Lucy Fox Robins Lang (March 30, 1884 – January 25, 1962) was an American activist involved with the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

(AFL) and the fight for amnesty for political prisoners. She is best known for her work with

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

and

Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 11, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...

. Lang advocated for many political prisoners who had been charged under Wartime Emergency Laws. She was also a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

who helped raise money for settlements for

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

refugees. Lang wrote about her life in an autobiography, ''Tomorrow is Beautiful'' (1948).

Biography

Lang was born on March 30, 1884, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine and grew up in Korostyshev. Lang's paternal grandfather was a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

in Kyiv and was known as Reb Chiam the Hospitable. Lang's father went to America ahead of the family. The family moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

when Lang was nine and they lived for a short time on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

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 ...

before settling in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. She began to work in a

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

factory, where she was a good enough worker to make $20 a week. She also helped take care of her four younger siblings after work. Lang learned

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

night school A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The scuol ...

. She was also invited to start attending an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

study group. Lang also attended programs at

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hul ...

and

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...

was a big influence on her life. Addams even asked her to work as an assistant dance instructor for Hull House. When she was 16, she married Bob Robins and the couple set up their marriage as a "limited contract that either party could renew or break." The couple moved to

, partly because Lang's family strongly disapproved of the marriage. She and her husband met

in 1905 and both were involved in helping create the

Free Speech League The Free Speech League was a progressive organization in the United States that fought to support freedom of speech in the early 20th century. The League focused on combating government censorship, particularly relating to political speech and se ...

. The couple would also follow Goldman to California, where they lived in an anarchist commune. They also opened a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

restaurant. Lang and her husband briefly separated, still viewing their marriage as a limited contract. The separation was considered "scandalous" and there was gossip printed about them in the newspapers in San Francisco. They stayed married for twenty years after their short separation. Lang also designed and used an "auto-house" which combined a portable

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

with a house trailer. Lang and her husband would travel the United States using the auto-house and complete printing jobs wherever they stopped. Lang, who was "mechanically inclined," drove the vehicle, which they called the Adventurer. In 1916, Lang was involved in working on

Tom Mooney Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that M ...

's case to support his innocence. She was very involved in his defense case and used her connections with the Chicago labor movement to build political clout to secure Mooney's freedom. Lang and others created a labor defense committee to petition New York Governor

Charles Seymour Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to th ...

to stop the extradition of

Alexander Berkman Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870June 28, 1936) was a Russian-American anarchist and author. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. Be ...

. It was believed that Berkman would not get a fair trial if he was extradited to San Francisco. In the end, the efforts of Lang and more than 200 labor leaders who helped petition Whitman ensured that Berkman was not extradited. Goldman later asked Lang and another friend,

Eleanor Fitzgerald Mary Eleanor Fitzgerald (March 16, 1877 – March 30, 1955) was an American editor and theatre professional, best known for her association with Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, and with the Provincetown Players. Early life and education Mary ...

, to organize a campaign for

general amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

for those who were convicted under Wartime Emergency Laws. Goldman herself was about to be imprisoned for a violation of the

Selective Service Act of 1917 The Selective Service Act of 1917 or Selective Draft Act () authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. It was envisioned in December 1916 and brought to Presiden ...

. Together, Lang and Fitzgerald founded the League for Amnesty for Political Prisoners. Lang would eventually start working for amnesty for

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s through the

(AFL). In 1919, Lang approached

to encourage him to support amnesty. During their work, she and Gompers became friends. The first time the national convention of the AFL tried to pass an amnesty resolution, it failed. Lang asked a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

lawyer,

Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...

, to help her create a new resolution. By 1920, the AFL, through Lang's efforts, endorsed an amnesty resolution for political prisoners. The AFL's endorsement was a "major lift" for the amnesty movement. Lang differentiated her amnesty campaigns from other contemporary ones, by calling hers "constructive" as opposed to the others, which she considered "radical." She also believed that other campaigns for amnesty existed more to raise money than to provide actual aid. Lang ensured that her campaigns were funded by unions, not individual laborers. Lang worked as a

mediator Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

between the labor unions and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, officials. Her position at AFL was executive secretary of the amnesty committee. In 1921, Lang focused her energy on amnesty for

Eugene Debs Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time candidate of the Socialist Party o ...

. Lang and her husband began to have differences over her work for AFL and split up in the mid-1920s. On behalf of the AFL, Lang investigated working conditions for laborers in the South. She was also involved in helping during the 1927 Mine Workers Strike. Lang married Harry Lang, who was editor of the ''

Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

''. The couple visited

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

all between 1928 and 1937. Lang became interested in Zionism and became the head of a group which raised funds to establish

Kfar Blum Kfar Blum () is a kibbutz in the Hula Valley part of the Upper Galilee in Israel. Located about southeast of the town of Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kib ...

, a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

where

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

refugees could safely emigrate. Lang and her husband settled for a while in Croton, New York, in the mid-1940s, where Lang worked on her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. They moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

later on and eventually lived in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. Lang died at Mt. Sinai hospital on January 25, 1962.

''Tomorrow is Beautiful''

Lang's

, ''Tomorrow is Beautiful'' (1948), tells her life story and also describes a history of the Jewish labor movement in the United States in early half of the twentieth century. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called the book an "excellent autobiography, as well as important historically for those interested in the labor movement."

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

*
Tomorrow is Beautiful
' (1948, special Labor edition, full text) *
War Shadows: A Documental Story of the Struggle for Amnesty
' (1922, full text) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Lucy Robins 1884 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Activists from Chicago American trade union leaders American women non-fiction writers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American activists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers People from Korostyshiv Writers from Chicago