DC Labor Filmfest Free Friday Screenings Continue Today

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The American Federation of Teachers is hosting a free noontime screening of a new documentary about labor heroine Mother Jones today (the films also screens 3/26 at the NLC and 3/28 at the AFL-CIO). Leaders and staff of other international unions in the neighborhood are invited to join the AFT in the 4th floor conference room at AFT headquarters, 555 New Jersey Ave. NW. The screening of "Mother Jones: America's Most Dangerous Woman" is being organized in collaboration with the DC Labor FilmFest - now celebrating its 8th year -- and in honor of Women's History Month. "Mother Jones: America's Most Dangerous Woman" focuses on the life of Mary Harris Jones, the legendary labor heroine known as Mother Jones. The documentary examines the ways that Jones' organizing career influenced early 20th century American history. Featuring historian Elliott Gorn, a leading biographer of Mother Jones, the documentary also demonstrates how the labor leader used class and gender boundaries to shape an identity that allowed her to become an effective labor organizer in the early 20th century. The documentary evokes the terrible conditions and labor oppression that motivated her to traverse the country, mobilizing thousands to fight back. The film uses authentic photographs and live footage, including the only known film of Mother Jones on her deathbed, proclaiming that she still considered herself a radical and "longs for the day when labor will have the destination of the nation in her own hands." Attendees are welcome to bring their lunch. Please RSVP to jfinglan@aft.org so you can quickly clear security downstairs.