On this day, November 21, in 1927

The Columbine Mine Massacre devastated the town of Serene, Colorado after a group of 500 miners from the Columbine Mine attempted to join the ranks of a larger Coal Miners strike which was growing and strengthening in the state of Colorado. As the miners arrived at the mine to protest, they were met at the gate by a group of heavily armed, plain-clothes policemen. During a peaceful attempt at negotiation, one of the strike leaders was struck with a baton and in a matter of seconds tear gas filled the air as the strikers rushed the gates and the cops began to beat them. At this point, the police began shooting live rounds into the crowd of miners. By the end of the confrontation, many of the strikers lay dead, and many would die later of their injuries.