On the morning of September 3, 1991 the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina burst into flames. But managers had locked and bolted the factory’s doors. Engulfed in choking smoke and heat, the workers could not escape. Twenty-five workers died, fifty-five were injured. Eighteen of them were women, twelve were Black. Forty-nine children lost their parents. Typical of the industry and the region, the workers were paid just above the minimum wage. The plant had never been inspected for health and safety. The employer, Emmet Roe, was fiercely anti-union. He was eventually convicted but was released from prison after merely four years.