Labor activist. She was an Italian immigrant and textile worker in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She participated in the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912, during which she was shot and killed when police opened fire on the striking workers. The striking workers blamed the police for her death, and the police blamed labor leaders. The mill owner/governor had declared martial law, and as striking workers rallied on the day after her death, another worker was killed, stabbed by a bayonet, John Ramey, a Lebanese musician who had been playing his coronet in support of the striking workers. Ultimately, the authorities used her death to pressure the labor movement, but the labor movement was galvanized in their demand for justice, using her grave as a rallying point. Her death had national ramifications, rallying other workers all up and down the East Coast to strike in support of those in Lawrence. The situation was deemed dangerous enough that Lawrence workers sent their children out of Lawrence to stay with other workers in other cities. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) labor leaders Arturo Giovannitti and Joseph Ettor were put on trial for the death of Anna Lopizzo. They were acquitted, having not been at the sight of her shooting. Nineteen witnesses named police officer Oscar Benoit as the gunman. No one was ever held accountable for her death.
Labor activist. She was an Italian immigrant and textile worker in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She participated in the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912, during which she was shot and killed when police opened fire on the striking workers. The striking workers blamed the police for her death, and the police blamed labor leaders. The mill owner/governor had declared martial law, and as striking workers rallied on the day after her death, another worker was killed, stabbed by a bayonet, John Ramey, a Lebanese musician who had been playing his coronet in support of the striking workers. Ultimately, the authorities used her death to pressure the labor movement, but the labor movement was galvanized in their demand for justice, using her grave as a rallying point. Her death had national ramifications, rallying other workers all up and down the East Coast to strike in support of those in Lawrence. The situation was deemed dangerous enough that Lawrence workers sent their children out of Lawrence to stay with other workers in other cities. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) labor leaders Arturo Giovannitti and Joseph Ettor were put on trial for the death of Anna Lopizzo. They were acquitted, having not been at the sight of her shooting. Nineteen witnesses named police officer Oscar Benoit as the gunman. No one was ever held accountable for her death.
Bio by: Lisa R. Garrett
Inscription
Killed during Bread and Roses Strike
January 12, 1912
Age 34
Gravesite Details
Interred January 31, 1912
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