From a young age, the activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was known to embrace an agenda that espoused workers’ and women’s rights. Ms. Flynn gave her first political speech in 1906, when she was 15, and went on to become a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, an organizer at the Industrial Workers of the World union and, eventually, a leader of the Communist Party of the United States. Her bold actions earned her the nickname “Rebel Girl.”
Nearly 60 years after her death, her reputation continues to follow her.
Just two weeks after a roadside marker honoring her was installed by the state in her birthplace of Concord, N.H., the state removed the placard after Republican lawmakers raised staunch objections over Ms. Flynn’s communist ties.
As an organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World, Ms. Flynn participated in strikes across the country, including the textile mills strike in Lawrence, Mass., in 1912. Ms. Flynn also advocated that women receive the right to…
This article was written by Remy Tumin and originally published on www.nytimes.com