The Haymarket: Sweat and Tears

When a mother visits her dying son, old wounds from childhood are unearthed; wounds that can’t easily be healed. The mother is Lucy Parsons, fierce lifelong defender of the working class. The son is Albert Parsons Jr., whose father was the face of the 1880s Chicago labor movement and was hanged for it, spends his final days in a tuberculosis sanitarium outside Chicago. Through young Albert’s eyes we witness the grizzly events unfold that was to become known as the Haymarket Square Riot.

Hi family, friends and fans, thanks for coming to our page!  Our team has been passionately working on this project, and we are now in the last push of preproduction where we need your help to get this film finished and submitted to festivals. 

A little about what we are setting out to make: On May 4, 1886, Chicago was rocked by the first dynamite bomb thrown in America, America’s first red scare, and the first time people were tried for conspiracy to commit murder without ever having caught the bomb thrower. 

The Haymarket Throttling is written and directed by Eric Coleman, David McGrath and Wayne Kupferer with the help of Jenny Miller, Executive Producer.

This epic short film deals with the struggle for the eight hour workday, the plight of the immigrant, interracial marriage, a corrupt justice system, police brutality, the origin of May Day, the concentration of wealth in a few hands, and the utter disregard of the Constitution of this land.

Rounding out the cast is the illustrious Tonya Simmons as Lucy Parsons, the powerful Eric K. Roberts as Albert Parsons Jr., and the sensational Peter Murray as Albert Parsons Sr.

Joining us on this project is the brilliant sound designer James Scalfani, and the timeless George Hambach as comic relief among other things. Along with Joe Vecchio.

The following items are needed to make this project come to fruition: props, shooting permits, makeup and visual effects, lighting and sound equipment, costumes of the era, film festival submission fees and other costly things I’m certainly forgetting.

I am so thankful and eager for you to join us as we relive this part of Chicago history all should know. With a generous donation of $20 you will receive a DVD copy of the film, $50 gets you a DVD and t-shirt and $100 gets you a DVD, t-shirt, and a mention in the credits.

Thank you for helping us bring their throttled voices back to life!