Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, American author and activist (died 1964)

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was an American labor leader, feminist, and communist activist. In the early years of her activist career, she was an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World. During World War I she founded the Workers Defense Union (WDU), to advocate for anyone arrested and imprisoned for violating the Espionage Act while championing the cause of labor. In 1920, Flynn helped found the American Civil Liberties Union. She joined the Communist Party USA in 1936 during the Popular Front period and became one of its most recognized and beloved leaders. In 1940, in a highly controversial move, the ACLU expelled her from its executive committee because she was a Communist, despite her reputation as a longtime advocate of free speech. She was elected the first woman chair of the Party in 1961. After her passport was revoked because of her Party membership, she appealed successfully for its reinstatement. She died during a visit to the Soviet Union, where she was accorded a state funeral with processions in Red Square attended by more than 25,000 people.