Why March?

The mass marches and demonstrations which characterized much of the PMA's early public action came from an Illinois miner tradition established decades earlier. Historian Rosemary Feurer distinguishes these marches from demonstrations in the U.S. today:

"In the U.S. I think we’ve devolved to the march as symbol only. The march as like a witness.

And what happened in Illinois in the 1930's, the march was first about shutting down the mines, truly shutting down the mines by putting your body in front of a car that was coming directly at you if necessary. The miners did that because it was their lifeblood and they were part of this tradition of recognizing that when you march or when you picket you really have to be willing to shut down production."