Battle Hymn

Today Heather Cox Richardson gave us a history of, The Battle Hymn of the Republic by, Julia Ward Howe. Tears welled up.

Not being a paid subscriber, a comment was not an option. If it was I would have shared.

My mother grew up in St. Louis Mo. the daughter of Armenian immigrants. Her father was a foundry worker and a steward in his shop. My mother, Alice, became a passionate social justice advocate at a young age. She “sat-in” at Woolworth’s. She got involved in the Socialists Workers Party and moved to Chicago where she met my father (a short lived union).

She went to work in the steel mill primarily to organize workers. She became a griever in her shop and eventually president of Local 65, USW. She was the first woman to be elected president of a basic steel producing facility and the largest at the time with over three thousand union members.

In my youth we marched and marched!! With Dr. King, against the war in Vietnam, for the environment, for school desegregation, for women’s rights. The FBI raided our apartment because of her activities against the war. The Chicago Seven slept on our living room floor during the Democratic Convention in ‘68.

On road trips to St. Louis to visit my grandparents she would sing, “Mine eyes have seen the glory…. “ from the Battle Hymn.

So, today when I read HCR on Substack my eyes filled with tears.

Stay strong. Stay safe. ☮️🙏🏻💟