Remembering the Lattimer Massacre: Race and the New Immigrant in the Anthracite Region

Paul Shackel

Professor of Anthropology, University of Maryland

In 1897, immigrant coal miners from Eastern and Southern Europe went on strike in northeastern Pennsylvania. Confronted by the sheriff and his deputies, 25 miners were killed, an incident known as the Lattimer massacre. The racialization of the new immigrants made them almost subhuman, which justified their killing. This talk will focus on the racialization of the historic immigrant communities as well as the newest Latinx immigrants. Remembering the massacre provides justification for communities to support or sometimes to discriminate against newcomers.

Paul Shackel is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. His research projects have focused on the role of archaeology in civic engagement activities related to race and labor. He is the co-author with Barbara Little of Archaeology, Heritage and Civic Engagement: Working toward the Public Good (2014). He recently published Remembering Lattimer: Migration, Labor, and Race in Pennsylvania Anthracite Country (2018), which focuses on labor and migration in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Join here online at the scheduled time.