Brave Girl:

Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

Michelle Markel, 2013

The first story that was chosen is Brave Girl. The story is of a young immigrant girl named Clara Lemelich. The picture book is actually a biography of a real young lady.

The story begins with Clara and her family coming to Ney York City, in America. Her father

cannot find work, however, she can. Many garment companies hire young women looking for work to stitch blouses, coats, and other clothing. Clara decides to go to work instead of school, to help her family. As expected, the conditions under which she works are less than ideal, working long, strenuous hours, with little pay. Many accept this as, like Clara, they need to support their families. There is talk among the men in the factory to join a union(they also work in the same conditions). However, they don't think the women have the backbone to stand up, but they don't know the resolve of Clara.

She knows all the other women feel the same and manages to convince them that a union is the best way to get fair treatment. They also decide to strike to demand better working conditions. The owners of the company do not agree, sending thugs hired to beat them and having them arrested for their strikes, but they don't back down. Even so, the employers just find new girls to replace them. Clara knows something more must be done to make their voices heard. She, along with other union leaders, organize a rally to have every factory in the union go on strike, to show strength in numbers. Young women from all over the city march through the streets, a sight to behold. They march all winter, demanding change be made. When negotiations are finally made with employers, they agree to let staff form unions, shorten work hours, and raise salaries.

In case it wasn't clear, this strike and story were real. Clara and other girls did strike for their

rights. Although many employers agreed, some did not and continued their mistreatment, which led to their being a fire in one of the factories, the Triangle Waist Factory, which claimed innocent lives. That fire is the reason for the image on the left, demonstrating other garment workers mourning the loss.

Having stories like these be made into child-friendly content helps ensure they have an opportunity to learn about history. They can understand how people in the past worked to ensure proper conditions for themselves and future generations. Girls have the opportunity to learn differently from me, who as a child watched movies and listened to people that women were only housewives and did not enter the workforce until much later on in history. They can understand that women did actually work in the past and they fought for themselves to make circumstances fair and equal. They have the opportunity to learn and understand issues of fair labor and gender equality. Obviously, they may not understand the idea of labor, but they can understand that when they do work(housework, schoolwork) that people are not allowed to take advantage of you for their benefit.