Today in Labor History July 8, 1898: May Picqueray was born. She was a French anarchist, trade unionist and pacifist, who published the pacifist, anti-militarist periodical Le Réfractaire from 1974 to 1983. In 1921, in response to the silence of the French press on the convictions of Sacco and Vanzetti, she sent a parcel bomb containing a defensive grenade and leaflets to the American embassy. Her efforts helped mobilize French journalists, without harming any people and only causing damage to material. In 1922, as a delegate of the Metalworkers union, she visited Moscow, where she climbed on a table full of Red Trade Union officials to denounce their having a luxurious banquet while the common people starved. She refused to shake hands with Trotsky because of his responsibility for crushing the Kronstadt rebellion, and his betrayal of Nestor Makhno. During the Spanish Civil War, she helped transport orphans out of the country. During World War II, she helped people escape French concentration camps. She also was a participant in the French uprising of May 1968, participated in anti-nuclear campaigns and supported war resisters.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #maypicqueray #nestormakhno #trotsky #kronstadt #rebellion #civilwar #antinuclear #activism #nuclear #concentrationcamps #SaccoAndVanzetti #bomb #union #spain #france