Working Class Calendar

Marie Equi (1872 - 1952)

Sun Apr 07, 1872

Marie Equi, born on this day in 1872, was a radical medical doctor, gay rights advocate, Wobbly, and anarchist convicted of sedition for speaking out against American involvement in World War I.

Providing care for poor and working-class patients, she also regularly provided birth control information and abortions at a time when both were illegal. As a political activist, she was a vocal opponent of World War I and advocated civic and economic reforms, including the women's right to vote and an eight-hour workday.

After witnessing first-hand the brutality of police repression of a cannery workers' strike, Equi aligned herself with anarchists and the radical labor movement. While participating in the strike, she was clubbed by a policeman after becoming enraged at watching a pregnant women be dragged away by police.

Equi was also a lesbian who maintained a primary relationship with Harriet Frances Speckart (1883 - 1927) for more than a decade. The two women adopted an infant and raised the child in an early U.S. example of a same-sex family.

In 1918, Equi was convicted under the Sedition Act for speaking out against U.S. involvement in World War I. She was sentenced to a three-year term at San Quentin State Prison, but was released after ten months.

"Prepare to die, workingmen, JP Morgan & Co. want preparedness for profit."

- a banner held by Marie Equi during a "patriotic" parade in 1917

• Date: 1872-04-07
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.oregonencyclopedia.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Anarchism, #Queer.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org