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September 14 - The Murder of Ella Mae Wiggins
On this day in Labor History the year was 1929.
That was the day that Ella Mae Wiggins was gunned down on her way to a rally of striking textile workers in North Carolina.
Ella Mae was born in the mountains of Tennessee.
Her father was a lumber jack who was killed on the job.
She and her brother then entered the textile mills to help support their family.
She married another mill employee and they had seven children.
When her husband left her, Ella Mae struggled to keep her family afloat.
When the Great Depression came textile mill workers were subjected to the “stretch out.”
Owners demanded…
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