| Description | The exhibit examines the origins and aftermath of the famous shootout on November 5, 1916 between the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) a radical union of social reformers, and a hastily deputized and heavily armed crowd of Everett’s sheriff and citizen deputies.
The tragedy happened when two boatloads of IWW members attempted to land on the Everett city dock to mount a free speech fight after a series of escalating confrontations with Snohomish County Sheriff Donald McRae and the business community of Everett had created a pattern of repressive measures to stymie IWW organizing and public speaking.
In the aftermath, at least five IWW members were dead, two sheriff’s deputies lay dead from friendly fire and dozens on both sides were wounded.
Often forgotten outside of labor and social justice circles, the Massacre represents a seminal event in local and national labor history.
This exhibit uses the collections of the Labor Archives of Washington in UW Libraries Special Collections. |
|---|