Words of Sarah

“When I wake up, I think about the fact that I’m black, I have to think about my hair, I have to think about my edges, I have to think about how I look … whether or not I look too this or too that, and that’s something that I get tired of doing sometimes. And so it makes me feel good to know if I can go somewhere and just be me without having to worry about changing who I am — that’s a safe space.” —  Roquel Crutcher, American University, Class of 2016, Major: Interdisciplinary studies in communications law, economics and government 

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

One of the deadliest industrial disasters in United States history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City left 146 workers dead in 18 minutes 105 years ago on March 25, 1911.  

Locked doors kept the workers from escaping; there was not enough water to put out the flames, and firemen’s ladders were too short to reach the upper stories. Many of the young women and men working there leapt out the windows and fell to their deaths onto the sidewalk outside. Others were crushed in the elevator shaft or when the fire escape collapsed.

The fire led to sweeping reforms in labor laws and safety standards, providing a boost to labor unions, and was a pivotal event in the career of future labor secretary Frances Perkins.

Find additional photos of the fire and the victims in the National Archives Catalog.  (Note: some photos may be considered graphic.)

Allen Ginsberg, “Song”