Spokane’s Great Free Speech Fight of 1909
Author-historian Dale Raugust speaks on the least known and probably most seminal event in Spokane history. The Free Speech Fight of 1909 began on a downtown street corner after the Spokane City Council enacted a law in early 1909 banning speeches on downtown streets, as a way to limit labor agitation. The Industrial Workers of the (IWW) – the “Wobblies” – issued a call for hundreds of workers and activists to converge on Spokane to “fill the jails” in a mass civil protest, resulting in 500 arrests and nearly bankrupting the city and prompting national labor law reform.
- When:
- 2:30 p.m.
- Where:
- Rockwood Lane Retirement Community, 2903 E. 25th Ave.
- City:
- Spokane
- Neighborhood:
- Lincoln Heights neighborhood, South Hill
- Cost:
- Free
- Phone:
- (509) 995-2264
- Email:
- yakr7@comcast.net
- Website:
- https://www.facebook.com/events/1987261011516124/
- More like this:
- Lecture/Seminar