Pullman Debs

10/08/2026

Mother Jones and the 1871 Chicago Fire...

On this day in Labor History the year was 1871. That was the day that the Great Chicago Fire began. The fire started in a barn on the property of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. Legend pins the blame for starting a fire on a cow. Whatever the cause, the fire spread quickly through the cities wooden...

09/06/2026

09/05/2026

Road trip!

08/30/2026

On this day, 30 August 1948, leading Black Panther activist Fred Hampton was born in Summit, Illinois. Hampton was instrumental in forming links between the Panthers and organisations of working class Chinese people, whites, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans in what he dubbed the Rainbow Coalition.
A revolutionary internationalist, he explained: "We're going to fight racism not with racism, but we're going to fight with solidarity. We say we're not going to fight capitalism with Black capitalism, but we're going to fight it with socialism."
Hampton was a central target of the FBI's COINTELPRO programme, which resulted in him being drugged by an FBI operative, then shot in the shoulder while he was asleep, then shot twice more in the head at point-blank range by Chicago police during an FBI raid in 1969. He was only 21 years old.
Learn more about the Panthers in these books by former members: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/black-panthers

08/28/2026

Our neighbors Historical Society of Forest Park

Labor Day and May Day: Artifacts from the Rise, Decline, and Rebirth of Labor Movements

Join the Forest Park Public Library and the Historical Society of Forest Park on Thursday, September 10, from 6:30–8:00 p.m. in the Austin Room for an evening with Isaac Silver of Buttons of the Left.

If you missed Isaac’s presentation at May Day, or simply want to hear more, this is a great opportunity to continue the conversation. Isaac, a historian and archivist, will bring artifacts from the past 130 years to explore the history of May Day, the Haymarket Martyrs, and the labor movements that shaped Chicago, Forest Park, and generations of workers.

Both Labor Day and International Workers’ Day (May 1) grew out of labor struggles in the late 1880s. Through artifacts and stories, Isaac will trace the rise, decline, and rebirth of these movements and their lasting impact on our communities.

Thursday, September 10, 2026
6:30–8:00 p.m.
Austin Room, Forest Park Public Library

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

On this day in Labor History the year was 1839.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1839. That was the day that the Amistad sailed into Long Island, New York. The Amistad served as a Spanish slave ship. Fifty-three captives, led by an enslaved rice farmer by the name Joseph Cinque, had revolted against their captors and taken control of the...