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Forgotten History: The Ludlow Massacre & the PR Machine
🕑 Added 2022-05-28 05:00:00 +0000 UTCWe thought we knew this story. Then we had to go and dig.
April 20, 1914.
Just over 108 years ago, the families of mining workers, on strike and living in tent cities after being evicted from the company towns operated by their employer, the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., were attacked by the National Guard and a militia organized by the fuel company -- which was in turn de facto controlled by the Rockefeller family.
This now-infamous incident marked a shocking low-point for labor disputes of the time, impacting labor laws and policies ever since. The immense negative press directed towards the Rockefellers and their notable role in the whole affair, resulted in a turning point event for Public Relations strategies, as the dynasty hired Ivy Lee to rehabilitate their image with a seething public.
The United Mine Workers of America organized a strike that had been going on since September 1913, with over 10,000 miners protesting operations in Colorado over pay, conditions, and their representative voice in the matter. About 1,200 of those on strike were in the camps at Ludlow, and armed in self-defense. Some 25 people died, including 11 children, after a series of events that included company-backed-militias and guard units firing into the camps; as well as the suffocation of women and children hiding in pits beneath their tents, after the National Guard and militia set fire to the camp, engulfing tents in flames.
We had a chance to stop by the memorial site outside of Pueblo, Colorado, and filmed the monument and signage there about it.
While you may have heard about this episode in history, you may not realize how significant it was for the Rockefellers; as wealthy shareholders, as one of the richest and most criticized families in America; and as they transitioned from a primarily corporate role into their philanthropic foundation role -- as part of a broader-effort that included attempts to modify human behavior, select and direct reproduction, and transform the dynamics of society.
Anyway you slice it, the incident remains haunting, and was a turning point in the affairs between working class people and the ultra-wealthy who still hold enormous power over public policy.
The relationship between the Rockefellers and the public hit a very tense moment where the new field of PR and what we might now call "spin" played a pivotal role worth studying.
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Thank you for your continued love & support! It really means a lot to us. We're trying to keep up with reports, as we also set out for another filming trip to film and refine our work towards a film series we're attempting to complete... pretty soon. So stay tuned.
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Also: later in June on the 22nd, 'The Trust Game' (Ep. 1) is scheduled to screen (at the 2pm block) at the Marina del Rey Film Festival in Los Angeles, where our project has been selected.
If anyone is interested in purchasing tickets to attend the screening [a 2hr block of films including ours listed as "BLOCK BBBB - Films Screen Wednesday, JUNE 22ND @ 2 PM - Theater 8"] and/or the rest of the festival [by the day, half week, or week] links are here (search Trust Game): https://marinadelreyfilmfestival.ticketspice.com/2022-marina-del-rey-film-festival
Maybe we'll see you there!
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At any rate, please stay free, and stay vigilant.
We appreciate you all, and will have more content soon. Thank you for your support.
In Liberty,
Aaron & Mel
Comments
Harlan County, USA by Barbara Kopple is another awesome labor activism documentary to watch. People in Amerikkka tend to forget and/or not see the inherent poverty- in this case of poor whites.
Charlotte Laborde
Thank you for teaching about this little known chapter of American history.
