Bread and Roses

In 1912 in Lawrence Massachusetts there was one of the greatest labor actions in American history. It started in one mill then spread to others, fueled mostly by young ethnically diverse immigrant women. One of the great fables of this strike is that they held signs that said "we want bread, but we want roses to."

The slogan originated in a poem by James Oppenheim, published in Dec 1911 in American Magazine, which attributed he to "the women in the West"

BREAD AND ROSES

As we come marching, marching in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: "Bread and roses! Bread and roses!"

As we come marching, marching, we battle too for men,
For they are women's children, and we mother them again.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!

We come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for - but we fight for roses, too!

As we come marching, marching, we bring the greater days.
The rising of the women means the rising of the race.
Nor more the drudge and idler - ten that toil where one reposes,
But sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses! Bread and roses!