Rosemary Feurer, Labor History Professor at Northern Illinois University, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the life and legacy of Mother Jones, plus a project in Chicago to memorialize her.
According to Feurer, it was Mother Jones’ experiences that paved the way for her to become a well-known labor organizer and agitator. She contended that having lived through the Potato Famine in Cork, Ireland, lit a fire in Mother Jones when she saw food exported to Great Britian. This fire grew larger after her children and husband died from Yellow Fever, and again after she learned that funds meant to help the poor victims of the Great Chicago Fire were misappropriated and given to businesses and those not impacted by the fire. Mother Jones took this passion and turned it into a desire to help the poor and improve their lives through organized labor.
Like most women of her time, Mother Jones was ostracized for standing out. Feurer explained that many male reports of her era claimed Mother Jones was manly, and some newspapers put a man’s face on sketches of her. It was not until female reporters began to write about Mother Jones that she was recognized as a leader in the labor movement, Feurer added.
Despite being an iconic figure in Chicago’s labor movement, Feurer noted that no memorial exists to honor Mother Jones. Thanks to an organized effort led by Feurer and other historians, a statue will be built to honor her legacy in Chicago. Initially left off the list of the 67 most influential women in Chicago history, Feurer and her fellow historians channeled their inner Mother Jones and organized a group to get her on the list. Thanks in large part to these efforts, the statue to honor her will be located at the site of the Old Water Tower, one of the last remaining structures after the Great Chicago Fire.
To donate to the statue and to have your name placed in a time capsule enclosed in the statue, visit MotherJonesMuseum.org
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.