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Goodman, Emma (audio interview #1 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This first interview with Emma Goodman, conducted in her home, was part of a student project. There is little chronological sequence in the interview, and the audio quality of the interview is poor, with background noise sometime making it hard to hear the narrator. TOPICS - strikes in New York ; arrest s; views on women's status; socialism; and her attitudes towards suffrage, feminism, birth control, sex, and education; 11/11/1974
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- SUBJECT BIO - Emma Goodman became involved in labor struggles almost from the moment she landed in New York from Russia in 1912. During her stay in New York, she also had contact with the WTUL (Women's Trade Union League). She moved to Los Angeles in 1920 and married, and left the work force in1922 after the birth of her first child. She returned to work and joined the ILGWU in 1929-1930 and became active once again, eventually becoming a part-time organizer and later, in 1956, the Business Agent for Local 58. She retired after twelve years, in 1968, when her husband became ill. The interview with Goodman was conducted as a student project at UCLA. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This first interview with Emma Goodman, conducted in her home, was part of a student project. There is little chronological sequence in the interview, and the audio quality of the interview is poor, with background noise sometime making it hard to hear the narrator. TOPICS - strikes in New York ; arrest s; views on women's status; socialism; and her attitudes towards suffrage, feminism, birth control, sex, and education;
- File: lhgwegoodman1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-1:34)... Tape introduction. (1:34-4:10)... Goodman immigrated to the US from Russia in 1912, and settled in New York. She began working and joined the United Neckwear Makers and remained an active member for ten years. During a strike for better wages and shorter hours, she and the other picketers threw eggs at the scabs. She was arrested because one of the eggs she threw hit a police officer. The issues during this strike were better wages and shorter hours. (4:10-5:33)... Although she was not officially hired as a union organizer in New York, she recalls that every active worker in the union was considered an organizer. She digresses into a discussion of the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL), indicating that she often visited the League and met with Rose Schneiderman, who was also active in the suffrage movement. Goodman also recalls attending a labor college in New York. (5:33-8:49)... When she moved to Los Angeles, she was married and was not active in the labor movement while she was raising her children. When her children were older, she joined the ILGWU and became active; her husband belonged to the teamsters. She describes her husband as an anarchist and a radical. At the time, she did not consider herself an anarchist and often argued with him about his beliefs. While living in New York, she recalls picketing in support of the national suffrage amendment. She opposed the conservatism and reactionary politics that occurred after women got the vote. (8:49-11:06)... After her children were born, she attended meetings at the Workmen's Circle. In terms of her political and philosophical beliefs, she considers herself a socialist. She digresses into a discussion on the New Deal, arguing that Franklin D. Roosevelt and the policies of the New Deal were adopted from socialist ideals. During WWI, she supported the military efforts because she believed in the defeat of Germany. She considered the War as a fight for liberation against the threat of German militarism. (11:06-12:54)... When she was arrested in New York for picketing during a strike, she was bailed out by union officials. [Note: There is a long pause followed by an interruption in the tape. High level of background noise as well.] She digresses into a discussion regarding her two daughters, one of whom is very active in politics in Washington, DC. (12:54-14:53)... She believes that women's activities were limited because people viewed them as masculine and unattractive if they were active. However, people also perceived women as human beings with a right to do whatever they wanted. WWI changed the way women dressed and looked. Because materials were scarce, women's dresses were shortened and they cut their hair. She also cut her hair, but no one questioned her because so many women were doing it at the time. (14:53-15:27)... She believes that trade unionism in the 1920s was radical and there was a push to organize workers and fight for better working conditions, wages, and hours. (15:27-16:55)... Note: There is a substantial amount of background noise in this segment. She was limited in her activities because she was home caring for her children, which was the case for many women. She argues that WWII liberated women because it gave them an opportunity to get out of the house and into the labor force. She recalls that when she went into the factory at this time, she earned more money than her husband. (16:55-19:49)... She believes that during the height of the labor