Monument Mondays - Mico Kaufman

UNCENSORED, Public art by, for, and in remembrance of women by Penny Peace, Inquisitive Viewer of Art

Homage to Women by Mico Kaufman (1924 - 2016). Lowell National Historical Park, Market Street, Lowell, MA. Photo by sculptsite.com.

Monument Mondays - September 6, 2021

Mico Kaufman | Homage to Women

In 1834, when their wages were cut, the girls and young women who worked in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts fought back. They organized rallies, went on strike, signed petitions, and marched in protests, determined not to “go back into the mills to work unless our wages are continued." Unfortunately, their efforts were crushed by management who called their actions an “evil omen.”

While in the short term, the mill girls lost their battle, their efforts exposed the Dickensian conditions in the Lowell mills, led to the creation of the first women’s labor unions, and laid the foundation for labor rights in the U.S.

Although Homage to Women by Mico Kaufman was inspired by the mill girls of Lowell, it also pays homage to the struggles and aspirations of all working women. In the words of Kaufman: “Women all over the world have one trait in common: they work, they work hard, and their work is unheralded.”

We welcome your comments, questions, or recommendations.

For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mico_Kaufman,

https://www.nps.gov/.../historyculture/womensactivism.htm

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