Loyola University Chicago

Women and Leadership Archives

Women and Labor Project: Mollie West

With the Young Communists League, Mollie attended rallies and events to support a variety of political and social issues.

 View the exhibit: The Story of Mollie West

Women and Labor: The Story of Mollie West is a digital exhibit exploring the history of the 20th Century Labor and Women’s Movements. The story is told through the captivating life of Mollie West, a Chicago activist and labor leader. Using photographs, documents, and videos from the Women and Leadership Archives Mollie West Collection, this exhibit highlights the struggles and triumphs experienced by Mollie and others advocating for worker’s and women’s rights.

Mollie West

International Typographical Union 118th Convention, 1976

Public Historian Caroline Giannakopoulos created the digital exhibit with support and assistance of the Women and Labor Project Committee: Nancy Freeman, Kathleen Maas Weigert, Kyle Roberts, Stephanie Seawell Fortado, and Michelle Nickerson. Funding for the digital exhibit provided by: Gannon Center for Women and Leadership, Loyola University Chicago; Illinois Labor History Society; University Libraries, Loyola University Chicago; Steven West; Women’s Studies Gender Studies, Loyola University Chicago; Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities, Loyola University Chicago; and the Chicago Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW).

On October 26, 2016, the WLA held a program to celebrate the opening of the digital exhibit and to share details on the process of completing the project. The program aired on CAN TV and can be viewed here!

For more information contact the Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago at WLARCHIVES@luc.edu or 773-508-8837