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Photo of Frances Perkins.

Join Village Preservation for the ceremonial unveiling of a plaque honoring lifelong champion of workers' rights Frances Perkins at her place of residence in Greenwich Village. We will hear about her trailblazing career and her legacy as an activist and one of the architects of the New Deal while serving as Secretary of Labor during the FDR Administration.

This is Village Preservation’s 24th plaque unveiling. VP’s plaque program has honored and marked the homes of local figures from Jane Jacobs to James Baldwin; Allen Ginsberg to Charles Mingus; Frank O’Hara to Frank Stella; and Martha Graham to Lorraine Hansberry, as well as historically significant sites such as the former NAACP headquarters, the Fillmore East, and Julius’ Bar.

About the speakers:

Joshua Freeman is a Distinguished Professor of History at the City University of New York. He has written extensively about the history of labor, modern America, and New York City. His books include Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World; Working-Class New York: Life and Labor since World War II; American Empire: The Rise of a Global Power, the Democratic Revolution at Home; In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966. He is the co-editor (with Steve Fraser) of Audacious Democracy: Labor, Intellectuals, and the Social Renewal of America. Freeman has consulted for unions and for the New York City Central Labor Council on strategy and internal education.

Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall is the only child of Susanna Winslow Wilson Coggeshall, daughter of Frances Perkins. He remembers his grandmother as a loving and humorous person who stoked his curiosity at every opportunity. He has come to a deeper knowledge of her career in recent years and lives in awe of her abilities, strength, and conviction. Together with a group of dedicated colleagues, Tomlin founded the Frances Perkins Center to preserve his grandmother’s legacy and carry on her work.