About this item
Highlights
- Union organizer and balladeer Ella May became a martyr for workers nationwide when she was murdered on her way to a union meeting in Gastonia, North Carolina, at age 28.
- About the Author: Kristina Horton, the great-granddaughter of Ella May, is a public elementary teacher in Asheville, North Carolina.
- 232 Pages
- History, United States
Description
About the Book
Union organizer and balladeer Ella May became a martyr for workers nationwide when she was murdered on her way to a union meeting in Gastonia, North Carolina, at age 28. A mother of nine and bookkeeper for the communist-led National Textile Workers Union, May worked to organize fellow mill workers in Gaston County. Her efforts to organize black workers--along with her brash, outspoken manner--incensed the local community and she was shot by an anti-union vigilante group on September 14, 1929.Book Synopsis
Union organizer and balladeer Ella May became a martyr for workers nationwide when she was murdered on her way to a union meeting in Gastonia, North Carolina, at age 28. A mother of nine and bookkeeper for the communist-led National Textile Workers Union, May worked to organize fellow mill workers in Gaston County. Her efforts to organize black workers--along with her brash, outspoken manner--incensed the local community and she was shot by an anti-union vigilante group on September 14, 1929.
Written by her great-granddaughter, this book tells Ella May's story, including her involvement in the Loray Mill Strike, the largest communist-led strike on American soil. Her most famous ballad, "Mill Mother's Lament," reveals her motivation: "It is for our little children."
Review Quotes
"excellent"-Appalachian Journal; "fascinating and recommend[ed]"-Northern Review of Books.
About the Author
Kristina Horton, the great-granddaughter of Ella May, is a public elementary teacher in Asheville, North Carolina.
