His Father's Namesake
High School: Grades 9–12
Story
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When Albert had calmed down after slamming the door, he descended the stairs and approached his mother. He apologized. "I accept your apology," she said with little expression and no warmth.
With a very conciliatory tone, Albert Jr. stumbled looking for his next words. "It's just that... I don't know... I wish I could talk with my father. I have so many questions. I need to know what the right thing to do is."
Lucy Parsons's expression hardened: "I can tell you what your father would want you to do. He wrote his desires for you in the letter he wrote before his death. You have your father's name. He told you to 'preserve it and emulate it.' If you mean to indicate to me that you are still considering enlisting, I can heartily assure you that he, as well as I, would disapprove. Just think of our shame."
"Shame?" Albert yelled as his face flushed. He then continued: "How ashamed do you think I am to have a father who stood trial for murder? How ashamed do you think I am to have a mother who encouraged her husband to run away from the law when he had done nothing wrong! I used to think you and father helped people, but I am beginning to understand that your ideas were more important than your own children!"
Albert knew his next words would continue to sting, and much like his father talking to the assembled American Group in May 1898, he spoke his first statements softly and then built to a crescendo. "I think the United States is a great country and that capitalism is helping to make it greater all the time. In this country, I can do and be what I want. I can go to school and become a doctor or a politician, or I can stand on the corner and shine shoes! One thing I will never become is a socialist or anarchist or whatever your label of the day is!" Albert Jr.'s voice, which before he had repressed, exploded: "Your ideas oppress me! If the United States wants to go to war to protect its economic interests then I stand behind its decision! It at least considers me an adult and will accept me as a member of its armed forces." With that Albert Jr. turned on his heel and slammed the front door behind him.
Sources
Chicago History Museum, The Dramas of Haymarket online resource: www.chicagohistoryresources.org/dramas
Information about the Spanish-American War is from the Library of Congress web site: www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic.
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