Crossposted on dailykos

When Michael Jackson died, I didn't really notice. He didn't move me; didn't change my life; he didn't make me get to my feet and find reason in it.

Michael Jackson was a great entertainer. But he was no Crystal Lee Sutton. He never took on management to bring a better life to her, her family and her co-workers. Crystal Lee Sutton, took a stand and paid a heavy price for it:

“Management and others treated me as if I had leprosy,” said Crystal. She received threats and was finally fired from her job. But before she left, she took one final stand, filmed verbatim in the 1979 film Norma Rae. “I took a piece of cardboard and wrote the word UNION on it in big letters, got up on my work table, and slowly turned it around. The workers started cutting their machines off and giving me the victory sign. All of a sudden the plant was very quiet…”

Over the past few months, Crystal (aka Norma Rae) has battled brain cancer and her health insurer for life saving care, care she was denied.

Last week, Crystal Lee Sutton entered hospice care. Today, I received word that Crystal has lost her battle.

Thank you so much for getting the word out about Crystal. I was able to share the messages with her, and it meant a lot to her and to her family. She even managed a smile at the H.L. Mencken quote! She died yesterday about 3:30, peacefully, with her family there. The local paper had a front page article this morning, www.TimesNews.com. The funeral is tomorrow, the last I heard, at Maclure funeral home in Graham, N.C., at 2:00, with visitation prior to the service. I miss her already.

For those of you too young to remember Norma Rae, Brave New Films has a great review of the film.



From it, you can get a good idea of who Crystal Lee Sutton was and has been to an entire movement.

As a single mom, I especially found inspiration in her story. I am a liberal, a union activist because of Crystal Lee Sutton. She is today and will always remain, my personal hero.

Please, take a minute and remember an amazing woman.



Join me in song. Solidarity forever, For the Union Makes Us Strong!


Thank you Crystal. Thank you.

You are missed.

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Crystal Lee Sutton (AKA Norma Rae) has been battling cancer for some time now.

Helping Norma Rae: Crystal Lee Sutton – the woman whom the movie "Norma Rae" was based on – is fighting for her life. Ill with meningioma (a brain tumor), her health insurance – which initially denied her coverage – covers so little that her husband must work two jobs to help pay her medical bills. "Crystal's long been a heroine to many of us in the labor movement," says Community Services Agency Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy, "CSA is proud to help coordinate metro-area support for the real 'Norma Rae'" To contribute to the Crystal Lee Sutton Foundation, click here now and be sure to put "Norma Rae" under Designation.

So it is with a heavy heart that I read this message this morning:

Dear bendygirl,

Crystal Sutton is now at the Hospice Home in Burlington, NC. She still holds the Union dear but will soon be advocating for justice on a higher plane. She would appreciate your prayers. Messages can be sent to me at my email address and I will see that she gets them.

Please post a message in the comments section if you'd like to send her your thoughts or prayers. You can also e-mail me at bendygirl@gmail.com and I will forward them for you.

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DCLabor sent a note out this morning about Crystal Lee Sutton, a woman better known as Norma Rae:

LABOR UPDATES: Helping Norma Rae: Crystal Lee Sutton – the woman whom the movie "Norma Rae" was based on – is fighting for her life. Ill with meningioma (a brain tumor), her health insurance – which initially denied her coverage – covers so little that her husband must work two jobs to help pay her medical bills. "Crystal's long been a heroine to many of us in the labor movement," says Community Services Agency Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy, "CSA is proud to help coordinate metro-area support for the real 'Norma Rae'" To contribute to the Crystal Lee Sutton Foundation, click here now and be sure to put "Norma Rae" under Designation.

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