Hear My Sorrow by Hopkinson Deborah

Author:Hopkinson, Deborah [Hopkinson, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-01-07T00:00:00+00:00

Sunday, December 5, 1909

Today I went to my first workers’ rally. I’ll never forget it!

First I walked to Sarah’s tenement building on Orchard Street. She was waiting for me outside, then we walked to the rally. By two o’clock, thousands of people were lined up. I heard one policeman say eight thousand people were there.

The speeches were so inspiring. My favorite was Publio Mazzella’s, who spoke in Italian. He urged us not to give up, and said the Italians should do more to organize. I felt proud to see an Italian onstage with the other leaders.

I also liked the speech by the Reverend Anna Shaw. She said, “You can’t strike a blow with one finger or two fingers, but when you want to strike you put all your fingers together, clench them hard and let them drive. That’s what the workers must do with themselves.”

I walked Sarah back to Orchard Street. All the good smells from the pushcarts tickled my nose and made my stomach growl. There were roasting chestnuts, steaming hot sweet potatoes, and warm, crusty bread.

I am hungry almost all the time now. Sarah is, too. She says she misses the food she loves: cabbage and gefilte fish. Those are Jewish foods I don’t eat, but I do love steaming sweet potatoes from a cart.

But after listening to the speeches today, Sarah says she doesn’t care about food anymore. “Angela, we must work harder and not give up trying to get better hours, more pay, and more rights. We are already starving, slaving away in these shops and factories. So this should be our new slogan: ‘We’d rather starve quickly than starve slowly.’”

I thought about Sarah’s words as I walked home, past all the pushcarts. It’s fine for Sarah and me. But what about Teresa?

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