Design of Mother Jones Statue Approved - Monument to Labor Icon will be installed in 2025The campaign to have Irish-American Labor icon Mother Jones memorialized with a monument in downtown Chicago is on track, with the installation of the life-sized statue set for 2025.The statue project, “Mother Jones: We Shall Rise,” is a joint effort of the Mother Jones Heritage Project (MJHP) and the City of Chicago’s Chicago Monuments Project (CMP).After much discussion and review of proposals, the Statue Design Committee, comprised of members of both MJHP and the CMP, has approved the design.
Artists Kathleen Farrell and Kathleen Scarboro are now working daily on the sculpture at their studio at IBEW Local 176 in Joliet.There will be a series of events in the months leading up to the statue’s dedication in 2025, and one of them is the visit on November 16 by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Dan Boyle (pictured). Dan will be in town to visit the statue’s future site near Chicago’s Historic Water Tower. The government of the Republic of Ireland has been a strong supporter of the statue campaign, providing the initial starter grant.During his November 16 visit to the statue site, the Lord Mayor will also be meeting with the Statue Committee. He will have a busy day, because that evening Dan is also attending iBAM! 16. iBAM! is the annual Irish Books, Arts, and Music Celebration, and Cork writer, Conal Creedon, is here to receive the iBAM! Award for Literature in 2024.On November 17, there will be a special performance of the one-act play A Table For Two at the Dill Pickle - a one-act play by renown playwright, Larry Kirwan.
The play imagines a delightful and powerful conversation between two early twentieth century labor icons: Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, the "most dangerous woman in America," and Big Jim Larkin, the radical Irish exile.
The play features Brigid Duffy & Will Clinger and will be presented during iBAM! weekend at 2pm on November 17, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Ave, Chicago, IL. Admission is free.
The Mother Jones Heritage Project has announced that the fundraising goal for to qualify for the matching funds for the statue’s construction has been reached. The MJHP is continuing to raise money to pay for any cost-overruns on the statue and its installation. To donate go to www.motherjonesmuseum.org/donate
Design of Mother Jones Statue Approved: Will be Unveiled in 2025
