing the Federal Child Labor Law. She is well remembered for her political action for peace, her ethical values, compassion for others, and social work. If you are looking for an empathetic labor movement activist, Jane is your gal.
“It is well to remind ourselves, from time to time, that “Ethics” is but another word for “righteousness,” that for which many men and women of every generation have hungered and thirsted, and without which life becomes meaningless.”
― Jane Addams, Democracy and Social Ethics
