The AMERICA250MI Committee has awarded $50,000 to The Big Annie Statue Project as part of the first round of the America250MI History Grant Program. The grant will support the design and creation of a life-size bronze statue honoring Anna “Big Annie” Klobuchar Clemenc—a towering figure in Michigan’s labor history and women’s leadership. The statue will be installed in historic Calumet, where Big Annie led striking miners and their families during the 1913 Copper Strike. This tribute will preserve her legacy and educate future generations about her impact on the Keweenaw community and the broader labor movement.

 

“The Big Annie Statue Project Advisory Committee is deeply grateful to the Michigan History Center and the Historical Society of Michigan for awarding us this grant and recognizing the lasting legacy of Anna Klobuchar Clemenc—Big Annie. Our Keweenaw community takes great pride in her role in America’s early labor movement. This support brings us one step closer to honoring her with a bronze statue,” states Anita Campbell, Co-Chair of the Big Annie Statue Project Advisory Committee, “[The committee] has been fundraising for over two years, and we’re incredibly touched by the support from local donors, small businesses, organizations, UP labor unions, and people from all across the country. “We especially want to thank the Keweenaw Community Foundation for having faith in this Special Project and for their services.

 

With this grant, we’re now in the homestretch, and we’re so thankful to everyone helping us tell Big Annie’s powerful story.” The America250MI History Grant Program is funding projects that will help preserve Michigan’s history for future generations. The grant program represents a key element of the state's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In 2020, Governor Whitmer directed the Historical Society of Michigan and the Michigan History Center to coordinate the state’s commemoration of the anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. The two organizations established the America250MI Committee to support and advise on this effort.