In March, 1911, the NCLC (Nation Child Labor Committee) held a 3 day conference in Birmingham. The purpose was to author a recommended national standard for Child Labor laws. Alabama - and Birmingham in particular- had been widely publicized as having weak Child Labor laws. The truth of the matter is that living conditions were extremely rough. Parents sent their children to work not because they wanted to or they were bad parents - the children were working to help feed and house their families. It would never be approved today but times were different back then. That may be hard for some of us to understand and rationalize, having never experienced what they were going through. Many families were living strictly on a routine of Work, Eat, Sleep, Work every day. Life for countless families was worse than miserable. Families did whatever they had to do to survive - if that meant sending a child to work, thats what was done. Prior to the convention, a man named Larry Hines, spent three years traveling and documenting Child Labor conditions by interviews and photography. Mr Hines was one of the keynote speakers at the convention and shared his photography in stereoptic form (3-D photos). President Theodore Roosevelt attended and spoke as well. He made speeches in Birmingham, Ensley, and Corey (now Fairfield). Governor B.B. Comer also attended and, ironically, Comer was the owner of Avondale Mills - an area that was immensely criticized and photographed by Child Labor Law supporters. Weve seen many of these photos on this page (search Child Labor in the box at the top of the page labeled Search this group). Here are a few more photographs from Avondale Mills and some comments Ive added. All of the pictures were taken in 1910 except the photo of President Roosevelt- it was taken as he addressed the crowd in Ensley in 1911. Thanks to this conference, the foundation was laid for the Child Labor Laws that are in place today.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:19:40 +0000
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