Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley, 1890-1964
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was an agitator and organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and, later, a Communist Party (CP) official. In an era when street life and mass strikes were important in people's lives, Flynn's notoriety was akin to that accorded to media stars today. In major strikes in Lawrence, Massachusetts and Paterson and Passaic, New Jersey, the Rebel Girl, as she was called, led immigrant workers. A great orator, Flynn saw labor court trials as important extensions of organizing, and participated in fights for free speech in Missoula, Montana (1908), and Spokane, Washington (1909-1910). As part of her defense work she created the Workers' Defense League, an organization to fight for the victims of the post-World War I Red Scare, and helped establish the American Civil Liberties Union. Writing leaflets, pamphlets, articles, and a regular newspaper column for twenty-six years continued her protest campaigns in permanent form.
Her political life was long, successful and dramatic; she began speaking on street corners when she was 16. Her personal life was colorful and tragic, and could qualify for a soap opera. Gurley, as friends and family referred to her, was no prude, gave speeches for the IWW on birth control and wrote poems and letters about her broken heart, and many romantic flings. She was a gifted storyteller, came from a colorful family and liked eating and drinking and having a good time.
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2023-01-03 03:01:32 pm |
Rachel Mahre |
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2021-05-17 10:05:41 am |
Rachel Mahre |
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2021-01-12 10:01:28 am |
Amy C. Vo |
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2021-01-08 04:01:39 pm |
Amy C. Vo |
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2018-08-07 09:08:12 am |
Dina Herbert |
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2018-08-07 09:08:28 am |
Dina Herbert |
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2018-08-07 08:08:15 am |
Dina Herbert |
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2018-08-07 08:08:11 am |
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