Oh, Pioneers!

Born on this day in 1869, Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing & speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of political philosophy in North America & Europe in the first half of the 20th century. She lived an engrossing life. She figures in a major way in one of my favorite novels- Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, Goldman has been depicted in numerous works of fiction over the years, perhaps most notably by Maureen Stapleton, who won an Oscar for her role as Goldman in Warren Beatty's 1981 film Reds. Goldman has been the subject or character in several films, plays, biographies, & novels, yet no film has been made that told her story. I think it is the right moment for such a film. I suggest that Bill Condon write & direct, & that I star as Goldman. Look at the resemblance, it is uncanny. I was born to play this role in... Goldman!



Goldman was well-known during her life, & was described as"the most dangerous woman in America" After her death & through the middle part of the 20th century, her fame faded. Scholars & historians of anarchism viewed her as a great speaker & activist, but did not regard her as a philosophical or theoretical thinker .


Goldman spoke out publicly in defense of gay & lesbian people, defending their right to choose who and how they would love. She faced criticism from her colleagues on the left who feared that embracing the cause of homosexual rights would damage their other political work. Goldman was as unaffected by these fears as she was by the condemnation of those on the right, & she continued to support homosexuals throughout her life. Her belief that social liberation should extend to gay men & lesbians was virtually unheard of at the time, even among anarchists. Goldman was the1st American, to take up the defense of homosexual love before the general public. In numerous speeches & letters she defended the right of gay men & lesbians to love as they pleased & condemned the fear & stigma associated with homosexuality. Goldman: "It is a tragedy, I feel, that people of a different sexual type are caught in a world which shows so little understanding for homosexuals & is so crassly indifferent to the various gradations & variations of gender & their great significance in life. “