Mary Harris Jones (1837-1930), known as “Mother Jones” to many, was a prominent American activist who led countless strikes against the mining industry and child labor. A controversial figure in history, Jones’ ideas were radical for the time. However, after some research, I learned that she did not support the women’s suffrage movement, and her Catholic upbringing led her to argue that women belonged in the home. She fought for men to have better working conditions and pay to allow their wives to commit their lives solely to motherhood. Jones’ work as a union organizer is inspiring and she truly changed the bones of America, but it is also important to remember that her misogynistic views were the basis of her work as a trade unionist. The following poem is based on her.
I am the Hell-Raiser
and I dare you to speak
To lift the lifeless bodies
and rise up for the weak
Protest the death of the singing canary
That lies with your men in the cemetery
Your coughing babies and coal-streaked faces
Your severed limbs in these evil places
America’s wheels turning, one shovelful at a time
Work is a death sentence, when employed by the mine.