Why Don’t More Americans Remember the 1897 Massacre of Pennsylvania Coal Miners?
The Mostly Eastern European Victims Were Forgotten Because of an Ensuing Backlash Against Immigrant Workers
At the western entrance of the coal patch town of Lattimer, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, sits a rough-cut shale boulder, about 8 feet tall, surrounded by neatly trimmed bushes. A bronze pickax and a shovel are attached to the boulder, smaller pieces of coal rest at its base, and an American flag flies high above it.
Locals and union members sometimes refer to the boulder as the “Rock of Remembrance” or the “Rock of Solidarity.” Still others call it the …
