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Change Your Day

A revitalized blog with one mission: to present a moment that jolts your day, triggers new thinking, gets you through traffic tangles, and relieves job stress. Or, more prosaically, accompanies you through the early miles of bike touring through France and Italy. Wherever you are, I aim to change your day.

Credit to @illuminatethearts for lighting the skies from the Ferry Building down Market Street. 

Portland Librarian Protests “Muzzling of Free Speech”, Seeks Amnesty for Radical Activist Marie Equi

10/23/2015

 
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Mary Isom. Photo: Multnomah County Library
​February 6, 1920
​
To the Honorable Joseph Tumulty, Secretary to the President
 
I am writing you in behalf of Dr. Marie Equi under sentence for seditious utterances. I was away when the alleged offense was committed, overseas, serving my country, therefore I know nothing of the facts of the case and scarcely of the charges.
 
I do know that Dr. Equi is a reputable physician particularly noted for her work with women and children. I am told that money for her services is the last interest that Dr. Equi takes in her profession.
 
I feel that my plea for Dr. Equi is weak, because I know so little about the case; however, I do wish to protest from the bottom of my American soul against this muzzling of free speech, against imprisonment for politics, for debt, against any of these revised horrors and I pray you from my heart to throw all your influence with our president toward the granting of full and general political amnesty.  It would not only be a humane move, an American move, a returning to the ideals we cherish – some of us – but it would be a political move of the highest order.
 
I have the honor to be, my dear Sir,

Respectfully yours,
Mary Frances Isom
Author’s Note: My research for MARIE EQUI: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions relied on many primary and secondary sources, including the documents collected and then archived by the Department of Justice regarding the case of Marie Equi. A series of letters were addressed to President Woodrow Wilson and other government officials seeking relief for Equi who they felt had been unjustly convicted of sedition for giving talks against US involvement in World War I.
​
Wilson commuted Equi’s sentence from three years to one-year-and-a-day. He never granted an amnesty, a pardon, or a parole to her. She served her time in San Quentin Prison. 
 
Mary Frances Isom (1865-1920) directed the Multnomah County Library in the Portland Metro Area -- “the first tax-supported, free public library in Oregon.” – starting in 1902. She developed a county-wide system and established a model for libraries throughout the state. Go to link: Oregon Encyclopedia profile​
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Joseph Tumulty, standing, and President Woodrow Wilson

Free Speech Suspended, Activist Sentenced to San Quentin

10/20/2015

 
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Photo: Oregon Historical Society
Ninety-five years ago on October 19, 1920 lesbian radical Marie Equi began her sentence at San Quentin California State Prison in Marin County. Five days earlier she had walked with her estranged longtime lover, her five-year-old daughter, and two dozen friends to the US Marshall’s office in downtown Portland, Oregon. She was there to surrender and be escorted to jail prior to her trip south.  
 
Only that morning in Portland had Equi learned that she would do time at San Quentin. The choice suited her, she said, much more than the women’s reformatory in Rockville, Iowa. “I am too old to reform,” she quipped. To a local newspaper she said of her daughter Mary: “I’ve had that little girl since she was three weeks old. She is as dear to me as if she were my own child.” She also spoke of being humbled at “the wealth of friendship” she received that morning.
 
She departed Portland on Southern Pacific No. 10 just before midnight on October 17 with a US deputy marshal and a police matron. The next day she and the others reached Richmond, California, boarded a ferry to San Quentin, and approached the stark white prison buildings standing isolated on a short stub of a peninsula in San Francisco Bay. At the prison she was registered as inmate 34110, marking the start of her term. Among the thirty-one other inmates, Equi was the only political. Her offense? Speaking out against US participation in World War I.  The charge: Sedition.
 
Excerpted from MARIE EQUI: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions 
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Five Stars from MARIE EQUI Readers

10/17/2015

 
Marie Equi would be thrilled that readers of her biography are unanimous in appreciation for her steady courage and bold advocacy.  Here’s a sample from the many who have posted comments on the Amazon page for MARIE EQUI: Radical Politics & Outlaw Passions: 

 “In her time Equi …was probably the most prominent firebrand for feminist, peace, and labor struggles in Portland. …Helquist is an imaginative storyteller, which makes for both a factual and engaging read.”  Ryan W.
 
