] 0 ju s t M it » decamhar 6.2002
rrTiTrïïTRTlneius
eace « 2 )« „c
G ive P eace
a
C hance
Lesbian pacifist w as accused of sedition more than 80 years ago
A Lesbian New Year's Eve Party 2003
December 31, 2002 * 8pnr1am * Shenanigan's * 4575
N. Channel Ave * Portland OR 97217
A portion of proceeds will support local peace organizing
Ail lesbians, friends and allies are welcome
Smoke Free * Ail Ages
light Buffet • No Host Bar
Silent Auction * Raffle
Dancing to Masie by DJ Lauren
A S L Interpreted
Tickets Available At:
It's M y Pleasure
Music Millennium
In Other Words Bookstore
Gentle Strength Books in Vancouver
*25/advance
tJO/door
Reserved Tables
of 10/$2S0
For more info: email lcp@xprt.net or call 503-227-0605
Antoinette Laferriere
F L O R E ID W A L K E R
.WADDELL
«SrREED
G r if f o n
F in a n c ia l
G r o u p , LLC
Financial and Estate Planning Services
F in a n c ia l S erv ices *
Investing. With a plant
M illy n n
co
RgUiX equity group
Alternative
m & rm i
W A N T T O P A R T Y ? LET U S D R IV E !
M entìon J ust O ut
foe a 10% D iscount
Safe Schools for All!
Do you want to make a difference in schools?
We’re looking for volunteers.
Call & find out how you can promote change.
Gay, Lesbian
www. glsenOregon. org
and Straight
Ê0GLSEN
Education
Networfc
5 0 3 525-1 1 77
-
by P at Young
uring the Burnside Triangle public
history tours in September, the
story of one outspoken woman
contained provocative parallels to
the U .S. government’s current
crackdown on anti-war agitators.
Who was Marie Equi? A doctor, feminist,
pacifist, agitator, lesbian?
“She was always in the newspapers surround
ed by controversy,” community historian Tom
Cook says. “She was totally into other women.
She didn’t have any interest in men at all.”
And that was just for starters.
Equi was bom April 7, 1872, in Massachu
setts. She attended Wellesley College, where
she met her good friend Bess Holcomb.
When Holcomb accepted a teaching posi
tion in The Dalles, Equi moved out West with
her. The town seemed to accept the two women
and thought nothing of their Boston marriage.
However, in July 1893, they created quite a
stir when Equi threatened to horsewhip the Rev.
O.D. Taylor, president of the school’s board,
concerning a dispute in Holcomb’s salary. She
almost had her way, but he escaped her wrath,
and she was arrested for her efforts.
A few years later, the pair moved to San
Francisco, where Holcomb found another
teaching job. Their relationship did not last. It’s
unclear why they broke up, but Holcomb mar
ried and remained in California. Equi entered
college and later moved to Oregon, where in
1903 she became one of the first women to grad
uate from University of Oregon Medical School.
In Portland, Equi set up a health clinic in the
Lafayette Building located at the comer of
Southwest Sixth Avenue and Washington
Street. The majority of her patients were
women, and most were poor. In addition to reg
ular care, she was one of the few doctors in Port
land who performed abortions.
Equi hired Harriet Speckart to be her med
ical assistant in 1906. They ended up as lovers
and remained together for almost 20 years, dur
ing which time they adopted a daughter. They
lived in several places on the west side of Port
land, including Hotel Oregon at Southwest
Broadway and Stark Street.
“While she was with Harriet, she was having
affairs, too,” Cook notes. Planned Parenthood
founder Margaret Sanger “made a comment that
every time a political woman came to Portland,
Marie Equi was there to capture her attention.”
Cook points to when she was on trial for her
opposition to World War I. The FBI’s source was a
woman who lived in the hotel room next to Equi’s.
“She was telling the FBI the things that she
was hearing through the walls, and these were
the nights when Harriet was not in Portland,”
Cook says with a laugh. “But you have to take
that with a grain of salt.”
In addition to her work as a doctor, Equi was
an advocate for the working class and immi
grants. She supported the Industrial Workers of
the World and women’s suffrage and assisted
Sanger when she came to Portland.
Equi was often on the streets protesting one
cause or another. But it was her opposition to
World War I that ultimately landed her in prison.
According to Nancy Krieger’s 1983 article
“Queen of the Bolsheviks," Equi joined the
American Union Against Militarism, an organi
zation that believed the real reason the United
States wanted to enter the war was for econom-
ic profit. She gave emotionally charged speech-
es at several gatherings.
|
SOCIETY 23494
a benefit for Portland Lesbian Choir & Lesbian Community Project
for Portland protest
Marie Equi was one of the few doctors in
Portland who performed abortions
Meanwhile, rallies were held across the
nation in support of the war. On June 14, 1916,
about 20,000 people flocked downtown for Port
land’s Preparedness Day Parade.
Krieger notes, “Equi outdid herself by carry
ing her anti-imperialist politics” when she
walked into the crowd and held up a banner
reading: “Prepare to Die, Workingmen. J.P.
Morgan & Co. Want Preparedness for Profit.
‘Thou Shall N ot Kill.’ ”
Needless to say, she almost started a riot as
people tore the banner apart and police arrested
her. But a few days later, she was at it again.
Only this time, she climbed a telephone pole
and waved another banner— “Down with the
Imperialist War.” Police needed the assistance of
the fire department to get her down from the
telephone pole.
A s soon as the United States entered the
war, the government passed the Espionage Act,
which clamped down on anti-war activities.
When the Sedition Law was added in 1918, it
became illegal to criticize the government, con
stitution, military or flag. “It was this new law
which finally snared Equi,” Krieger writes.
Equi was arrested in June 1918 for a speech
she gave in Portland. The Justice Department
hired an informant to keep tabs on her until her
trial, which didn’t start until Nov. 12,1918, a day
after the war ended. The government lined up an
| assortment of people to speak against Equi. And
she responded with just as many supporters.
Krieger describes a confront? tion between
Equi and the prosecutor as the highlight of the
trial. Newspapers reported there seldom had
been such a courtroom battle of wits between a
man and a woman.
Equi was found guilty and sentenced to three
years in jail. She appealed the case hut eventu
ally was ordered to San Quentin Prison on
Oct. 19, 1920. Her sentence later was commut
ed to a year and a half.
After prison, Equi lived a quieter life because
of the calmer political climate and her failing
health. She died July 13,1952, in Portland. J H
j
j PAT YOUNG is a Portland free-lance writer and
gay and lesbian historian.