Western Mass Jobs for Justice Presents
Making History: A Visual Series
Holyoke Heritage Park on Tuesdays in July

Western Mass Jobs for Justice is offering a series of films, photographs, and other images that address issues of labor history, industry, and what it means to work.  The series will include both fictional films and documentaries, including, “Salt of the Earth,” a fictional film about Chicano zinc miners in New Mexico and, “Farewell to Factory Towns,” which focuses on the deindustrialization of North Adams and the effects that Mass MoCA has had on the community.

The series will also include a presentation of photographs of child laborers, taken by Lewis Hine in 1908, paired with interviews of descendants of 250 of the photographed children.

The event series offers a unique and valuable learning experience for kids – best for slightly older students (perhaps those with knowledge or interest of labor history and deindustrialization), the films, photographs, and information shared provide a lens through which students can learn about what working means in different communities and eras, how it impacts families’ lives and communities, and how culture changes (and has changed) as a result of the types of workers found in particular industries.

Students can also learn about the harsh realities of child labor and oppression of minority groups in the workplace.  Attend one or more of the events and start a family dialogue about human rights, especially as they pertain to the workplace.  The events take place on Tuesdays from July 10th-24th from 7-8:30pm at the Holyoke Heritage State Park Visitors Center, located at 221 Appleton Street in Holyoke.  For more information, call 413-534-1723.

Read more: “Making History” series at Holyoke Heritage Park (pdf)