Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an incredibly influential anarchist whose teachings paved the way for labor and feminist movements giving new life to the anarchist movement. Goldman was born in 1869 in Kaunas Lithuania, now Kovno, and grew up in St. Petersburg where she lived in a community and state of violence and fear. She soon started to embrace the teachings of the Russian revolutionary movement where ideas of a free, equal, and utopian society were imagined. Through this movement she started to dedicate her life to anarchism the fight for a free society. After emigrating to New York City, Goldman joined the German anarchist movement where she met Johann Most and Alexander Berkman. Most was a prominent speaker and anarchist who helped her develop her public speaking and activism skills. Berkman became Goldman’s long-term partner, and he helped her develop her career as an anarchist. Together they planned an assassination on Henry Frick because of his treatment of the Homestead Steel Mill workers that caused them to strike. Berkman got arrested and while he was incarcerated, Goldman published many anarchist papers, magazines, and people started to use her ideas to lead other anarchist movements. When he was released, they both got arrested again for opposing the draft during WW1 and the Red Scare soon being exiled from the US. For the next 2 years she lived in Russia with Berkman but soon had to leave because of the harsh reality that she was experiencing during the revolution. She wrote a series of published articles outlining the harsh conditions in Russia and lost all of her spirit for the Russia she once knew. The couple separated and Goldman went on to fight and publish about the Russian revolution as well as the Spanish Revolution while continuing to educate people on the feminist movement including sexual equality. In May of 1940 she ended up passing away in Toronto, Canada after a very impactful life.
During her time in America, Goldman was hailed at “the most dangerous women in America” because of how influential her teachings were. She helped to organize men and women alike to fight for their rights and develop a better society. She is also recognized as one of the leaders of the anarcha-feminist movement which fought for the rights of women and how it goes beyond a capitalist society and fights to dismantle the government and the patriarchy at the same time. Her work was so influential that the government soon had to step in an ban her from publishing her anarchist magazine called Mother Earth and other publications. Overseas her teachings helped people become aware of, support, and fight for what they believe in in the Spanish revolution. She was heavily involved in that and helped them start to achieve victory before the State annihilated everyone. Throughout her life she also gained a lot of enemies from the States of Russian and the U.S. as well company owners and everyday people who thought that her ideas were harmful for society.
Today, Emma Goldman is recognized as one of the most important and influential anarchists leading each of her causes into the spotlight. Since her passing she has only become more and more recognized with her philosophies being taught in many classrooms and activist meetings. She has been recognized and honored in many books and organizations dedicating something to her. As more and more of her teachings are brought into the spotlight and given the recognition it deserves, her ideas are going to spread to more and more people giving them the chance to continue her fight into the future.
References
Emma Goldman. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emma_Goldman&oldid=1215235002
Emma Goldman (1869-1940) | American Experience | PBS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldman-1869-1940/
emma goldman—Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=dd5fb20fe780040b&hl=en&q=emma+goldman&tbm=isch&source=lnms&prmd=ivnsmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiu88Ck94-FAxURMlkFHSfLDI4Q0pQJegQIDhAB&biw=1440&bih=848&dpr=2#imgrc=6F9UXkm_RXyxwM
Your Favourite Anarchist’s Favourite Anarchist—YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/
