Emma Goldman
by Radiyah Shakur
Goldman
belonged to a unique and expressive subculture that
flourished in America in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. Its members were an eclectic mix
of creative artists, intellectuals, and writers, most
being libertarians, and some of them revolutionaries.
What united them was their rejection of bourgeois culture
and fervour for such causes as the labour movement,
socialism, anarchism, sexual freedom, and feminism.
 Emma Goldman, Jewish Lithuanian-born anarchist,
immigrated to the United States in 1885 and worked
in a clothing factory in Rochester before moving
to New York City in 1889. In New York she joined
the German anarchist movement and met one of its
leaders, Johann Most, whose libertarian writings
influenced Goldman to become an anarchist. She also
met Alexander Berkman, to whom she became his life-long
companion. In 1892 she assisted Berkman’s attempted
assignation of Henry Frick, of the Carnegie Steel
Company, for his terrible treatment of workers during
an industrial dispute. Emma Goldman’s defense
of Berkman’s actions made her unpopular with
authorities. Berkman was imprisoned for fourteen
years.
The following year Emma Goldman was convicted of ‘’inciting
a riot’’ by telling the unemployed to
steal bread if their plea to be given food went ignored.
After being released from prison Goldman became involved
in the campaign for women's suffrage and birth control
information. In 1901 when President William McKinley
was assassinated by self-proclaimed anarchist Leon
Czolgosz, she found her name entangled in more controversy.
Czolgosz claimed Goldman’s speeches had influenced
him; and as a result Emma Goldman was arrested on
charges of conspiracy to assassinate the President,
but was released fourteen days later due to inadequate
evidence to link her to the crime. Emma Goldman did
not advocate violence; however she defended Czolgosz
by stating, "As an anarchist, I am opposed to
violence. But if the people want to do away with
assassins, they must do away with the conditions
which produce murderers."
From 1906-1917 Goldman edited and published the
influential anarchist journal, Mother Earth, along
with Alexander Berkman. She also wrote Anarchism
and Other Essays in 1910 and The Social
Significance of the Modern Drama in 1914. She opposed America's
involvement in World War I, and set up No Conscription
leagues and held protests condemning the War. This
earned her two years in jail and deportation to Russia
along with 246 other left-wing figures.
Being in Russia, Emma Goldman was able to witness
the Russian Revolution first hand. As an anarchist,
however, Goldman was repelled by the Bolshevik dictatorship.
She later moved to Britain after marrying a Welsh
miner and obtaining British citizenship. Her books,
My Disillusionment in Russia and My
Further Disillusionment in Russia helped to turn many socialists against
the Bolshevik government. Goldman moved to France
and her autobiography, Living My Life, was published
in 1931.
In her sixties, Goldman visited Spain to observe
the Spanish Civil War. She made three visits to Spain
during the course of the war, acting as publicist
and fund-raiser for Spanish anarcho-syndicalists.
She opened a Nation Confederation of Trabajo (CNT)
and Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI)
propaganda office in London, and co-established the
Committee to Aid Homeless Spanish Women and Children.
Emma Goldman was in Toronto when she died of a stroke
on 14 May 1940. The USA government decided to give
permission for her body to be buried in Chicago.
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