Cohen: Outrage Over Plaque Honoring A Communist Not The First Time In NH

By Burt Cohen, InDepth NH

As the great philosopher Yogi Berra called it: deja vu all over again.

When I was in the NH senate, in April 2001 a plaque honoring the NH veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade went up in the State House. It was down that same day. Some of the men had been communists in the 1930s. The right-wing freaked out.

Now we see it again: a plaque to Elizabeth Gurley Flynn has drawn the ire of Executive Councilor Joe Kenney. He insists it be taken down. Flynn was a prominent labor leader and suffragette in the early 20th century. She went on to help found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and later became an avowed communist.

Her biography can be read here: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Gurley-Flynn

History

Burt Cohen

New Castle

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.