SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill is revered by many as a hero and martyr. To others, Hill was a murderer who gunned down a Salt Lake City grocer and his son and got what he deserved when he was executed by firing squad in 1915.
Ahead of the 100th anniversary of his death in November, admirers of the Swedish-born immigrant will gather in Salt Lake City this Labor Day weekend to celebrate his life with music and speeches.
“He started the struggle that we still fight today,” said Dale Cox, president of the AFL-CIO in Utah. “What he worked on and what he died for is workers’ rights. That’s what his whole life was centered around.”
Living family members of grocer John Morrison and his son J. Arling Morrison – the two men who Hill was convicted of killing – won’t be joining the celebration. They recognize Hill may have been convicted on circumstantial evidence, but said they’re tired of the hero worship.
“I believe he was a murderer,” said Michael Morrison, the 66-year-old grandson of John Morrison. “It doesn’t matter what you say, you’re not going to change my mind.”