Brave Girl

When Clara Lemlich's family immigrated to the U S, her father had trouble finding work but Clara had no trouble finding a job. She was hired as a garment worker, paid a few paltry pennies for a long day's work at her sewing machine, and inspected before going home every evening to insure she isn't stealing from the factory. Women and girls as young as twelve sit hunched over their tables in a stuffy, sunless room for hours every day, always being yelled at to “go faster,” docked half-a-day's pay if they arrive a minute late, and fined if they prick a finger and bleed on the cloth.

After work, Clara is so desperate to learn that she walks to the library instead of returning to her tenement. When she does return, she drinks a glass of milk and then goes to bed for only a few hours before she gets up and does it all again.

Encouraged by the few men in her factory,

Clara and the other girls unionize, and then strike for better hours and better pay. Clara is fierce to stand up for her rights; she is arrested seventeen times and six of her ribs are broken, but she is tenacious and eventually organizes the largest women's walkout in U S history!

This is a delightful addition to history-based readings for early elementary age.

It is a natural  springboard to studying the industrial revolution, the garment industry, the mills, and the unionization of the American workforce. Clara's dedication to her cause will inspire your young students to be brave and to right the wrongs they see around them. I appreciated the reminder that some found the immigrant experience to be lacking and so had to forge change for themselves.

Content Considerations

Clara is beaten by her bosses for leading walkouts and her ribs are broken by police brutality (not graphic)