Emma Goldman was a Russian-born anarchist, writer, and political activist who became a major figure in North American and European anarchist movements in the early 20th century. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1885, she became radicalized by the Haymarket affair and spent her life advocating for anarchism, free speech, women’s rights, and birth control. Known for her fiery lectures and writings, she was repeatedly imprisoned for her activism and was deported to Soviet Russia in 1919 for opposing the WWI draft. Disillusioned by Bolshevik repression, she later condemned the Soviet regime and chronicled her experiences in My Disillusionment in Russia. She continued her activism in Europe and supported the anarchist cause during the Spanish Civil War. Though controversial in her time, she was later recognized as a pioneering voice in radical politics and feminist thought.
