Mother Jones award to Rev. Addie Wyatt

By Lotty Blumenthal

The Working Women’s History Project (WWHP) honored the Rev. Addie L. Wyatt with the Mother Jones Award at the Sixth Annual Gala on March 27th at 7:00 p.m. The event, held in the Congress Lounge of Roosevelt University, was attended by nearly one hundred participants who heard Albertina Walker end the program with a round of Gospels. Mother Jones, who is buried in Central Illinois, was a noted union activist in the early 20th Century. Organized by Sue Strauss, director of WWHP, with Margaret Rung, Director of the Center for New Deal Studies at Roosevelt University, the event was sponsored by The Chicago Teacher’s Union, Chicago Area Women’s History Conference, Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the Illinois Labor History Society. Special thanks to Deborah Lynch, CTU President.

After remarks by Stauss and Rung, Katie Jordan of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW, Chicago Chapter) spoke of the influence of Rev. Wyatt on Labor. Jordan then introduced union members Alma Washington, Mary Bonnet, Brigid Duffy (CTU), Ken Morris, and Mary Wehrle who enacted a drama based on Washington’s script covering Wyatt’s Life from the time she was the eldest of nine children early in the 20th Century until the present time. Her life chronicled labor history for the century.

Wyatt was a leader among the founders of CLUW and among the founders of NOW (National Organization of Women). She was a leader in the civil rights movement, marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King. She was once able to get a director of the Pick-Congress Hotel to book the first national meeting of CLUW with 1,500 rooms, banquets, and auditorium space with a down payment of $10.00. Part of the drama involved the entire audience joining the actors in singing “Solidarity Forever” and “We Shall Overcome.”

Afterward, Jordan and Strauss presented Wyatt with a large plaque and bouquet of flowers. She thanked those who supported her both throughout her life and presently. Then, Albertina Walker sang “I’m Still Here” to a rowdy round of handclapping. She encored with “He Keeps on Blessing Me.” With barely heard closing remarks by Jordan and Strauss, the room dissolved into people congratulating Wyatt. CLUW meets every third Tuesday at 333 S. Ashland (free parking). Call UNITE at 312 738 6100 or Strauss 773-472-2585 for WWHP. CLUW is still boycotting Wal-mart and Gap for anti-unionisn.