movement, people were also fighting for sexual liberation. If a woman had sex before marriage, she was considered damaged goods, while a man could have sex with multiple women before marriage and risk giving his young, virgin wife a venereal disease. Both Margaret Sanger and Emma Goldman advocated birth control. Goodman recalls that men used condoms and although the pessary was available for women, it was a very dangerous and painful device to use. If a woman wanted an abortion, she had to obtain one secretly because they were illegal in the United States. (19:49-21:32)... The majority of women were not capable of moving into professional careers because they lacked an education. In addition, many people were discriminated against because of their gender and ethnicity, and unable to obtain a college education. (21:32-23:31)... She believes that the difference between a suffragist and a feminist was that a feminist refused to subject herself to a male-dominated society. A feminist wanted to be placed on a pedestal. The feminists and activities in Greenwich Village were often equated with promiscuity. She recalls that the first time she saw a Negro man kissing a woman was in New York at a socialist meeting and she was completely stunned - although she does not consider herself prejudiced. Note: there is an interruption in the tape while Goodman receives a visitor. (23:31-24:19)... In this segment, Goodman discusses some of the women active in the WTUL who helped during the labor strikes in New York. (24:19-25:51)... When the Russian Revolution erupted in 1917, she was sympathetic to the revolutionaries because she opposed dictatorships. (25:51-27:19)... Both she and her husband were class conscious and attended many meetings relative to their political and social beliefs. She digresses into a discussion of her daughter, who is very active in women's rights issues. (27:19-31:33)... Although there was a push for women to go back to the home after 1920, many women were accustomed to a more liberated lifestyle as a result of changes in society during WWI and their experiences in the labor force. Some women were no longer economically dependent on their husbands. Once women joined the work force in large numbers and started fighting for better working conditions, they were dissatisfied at the thought of returning to the home and wanted to improve women's status in industry. She is not active in the women's liberation movement because there are certain aspects that are not personally appealing to her, such as the idea that women will always care for children. She was the primary caretaker for her children, but when her husband came home in the evenings, she left and participated in social activities. (31:33-33:32)... In the 1920s, the garment industry was a small component of the city's economy, but slowly emerged as the dominant industry. Most of the organizers for the ILGWU were men because they had more experience than women. (33:32-36:46)... She believes that the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York was the impetus for organizing industries. Some of the organizers went to Washington, DC and lobbied for inspections in the shops to improve working conditions and prevent future tragedies. Unlike New York, the conditions in Los Angeles were better because there was more space to build factories and it was not as congested. The main issues were improvement of working conditions and the fight for child labor laws. (36:46-39:07)... A photograph of a woman carrying a bundle of work on her shoulder is introduced into the interview. Goodman discusses piecework and her opposition to women working on piecework in their homes. She also opposes illegal immigrants, particularly Mexicans, because they are not medically examined when they arrive in the United States and are willing to work for poor wages. In contrast, when she arrived in the United States, a doctor examined her for infectious diseases and she believes the same procedures should be employed with illegal immigrants today. (39:07-40:48)... In her generation, women were raised to believe there place was in the home; however, she did not want this for herself. Many women wanted to be feminine and dress and look a certain way to please men. She believes that women today do not care about these things and are promiscuous. While there was courting during her time, it is her belief that this form of romance no longer exists in today's society, and men and women have sexual relations like "animals." (40:48-44:16)... She recalls that many people lived together secretly. The anarchists shared a common opposition to the institution of marriage and the children born from these relationships were cared for by both parents. However, she believes that if a woman is going to stay home, it is her responsibility to raise the children and it is acceptable that the man work outside the home. She believes that it is effeminate for a man to work in the kitchen. It made her feel very important when she organized workers and participated in social events. As a child and a Jew, she was imbued with idealism and socialism, and unionization was not a foreign concept to her. Many non-Jewish groups did not have this upbringing, making it more difficult to organize them. End of tape
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