History event will portray Katie DeRorre, Mother Jones

Collinsville, IL – Labor history will feature prominently this Saturday, March 23, in a free and public celebration of Women’s History Month called Women in Action, including the story of Katie Bianco DeRorre of Collinsville, called the Good Samaritan of the coal miners.

Actor Loretta Williams will portray Mother Jones at the event and describe her crusade for safer working conditions in mines and factories. Also, the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire will be discussed.

The program is from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Blum House, 414 W. Main St., Collinsville. Other topics will include an interview with the late Italian scientist and Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini and posters about immigrant women writers made by Roxana High School students.

The presentation is being presented by the Italian Cultural Association of Southern Illinois in partnership with the Collinsville Library, Collinsville Historical Museum and the Mother Jones Museum in Mt. Olive, IL. For more information, call (618) 659-8759 or email to info@icasi.us.