About this Event
FIGHT LIKE HELL: THE TESTIMONY OF MOTHER JONES - We were never supposed to know her name. She was a poor Irish immigrant who survived famine and war, fire and plague. Unable to save her husband or their four small children, she dedicated her life to saving working families everywhere. The robber barons called her “the most dangerous woman in America,” but workers called her “Mother Jones”. She educated, agitated, and organized the dispossessed and showed America what it could be.
With the gap between the rich and poor growing wider by the day, the just and democratic society Mother Jones fought for is under attack. Her hour has come again. It is time that her story and the fierce struggles of working families are brought back to life.
Drawn from her autobiography, letters, speeches, and interviews, Fight Like Hell is as bold and forceful as Mother Jones herself. Adapted from Obie Award-winning Actress Kaiulani Lee’s one-woman play “Can’t Scare Me,” Fight Like Hell was written and performed by Lee and directed by Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Ian Cheney. (55m, 2023, Director: Ian Cheney)
https://vimeo.com/805249970
Short to precede:
FIREBURN: THE DOCUMENTARY is a powerful short film about the human rights violations that occurred on the island of St. Croix during the post-emancipation event known as the Fireburn. Find out what sparked this fiery labor revolt and learn how it changed the lives of Virgin Islanders.
In 1848, the current day U.S. Virgin Islands were Danish territory and were called the Danish West Indies (DWI). On July 3, 1848 all enslaved in the DWI were emancipated and proclaimed free by the governor of the islands. However, 30 years later, the freed workers were still suffering under the oppressive rules of the landowners and government. Inhumane treatment and poor work conditions existed for the laborers who had difficulty earning a decent living.
On October 1st, 1878, four female laborers rose up as leaders and what ensued was a bloody labor revolt. This revolution became known as the Fireburn, as almost half of the islands’ plantations and sugar cane fields were burned in the process.
This documentary examines the labor revolt as well as the women who were called “Queens” due to their leadership. Historians, cultural ambassadors, and educators are featured as they look at the folklore, art, and history surrounding the Fireburn.
Fireburn is a story that must be told because not only is it Virgin Islands’ history, but it's also African Diaspora history, Danish history, U.S. history, and Caribbean history. As such, it is world history! Yet, the Fireburn is little known outside the Virgin Islands. (21 min, 2021, Virgin Islands, Director: Joel Fendelman)
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Cinema Village, 22 East 12th St, New York, United States
USD 5.00
