Mary Harris Jones - Legacy

Legacy

Amidst the tragic, and sometimes fatal, violence directed at early trade unionists, Jones uttered words still invoked by union supporters more than a century later: "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living." Already known as "the miners' angel," when she was denounced on the floor of the United States Senate as the "grandmother of all agitators," she replied:

I hope to live long enough to be the great-grandmother of all agitators.

During the bitter 1989–90 Pittston Coal strike in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, the wives and daughters of striking coal miners, inspired by the still-surviving tales of Jones' legendary work among an earlier generation of the region's coal miners, dubbed themselves the "Daughters of Mother Jones." They played a crucial role on the picket lines and in presenting the miners' case to the press and public.

The magazine Mother Jones was established in the 1970s and quickly became the largest selling underground magazine of the decade. Each issue divulges information on the themes that were important to Jones herself, such as corporate corruption, political collapse, small-is-beautiful, communal living and feminism.

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones Elementary School, in Adelphi, Maryland, is named in her honor.

Students at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia can apply to reside in Mother Jones House, an off-campus service house. Residents perform at least ten hours of community service each week and participate in community dinners and events.

To coincide with International Women's Day on 8 March 2010 a proposal from Councillor Ted Tynan for a plaque to be erected in Mary Harris Jones' native city of Cork in Ireland was passed by Cork City Council. Members of the Cork Mother Jones Commemorative Committee unveiled the plaque on 1 August 2012 to mark the 175th anniversary of her birth. The Cork Mother Jones Festival was held in the Shandon area of the city, close to her birthplace, with a number of guest speakers, including some from the United States.