“Well written, thoroughly researched and engaging throughout, this is compelling reading for anyone who values the lessons that “misbehaving women” … can teach us.”  PCM
 
“A rare and fascinating biography written with passion and dramatic flair…What an amazing character to present to the world.” Thomas Caldarola
 
“Easy to pick up and hard to put down… highly recommended. Marie Equi’s story needs to be told.” Lenore McDonald
 
“Helquist has a knack for vivid detail … a thoroughly researched gem … one of the most important biographies to be published this year.”  Matt Chayt
 
“A neglected feminist is brilliantly brought to life. … a truly authoritative and entertaining account.” 
 
“So thoroughly researched and lovingly told, this author clearly knew this story needed to be shared.”  Deb
 
“Rich and entertaining narrative breathes life into an unforgettable historical figure.” DL567
 
“A touching story of a passionate woman who defies the limitations and excoriations of the early (20th) century culture edicts to self-sacrificing ends.”  Jo Ostgarden-Jensen
 
“Filled with meticulous research…a well-written, enthralling biography of a true pioneer.” Jarie Bolander
 
“Each chapter reads briskly and carries you through the major events of this woman’s remarkable life.” D Danley
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Did Marie Equi Ride A Bike?

10/13/2015

 
PicturePhoto courtesy of Library of Congress. Click picture for more about American women on bicycles from the National Women's History Museum.
For all my bicycling buds and safe streets advocates everywhere, I tried my best to get Marie Equi on a bike in my new biography of her. Surely at some point some sighting must have occurred followed by a report of one of Portland’s most prominent activists on a bike. So far, no luck.
 
And why is that? What about the 1890s bicycling craze across America? In her late teens, Equi was working in the textile mills of New Bedford, making just 90 cents a day for a 12-14 hour shift. She was supporting herself and her family, leaving little income for big ticket purchases. Then she was rescued by her girlfriend, Bessie Holcomb, who invited her to homestead with her in the Far West. In 1892 they were settled on several acres, making their home in a 12’ by 30’ cabin two miles outside The Dalles, Oregon along the Columbia River. But roads were clogged with dust and ruts in the summer and were muddy slogs in the winter. The bike fad may not have claimed many enthusiasts in the post-frontier town.
 
What about San Francisco then, where Equi and Holcomb moved in 1897? Surely they tried bicycling then, especially along the path through the center of Panhandle Park and into Golden Gate Park. My hunch is they did indeed try out the new two-wheelers for a weekend spin. But no pics and no journal entries of the two on bikes.
 
Perhaps Equi, an advocate for women’s voting rights, took to heart the wisdom of Susan B. Anthony who remarked in 1896 that bicycling had accomplished more “to emancipate women than anything else in the world.“ Equi worked for woman suffrage in 1906 and 1912 in Oregon, and some of her travels, she perhaps tried “wheels.”
 
I’ve documented Marie Equi travelling by train several times, by steamer from Portland to San Francisco, by bus and streetcar, by personal automobile, and by foot.  Someday a now-hidden or unknown archive will yield discoveries, including perhaps the elusive photograph of Marie Equi riding a bike.
 
Book readers take note: I did slip in a reference to bicycling in Chapter Three, “The Audacity to Succeed,” about Equi and Holcomb arriving in San Francisco. Here’s an edited excerpt from page 40:

“San Francisco was a great splurge of a city at the end of the nineteenth century, modern and cosmopolitan with a palpable excitement in the air. …(at the foot of Market Street) Cable cars ground to a stop at the Ferry Building ready to collect and disperse passengers down the street or into the neighborhoods. Horse-drawn wagons and handcarts rumbled over the cobblestones, and bicyclists and pedestrians dodged the jumble of traffic best they could.”

Today's Amazon Comment*: "This Gal Had Spunk!" by Lenore McDonald

10/13/2015

 
PictureLenore and Michael
Just published at my book's Amazon page: 

"MARIE EQUI is truly an engaging and satisfying account of a radical feminist who dared challenge anything and everything that stood in the way of providing equal rights for woman. It is so thoroughly researched and well written - it's easy to pick up and hard to put down. Equally academic and intriguing. It serves as a reminder of how hard women have had it. My daughter at 32 could not fully conceive or appreciate the hard-fought battles for equal rights that American women won the 70's and 80's when I was her age much less those that Marie confronted in the early 1900s if not for historians like Michael Helquist's excellent work. Marie Equi's story needs to be heard, Michael Helquist does her justice while also drawing parallels to communities and peoples who are fighting still. Highly recommended."

