Colorado State University - Pueblo commemorates labor tragedy at Ludlow this month

Pueblo-  Colorado State University-Pueblo and the InfoZone at Rawlings Library will commemorate the anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre (April 20, 1914) with four days of events this month.

The fifth annual Ludlow Memorial Labor Fest activities coincide with the anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre, during which 17 miners, wives, and children lost their lives in April, 1914. A memorial to the miners was built in 1918 south of Pueblo.

On Mon., April 21, - Scott Martelle, a reporter from the LA Times, will give a presentation at 7 p.m. in the Hasan School of Business Auditorium on his book, Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class Warfare in the American West (2007). Martelle gives an unbiased narrative of the events that spawned the Ludlow Massacre, laying blame rather evenly between the striking workers, the strikebreakers, the owners and the National Guardsmen that became embroiled in the southern Colorado mining labor problems. Colorado K-12 teachers of American history, including elementary, who attend this event will receive a FREE copy of Blood Passion. He will sign copies of his book following his presentation.

A showing of a short documentary film on Mother Jones will be aired at 7 p.m. on Tues., Apr. 22 in the Hasan School of Business Auditorium. The film’s historical consultant, Rosemary Feurer of Northern Illinois University, will discuss the project following the film. Colorado K-12 teachers of American history, including elementary, who attend this event will be able to order a FREE copy of the Mother Jones documentary. Mother Jones was an organizer for the United Mine Workers, who was arrested and imprisoned twice during the strike which culminated in the Ludlow Massacre.

The Labor Fest activities will conclude at 7 p.m. on Wed., April 23 in the First-Year Center of the University Library with Colorado College Poet David Mason, who will read excerpts from his 2007 book, Ludlow: A Verse Novel, which revisits what reviewers call “one of the cruelest, bloodiest chapters in the history of American labor and state and corporate injustice: the Ludlow coal field massacre of 1914, in which 17 men, women, and children of coal mining families were killed by the Colorado National Guard.” Prior to his presentation, CSU-Pueblo students will present readings on related topics. Colorado K-12 teachers of American history, including elementary, who attend this event will receive a FREE copy of Ludlow: A Verse Novel.

The InfoZone at Rawlings Library will join in the celebration with the showing of Germinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 24. The 1993 film is set in a 19th century coal miner’s town north of France and focuses on employees who are exploited by the mine’s owner who are repressed following a decision to strike. Refreshments will be served. (Note: The film is in French with subtitles.)

For more information, contact Jonathan Rees, associate professor of history, at 549-2541 or jonathan.rees@colostate-pueblo.edu.




Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.