City of Chicago officials the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and the Mother Jones Heritage Project broke ground on Tuesday on the Mother Jones “We Shall Rise” Monument in the Loop, near the former riverfront warehouses where Mother Jones organized workers more than a century ago. Honoring one of the nation’s most influential labor organizers, the project will create downtown Chicago’s first monument dedicated to a historic woman. The monument will be installed in the landscaped median at Wacker Drive, Wabash Avenue, and South Water Street. Created by artists Kathleen Farrell and Kathleen Scarboro, the monument will honor Mary Harris “Mother” Jones and her role in the American labor movement. Mother Jones made Chicago her home base as she traveled across the United States organizing workers in the garment, steel, and textile industries. She led strikes, mobilized workers, challenged corporations, and fought for safer working conditions, fair pay, and equal rights. For more information about the Chicago Monuments Project, visit ChicagoMonumentsProject.org.

Photo Credit: City of Chicago