A multidimensional pioneer, Lucy González Parsons (1853-1942) not only was one of the first minority activists to associate openly with left radical social movements, she emerged as a leader in organizations primarily composed of white males. In her associations with anarchist, socialist, and communist organizations, González Parsons took up the causes of workers, women, and minorities, as well as the homeless and unemployed.

González Parsons's origins are shrouded in mystery. Much of the mystery is due to her own conflicting accounts of her place of birth, name, date of marriage, and national origins. The best record dating her birth indicates sometime in March of 1853, and her birthplace was probably on a plantation in Hill County, Texas. She publicly denied her African ancestry and claimed only a Native American and Mexican mixed heritage. According to Carolyn Ashbaugh in Lucy Parsons, American Revolutionary, however...