I recently had the honor of creating a gig poster promoting a show at the Old Town School of Folk Music headlined by folk musician Bucky Halker marking the 125th anniversary of Chicago's Haymarket Affair and to raise awareness of workers' rights. The details of the event have filled several books, but the basic facts are as follows:

• On May 4th, 1886, a rally was held at Chicago's Haymarket square to demand workers' rights, among them a standard eight hour workday. • An unknown person threw a bomb which killed one police officer and injured several more. • In the confusion which followed, seven more officers were killed and many other police and civilians injured, most as a result of friendly fire. • After a corrupt and hastily arranged trial of eight labor activists, four were hanged and a fifth commited suicide in prison. • In 1893, Gov. John Peter Altgeld concluded that all eight men were innocent, and issued their pardons.

This Mayday (May 1, 2011) marks the 125th anniversary of the event. There is a monument in Forest Park, Illinois, just west of Chicago in Forest Home Cemetary, honoring those who were executed. The site has been designated as a U.S. national monument (The only one located within a cemetary) and is currently being restored though funds raised by the Illinois Labor History Society and its President, Larry Spivack.

I also designed a plaque which will be placed at the base of sculptor Mary Brogger's memorial honoring the Haymarket Affair. It can be found at the corner of Desplaines & Lake streets in Chicago, the actual site of the incident.

The Haymarket Incident (which some still refer to as the "Haymaket Riot"), was one of the earliest and most significant events in America's labor history and has been a source of inspiration for workers throughout the world. A couple weeks ago, I posted some sketches inspired by the unrest taking place in Cairo. Though the current labor protests in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the U.S. can't compare to the life and death struggles going on in the mideast, it's important to remember that there was a time when those championing worker's rights were met with violence and, in some cases, gave their lives to fight for rights that many now take for granted. As recent events in Wisconsin and elsewhere throughout the U.S. show, that struggle continues today.

A couple of weeks ago, I started research for a poster commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Haymarket incident in Chicago in which eight policemen were killed (mostly by friendly fire) and dozens of protesters were killed or injured. Though I'm a lifelong resident of the area, I was a little ashamed at how little I knew about this violent and pivotal event in the history of workers' rights. When the poster is completed, I'll post it along with some background on the events of that time.

In the meantime, the images coming out of Egypt capture the anger of the Egyptians in their struggle for freedom. Today, at what is called the "Day of Departure" rally, thousands of citizens are protesting peacefully while just blocks away, violent confrontations continue. Hopefully the situation will find a peaceful resolution soon.

Here are a few quick sketches inspired by some of the recent images out of Cairo:

Chicago's Haymarket Anniversary gig poster

Sketches inspired by Cairo images