Educational Media Reviews Online

Kaiulani Lee gives a convincing and moving monologue as Mother Jones, recounting her struggles on behalf of miners and child workers. Her portrayal is very convincing; the production is well-acted, well-written, and well-researched. Some of it is too grim for children, but for high school students and beyond it would be a great accompaniment to a study of American labor history, and one they would probably remember for a long time.

The culmination of the film is Mother Jones's role in West Virginia's Battle of Blair Mountain, but she covers the significant parts of her life in getting there. She lost her family to yellow fever, lost her few possessions in the Great Chicago Fire, and emerged from obscurity and hardship to play an important role in some of the most tumultuous times of American history. She brought considerable publicity to the plight of children working in clothing factories and led them on a march to FDR's Long Island home. She exhorted miners to demand their rights and urged them to unionize and strike in state after state. The film contains many of her famous lines and recounts her defeats as well as her victories. Recommended for any collection supporting labor history or American history.

Awards:
Best Women's Film, Washington DC International Cinema Festival; Best Actress in a Feature Film, Crown Point International Film Festival; Best Actress, Toronto International Women Film Festival

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