Valley Talks, a series of biweekly historical lectures by the Museum of Work & Culture, begins Sunday, January 9. All events are free and take place at 1 pm on Zoom.
The series will kick off with The Battle of the Gravestones & The Saylesville Massacre of 1934, a talk by Secretary-Treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO Patrick Crowley.
In 1934, workers across Rhode Island went on strike as part of one of the largest industrial actions in American history – the General Textile Strike. In the mill village of Saylesville, workers fought a week-long street battle with deputy sheriffs and the National Guard. Two workers were killed in an event known as “The Saylesville Massacre.” But what if the story we tell about what happened on the streets of Saylesville is incomplete? This lecture helps round out the story, taking it in a different direction.
Individuals can register for the talk by visiting: https://bit.ly/3GxHzvd
Patrick Crowley is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, representing 80,000 working women and men across Rhode Island. He’s been a union organizer for 25 years, working at different times for the Teamsters Union, the Hospital Workers Union, and the National Education Association Rhode Island. He holds two Master’s Degrees in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and in History from the University of Rhode Island. Crowley serves on the boards of several organizations, including Climate Jobs Rhode Island, the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, the United Way of Rhode Island’s Community Advisory Board, and the board of directors of the Museum of Work and Culture Foundation. He is the author of a recent essay in the Rhode Island History journal about Civil Rights organizing on the Providence Waterfront during World War Two. In his spare time, Crowley is a yoga teacher and mountain climber. He lives in Lincoln with his wife and son.