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Markers of Distinction

Lucy Parsons (1853–1942)
and Albert Parsons (1845–1887)
Labor activists

Albert Parsons was raised in Texas by his brother, Confederate General William Parsons. After the Civil War he became a radical Republican, and was appointed a state official during Reconstruction. The target of hostility from white Southerners, he came to Chicago in 1873.

Lucy González, a former slave of African-American, Indian and Mexican ancestry, married Parsons in 1871. Like her husband, she was a fiery public speaker and an organizer for the fledgling labor movement. Albert worked as an editor of labor newspapers; Lucy wrote articles and supported the family as a dressmaker. They were living here at 1908 North Mohawk Street when their son, Albert Richard, was born on September 14, 1879.

In May 1886, the couple helped to organize the Eight Hour Day Movement. On May 4, Albert spoke at a hastily organized rally at the Haymarket Square, after which he left for nearby Zepf’s Hall. Subsequently someone threw a bomb into the crowd, killing and injuring workers and policemen. Albert Parsons and seven other radicals were blamed for the bombing. He and three other men were found guilty in an infamous trial and hanged on November 11, 1887.

As an organizer, writer and speaker, Lucy continued after Albert’s execution to promote economic freedom, industrial unionism, women’s rights and civil rights. She died in a fire in her home on March 7, 1942.