New Hampshire honored a “rebel girl.” Then it found out she was a communist.

From an early age, activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was known for espousing an agenda that embraced workers’ and women’s rights. Mrs. Flynn gave her first political speech in 1906, aged 15, and became a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union, an organizer with the International Workers of the World union, and eventually a leader of the Communist Party of the United States. States. Her daring actions earned her the nickname ‘Rebel Girl’.

Nearly 60 years after her death, her reputation continues to haunt her.

Just two weeks after a roadside marker was installed in her honor by the state in her hometown of Concord, NH, the state removed the placard after Republican lawmakers raised stubborn objections to Ms. Flynn’s communist ties.

As an organizer of the Industrial Workers of the World, Mrs. Flynn took part in strikes across the country in 1906, including the textile mill strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Mrs. Flynn also advocated for women to have the right to vote and helped found the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920 when Americans were questioned for their communist beliefs.

Joe Hill, the labor organizer, wrote a song said to have been inspired by Mrs. Flynn, which he called “The Rebel Girl.”

In 1953, Mrs. Flynn was convicted under the Smith Act of conspiracy to teach and advocate the forced overthrow of the United States government. She was sentenced to three years in prison. Mrs. Flynn was given a state funeral in Moscow when she died in 1964, and her obituary, describing her as the head of the American Communist Party, appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

“Elizabeth Gurley Flynn’s role in history is well established. Her significance as a historical figure is beyond question,” said Arnie Alpert, a community activist in New Hampshire who spearheaded the Ms. Flynn’s marker initiative, in an interview. “But what is not well known is that she was born in Concord.”

Mr. Alpert and his girlfriend Mary Lee Sargent first petitioned the State Division of Historical Resources for a historical marker in 2021. The state ordered the plaque in March 2022, and it was approved by the Concord City Council in December.

The marker was placed on the corner believed to have once been the site of Mrs. Flynn’s childhood home, and a groundbreaking ceremony took place on 1 May. Democrat, debated the issue of the memorial. Joseph Kenney, a Republican councilman, described it as “a slap in the face to the State of New Hampshire and the City of Concord.”

It was removed on May 15.

Mr Kenney said in an interview that he hoped removing the plaque would teach children a valuable lesson about the history of communism in the United States, and the time when it threatened to “take over the world and change our way of life.” to change”.

“My argument begins and continues there,” Mr Kenney said, adding that he took the installation personally as a former Marine. “We cannot recognize such a person in the state capital.”

The swift removal has pitted community organizers against state officials because of the complexity of bureaucratic policies and procedures in the “Live Free or Die” state. In a statement, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said the governor’s office had learned that the marker was on state property and not city property and that “that’s why the marker was removed.”

“All policies and guidelines were followed in removing this controversial marker,” said Benjamin Vihstadt, the spokesman. “Through their public statements, the City of Concord made it clear that they were not advocating for the marker to be upheld.”

Mr. Vihstadt did not elaborate on what that process to have it removed entailed or who ultimately ordered the removal of the marker. In a May 10 letter to the state, the city said it “takes no position” on the removal.

Mr Alpert said proponents of the marker believed the state had “no reasons” to remove it, citing a state policy that requires proposals for revisions or the retirement of markers to be vetted by the state’s historical resources commission and that their sponsors will be notified.

For now, Mr Alpert said the lawyers’ legal remedy was “unclear”.

Denise Lynn, who studies women in the Communist Party and is director of gender studies at the University of Southern Indiana, said Ms. Flynn’s role in American labor history deserves recognition.

“It comes down to the kind of history people are willing to acknowledge — the good, the bad, the messy,” Ms Flynn said. “As historians, we all have to acknowledge it. We don’t do history if we don’t do all the parts, even if it makes us uncomfortable.”

A spokesman for the state’s Department of Transportation said the marker was currently in a storage facility.