And Lenore gave it FIVE STARS!

* You can help MARIE EQUI reach more people by adding a comment for the book. Just a sentence is enough to be counted in the Amazon algorithms for higher ranking in searches. Go to "Amazon Marie Equi," scroll down to comments, and add yours. THANK YOU.

MARIE EQUI Welcomed at San Francisco Public Library

10/9/2015

 
At a time when writers and other artists struggle to remain in San Francisco, the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center – and the SF Public Library overall – provides a welcome refuge and nurturing haven with community space to present their work. I have used the Center’s resources to fill in the details of Marie Equi’s medical training and her several visits to San Francisco. Last night I was honored to present MARIE EQUI to twenty-five people at the Center.
 
At my talks I’m especially pleased when members of the audience thank me for bringing to light the important, engaging story of Marie Equi. Several people remark that they appreciate the context I present with Equi being one of the marginalized people whose stories seldom appear. Last night several women thanked me for profiling a lesbian since their life stories have been less frequently researched or written. I’m honored to do so.
 
My thanks to all who attended last night. 
 
NEXT UP:  Wed, Oct. 14, 1pm, Interview on KGGV 95.1 FM Guerneville, CA with host Gerry Takano as part of the “Beneath the Waves” program (starts at noon)
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Adele Prandini, theater director
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Michael with Karen Sundheim

MARIE EQUI Gets Rave Reviews at Berkeley Launch: Books Inc. Audience Didn’t Want Talk to End

10/8/2015

 
Last night the Books Inc. audience in Berkeley gave everything an author could want at a reading. The twenty people present were attentive, engaged, and enthusiastic. They erupted in laughter over the infamous horsewhipping incident and the notorious “deadly, virus-dipped” hatpin attack. They gasped at the brutal third degree Marie Equi endured at a police station and were appalled by J. Edgar Hoover’s determination to keep Equi in prison. During the book signing, several thanked me for retrieving Equi’s story and presenting her in a way that everyone could appreciate. One woman stepped up and said, while handing me her just-purchased book, “Anarchism and the Wobblies – I’m there. I’ve got to read this.” Another reported that she was mesmerized and literally did not want me to stop talking about the book.
 
One of the perks of being the speaker is watching and gauging the audience’s reaction. Last night the response was exceptional and energizing, and I feel honored to have shared the evening with everyone there.
Two of Marie Equi’s distant cousins attended the reading last night. Jeanine and Margaret are descendants of Giuseppi Equi who emigrated from northern Italy in the 1850s to America and shortly thereafter settled in the Bay Area. I was excited to present so much Equi family history for them and then honored when they suggested I should be an honorary member of the Equi clan.
 
A special thanks to the staff of Books Inc. in Berkeley for their enthusiastic welcome and steady promotion leading up to the reading. Schyler, David, and Carmen – you were great to work with.
 
Coming up tonight, Thursday, 10/08, MARIE EQUI author event at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin St, Civic Center, 3rd floor, James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center.  Reading, purchase, and signing. 

Lillian Faderman and the LGBTQ Community

10/1/2015

 
PictureLillian Faderman at San Francisco Public Library, September 30, 2015
A fascinating author event last night with Lillian Faderman discussing her new book "The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle" at the San Francisco Public Library. Her sweeping account from 1948 to today is presented as public history (without an emphasis on academic analysis) and includes many personal stories of the more than 100 interviews she conducted.

She discussed how she thought lesbians became more collaborative and responsive to gay men due to the AIDS crisis when the need for care was so great. (In the 1970s a number of lesbians had become "separatist" believing gay or straight men were too invested in male privilege to understand or support feminism). 

It was an interesting perspective for me. My experience was that gay men became more responsive to and appreciative of women because so many stepped forward to help in time of community crisis. Lesbians especially played a fundamental and critical role in AIDS advocacy and health care. As a result of their own experiences, many lesbians guided gay men with AIDS through the bureaucratic and often unresponsive health care system.

Clearly, the community came together with both sets of experiences -- gay and lesbian -- contributing to overall well-being and to their own sense of selves.

    Michael Helquist

    Author Historian Activist 

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