100 Years After: The Triangle Fire Remembered and Rethought March 25, 2011

A century has passed since the harrowing deaths of 146 garment workers – mainly young, immigrant and female – when fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory near Washington Square on March 25, 1911. A memorial meeting followed in The Great Hall of The Cooper Union, where only two years earlier, hundreds of garment workers had rallied against their sweatshop conditions. But the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers did not die in vain. Their workplace tragedy gave rise to our contemporary labor, building and fire safety laws as well as an enduring social justice movement. In tribute, on March 25 at 7 PM, The Cooper Union and Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition will recreate a Memorial Meeting in The Great Hall featuring art, music, poetry and storytelling:

•Music: New York Labor Chorus, Metropolitan Klezmer
•Poetry: NYC youth poets
•Storytelling: Caitlin Belforti portraying Clara Lemlich, LuLu LoLo portraying Rose Schneiderman, Cecil Roberts (Mine Workers), Chaumtoli Huq (Taxi Drivers), Ai Jen Poo (Domestic Workers Union), Jibari Hill (Catfish Farm Workers) Annelise Orleck (Labor and Working Class History Association)
•Art Exhibition “Made by Hand”: A response to the Triangle Factory Fire by artists and secondary school students.

Free and open to the public.

For information, visit http://www.cooper.edu or call 212-353-4195.