From 1927 to 1928, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, nicknamed Wobblies) fanned the flames of discontent with a series of coal-mining strikes. All eyes were on Lafayette as our town became the center of a radical and militant workers’ rights movement.
Key elements of these coal strikes help us piece together our collective understanding of Lafayette, then and now. With almost all of Lafayette’s early residents connected to mining in some way, we look to both the history of the coal mines—and to the people involved—to explore multiple facets of local history. These stories afford us a deeper understanding of workers’ rights, civil rights, justice, racism, power, and the human condition.
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