Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Pioneering labor organizer and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890–1964) was a revolutionary labor leader, feminist, and civil liberties advocate who played a pivotal role in early 20th-century workers' rights movements. Known as the "Rebel Girl," she co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1920 and championed free speech, gender equality, and fair labor practices.

Flynn gained prominence during the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, organizing multiethnic workers and advocating for safer conditions. She later became a key figure in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), promoting radical unionism. Her activism extended to opposing U.S. involvement in World War I and McCarthy-era persecution of communists.

In 1961, she became the first female chair of the Communist Party USA, symbolizing her lifelong fight against systemic inequality. Despite imprisonment under the Smith Act, Flynn's writings, including The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography, inspired generations of activists. Learn more at Biography.com.