Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Emma Goldman Activist

  • Gender: Female
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Jun 27, 1869
  • Died: May 14, 1940

Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century.

Born in Kovno in the Russian Empire, Goldman emigrated to the U.S. in 1885 and lived in New York City, where she joined the burgeoning anarchist movement in 1889. Attracted to anarchism after the Haymarket affair, Goldman became a writer and a renowned lecturer on anarchist philosophy, women's rights, and social issues, attracting crowds of thousands. She and anarchist writer Alexander Berkman, her lover and lifelong friend, planned to assassinate industrialist and financier Henry Clay Frick as an act of propaganda of the deed. Although Frick survived the attempt on his life, Berkman was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Goldman was imprisoned several times in the years that followed, for "inciting to riot" and illegally distributing information about birth control. In 1906, Goldman founded the anarchist journal Mother Earth.

There is no hope even that woman, with her right to vote, will ever purify politics. hope & politics

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. Valentine's Day

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. politics

Politics is the reflex of the business and industrial world. business & politics

No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution... revolution is but thought carried into action. change & politics

All claims of education notwithstanding, the pupil will accept only that which his mind craves. education

The most violent element in society is ignorance. society

The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought. society

The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice. freedom

Women need not always keep their mouths shut and their wombs open. women