Our birthday party celebration embodied the spirit of Mother Jones. There was plenty of humor, spirit, inspiring and biting speeches, and joyous announcements. Great fundraising, and rank-and-file as well as official representation. Kieran Knudson was our special guest. Connecting past and present so that we all think about our role in history.
Brigid Duffy performs Mother Jones with the right inflection and spirit. Jones rarely yelled. She used humor, invective in a voice that had a lilt. You get the sense of what it was like to be in Jones presence with Brigid's performance.
We were honored to have Kieran Knutson at our event. Here is a little of his background, and below is his speech at the event.
The best message from Roberta Lynch is that we can remember Mother Jones by remembering her fortitude as well as her courage. The fortitude to keep going when things are at their worst. See the full speech below.
Ugo Okere Director of External Affairs, Mayor of Chicago Johnson representative Mother Jones 2026 Birthday Party reads a letter of mentioning Mother Jones and gratitude for Kieran Knutsen and movement in Minneapolis
Ugo Okere brought this special letter of solidarity from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to our project and Kieran Knudsen and the Minneapolis movement.
Thanks to the SAG-AFTRA singers for coming and spreading the message of hope and solidarity. Ashley Dearborn, Barbara Martin, Joe Wright, John Green, Suzy Brack, Suzy Petrie, the SAG-AFTRA Singers. Wonderful. The video quality does not do justice to this performance.
Eileen Vesey, head of the Irish American Heritage Center, spoke of the meaning of Mother Jones' life in the present, and reminded us of all the volunteers that made this event happen.
Auggie, Al Villaponde, Dave Rathke, Ugo Okere from City of Chicago with a special message from Mayor Brandon Johnson, Hector Arellano, Willie _____
Every year, a special duty to DELIVER THE CAKE from the union bakers at BCTGM Local 1 falls to a volunteer, and it's often that they say, please don't ask again, because it's harrowing sometimes transporting it through Chicago's streets! This year, Beth Zavala from the BCTGM local did it, and stayed to see the joy it brings. She had help from Moises Zavala of the Workers Center Arise.
A Dangerous Woman and Kieran Knudsen from Minneapolis.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a longtime fan of Mother Jones, came to the event and enjoyed meeting old and new friends.
Kieran Knutsen visited the 2nd floor of the IAHC to see the exhibit we placed there in 2019.
We distributed news about the forthcoming statue at Wacker and Wabash. We will have more information about the engineering reasons we had to move from Water Tower to this new location. It's not due to any hesitation from the City, but it's been a long process until we could announce our new plans. That deserves a special blog.
Below: A page from our 36 page booklet. We thank the advertisers and the donors who contributed at the party. We could not do this without you. The filmmakers Rana Segal and Laurie Little have resumed their efforts to make a film about our statue and project. They need funding. If you wish to donate, they also take checks.
Don Villar, secretary of the Chicago Federation of Labor, our emcee, Laura Garza, Exec Dir ARISE worker center, Brigid Duffy as Mother Jones, Christina Pacione-Zayas Executive Secretyary to Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Hector Arellano of Bricklayers and the Mother Jones Heritage Project
A full house, and overflow all the way to the bar. A great spirited crowd this year.
Roberta Lynch at the Mother Jones 2026 celebration. Here is almost the entire speech which speaks to the ongoing meaning of Mother Jones in our lives.
Thanks to Eileen Vesey, Peggy Murphy, Marty Cork, (Irish American Heritage Center) Jackie Kirley of Working Women's History Project, Pat Britt, Noreen Philbin, Bill _____, Margaret Fulkerson, Joseph Rathke, Lynn Adler.
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