A Memorial Desecrated,
A Massacre Remembered

The Ludlow Monument

The repaired monument was unveiled (PHOTOS!) on June 5, 2005.

Current news stories about the monument.

More photos, and videos too! (offsite)

Remember Ludlow! The cry of American workers ninety years ago again rings throughout the land.

Ludlow provoked what historians have called the Ten Days War, a working class uprising which nearly became an interstate conflict. Angry Colorado miners captured cities, burned mining camps, attacked company gun thugs. Five thousand Wyoming miners armed with guns were prepared to cross the border to demand justice for women and babies massacred on the plains of Colorado.

Those women and children died as martyrs to the cause of economic justice. Their deaths were commemorated by the beautiful Ludlow Monument.

Ludlow Monument Desecrated

Someone—an anonymous attacker—perhaps with random rage, possibly with malice against the folks who produce the nation's wealth—has desecrated one of the most sacred monuments of the working class.

Someone in their depravity was undeterred by a glorious message proudly chiselled above the Ludlow family:

in memory of the men, women and children who lost their lives in freedom's cause...

Someone decapitated these precious granite symbols and stole away with their plunder. What sinister hatred motivates the commission of such a deed?

Yet we take comfort from what they failed to destroy. A sledge-hammer can smash granite, but it cannot extinguish the aspirations of those who unite to seek justice in the world.

85 years a stalwart miner, symbol of workers' struggle—attacked

There are many accounts of the Ludlow Massacre. One of the best is here. Eric Margolis also has an account with photographs.

Account of the monument's destruction and an appeal by fellow worker Gary Cox.

Ludlow Ceremony— June 29, 2003.

Ceremony Panorama

The son of a union activist steps away from the damaged monument.

Contemplating the black hole of Ludlow. The monument stands directly above the pits dug by miners to protect their families from gunfire.

Walking in the space where the children died... Entering the hole of Ludlow is reminiscent of descending into a sacred tomb.

Dad, I've got questions about what happened here...

They were the children of working class families. They were innocent, they didn't deserve to die.

Sometimes there is evil in the world, and more often than we would like, that evil is sanctioned by authority. The children of Ludlow were killed by men dressed in the uniform of the state.

Only by banding together to fight for their rights can working people guard against the greed that fosters such hatred...

The pit has been encased in concrete and painted white to remove the darkness. Yet black remains in the souls of those responsible for the cruel attack.

There is much to think about...

We come away from the black hole of Ludlow with impressions, knowledge, new awareness.

How precious life is! How brave were those who endured such hardships! How quickly some in this world will cast away any regard for the rights of working folk to provide a decent life for their families—all in the name of profits.

We must teach our children of the sacrifices made by grandma and grandpa's generation not only on the plains of Colorado, but in struggles for the rights of working folk everywhere. If we fail to teach these lessons, our children will face their own Ludlows.

Repairs Underway

Monumental makeover reported in the Rocky Mountain News, January 21, 2004

John Griswold, a California conservator, talks about taking on the task of restoring the monument.

http://www.cpr.org/cgi-bin/comatters/comatters_play.asx?play=1382&type=comatters.asx

Thanks to Colorado Matters, Colorado Public Radio.

Griswold Conservation

While we support the mine workers in their effort to honor martyrs of the working class, we are not in any way affiliated with their organization. For more information on the monument please contact UMWA Region IV at 303/425-7110.

Map to Ludlow

Ludlow Mother Violated