Evelyn Reed (October 31, 1905 – March 22, 1979) was an American

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

, and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

activist. Born and raised in

Haledon, New Jersey Haledon ( ) is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, which in turn reflected an i ...

, along with her two sisters, Reed left for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

while she was still a teenager, and engaged in her first overtly political act in 1934 when participating in a demonstration at

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

against the destruction of revolutionary murals created by the renowned Mexican artist,

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

. After a brief marriage to an aspiring writer named Osborn Andreas, during which time Reed lived in

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...

for three years with her husband before returning to New York City, a 34-year-old Reed traveled to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

several times from December 1939 to October 1940 to spend time with the exiled Russian Revolutionary

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

and his wife

Natalia Sedova Natalia Ivanovna Sedova (, ; 5 April 1882 – 23 January 1962) was a Russian revolutionary and author known as the second wife of Leon Trotsky. She wrote on cultural matters pertaining to Marxism. Life Natalia was born in to the family of a ...

. Reed also stayed with Natalia to give her support after Trotsky was assassinated in August 1940. It was in January 1940 at Trotsky's house, on the Avenida Viena in

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( ; , Otomi: ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre- ...

, where Reed had also met the American Trotskyist leader James P. Cannon, who was the leader of the Socialist Workers Party. Reed then joined the Socialist Workers Party at Trotsky's urging. Reed discussed with Trotsky her personal plans, her place in the party, and her conflict with her sister who still supported her financially. Reed remained a leading party member for over 39 years, right up until her death. As an active participant in

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...

and the

women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resulted in g ...

throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Reed was a founding member of the Women's National Abortion Action Coalition in 1971. During these years, she spoke and debated on women's rights in cities throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, the United Kingdom and France. Inspired by the works on women and the family by

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Alexandra Kollontai Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (; , ; – 9 March 1952) was a Russian revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist theoretician. Serving as the People's Commissar for Welfare in Vladimir Lenin's government in 1917–1918, she was a highl ...

, Reed is the author of many books on

Marxist feminism Marxist feminism is a philosophical variant of feminism that incorporates and extends Marxism, Marxist theory. Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property. A ...

and the origin of the oppression of women and the fight for their emancipation. Some of the most notable works by Reed are: ''Problems of Women's Liberation'', '' Woman's Evolution: From Matriarchal Clan to Patriarchal Family'', ''Is Biology Woman's Destiny?'', and ''Cosmetics, Fashions, and the Exploitation of Women'' (with Joseph Hansen and Mary-Alice Waters). She was nominated as a candidate for President of the United States for the Socialist Workers Party in the

1972 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern and former Ambassador Sargent Shriver in ...

. On the ballot in only three states (

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

), Reed received a total of 13,878 votes. The main Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate in 1972 was Linda Jenness, who received 52,801 votes. Reed died in

on March 22, 1979, aged 73.

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References

External links

Pathfinder Books, Publisher of the Socialist Workers Party and the works of Evelyn Reed
provides a bio-bibliographical sketch of Evelyn Reed

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Evelyn 1905 births 1979 deaths American activists American feminist writers American Marxists American Trotskyists Feminist studies scholars Female candidates for President of the United States Marxist feminists American Marxist writers Women Marxists Socialist Workers Party (United States) presidential nominees Candidates in the 1972 United States presidential election American socialist feminists