The October 1898 battle at Virden, Illinois was one of the epic events of labor strife in the late 19th century. The union miner "martyrs" who died in the bloody battle with Thiel detective agents were resurrected numerous times in the years afterward, used to construct radical and racialized memory in the region, a memory that became vital for contesting or reaffirming the UMWA. The story of this construction, reconstruction, and contestation of memory in the decades following the events brings to light the power of commemoration in workers' ability to see themselves as fully-formed actors in the public sphere.

All papers are pre-circulated electronically to those who plan to attend the seminar in person. For a copy of the paper, e-mail Jenny Fink at scholl@newberry.org, or call 312-255-3524.

The Newberry Library Seminar in Labor History Co-sponsored by the History Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University and the Labor and Working Class History Association