News & Comment

The Uprising of the 20,000 and Clara Lemlich

Rebellious Daughters of History #45 by ,,Judy Cox The Uprising of the 20,000 On November 23, 1909, more than twenty thousand Yiddish-speaking immigrants, mostly young women in their teens and early twenties, launched an eleven-week general strike in New York’s shirtwaist industry. Workers shared common grievances about wages, hours, workplace safety, and workplace indignities suffered […]

What is Cancel Culture? And Does it Matter?

Everyone’s talking about ‘cancel culture’, although there is no clear definition about what it actually is. This discussion is, to a large part, down to an article published in Harpers magazine and signed by various prominent writers ranging from Noam Chomsky via Francis Fukuyama to J.K. Rowling. [1] Although the article does not mention cancel […]

Sir Keir Starmer can do 50 Push-ups

Keir Starmer can do 50 push-ups [1]. Keir Starmer has a floppy haircut and a reassuringly droning voice. Keir Starmer is a grown up politician. Keir Starmer wears a forensic blue suit. Keir Starmer is a knight so if you want a dragon slaying he’s probably your man (though I’d likely be on the side […]

The Chocolate Women’s Strike and The Atlanta Laundresses Strike

Rebellious Daughters of History #44 by Judy Cox Inspired by the Tower Hamlets Unison Strike: The Chocolate Women’s Strike Clementina Black, secretary of the ‘Women’s Trade Union League’, organised a meeting for the young women working at Messrs Allen’s chocolate factory on 10 July 1890: “Twelve girls came, and their dread of being followed, watched […]

Théroigne de Méricourt and Sarah “Sally” Hemings

Rebellious Daughters of History #43 by ,,Judy Cox The French Revolution: Théroigne de Méricourt (1762–1817) Théroigne was born in Marcourt, Rendeux. Her mother died after giving birth to her so she was sent to live with her aunt in Liége. She left after being forced to work as a servant. Théroigne spent years as an […]