Charlotte Anita Whitney

Born in 1867 in San Francisco to an upper middle-class family, Anita Whitney would become a social worker, suffragist and a political organizer.

After visiting the poor neighborhoods of New York City in 1893 she began an interest in social work and helping the poor. After the 1906 earthquake and fire she became well known for helping those who lost their homes. By 1911 her desire to help the downtrodden led her to political work. This began with the woman's suffrage movement where she played a leadership role. She joined the Socialist Party in response to the militarism she saw during World War One.

In 1919 she and others split from the Socialist Party to create the Communist Labor Party. She would travel through California building support for the Party. After a public speech she gave in Oakland on behalf of the CLP she was arrested under the California Criminal Syndicalism Act. This act made it illegal to use force against person or property to create political or industrial change. It also made it illegal to advocate for such use or belong to groups which advocated such use. The act was a part of the first Red Scare and was targeting groups such as the Industrial Workers of the World and the CLP, both of which Whitney was affiliated with.

Her trial became the most famous of the California Criminal Syndicalism Act trials. She was found guilty and sentenced to prison. An appeal went all the way to the supreme court, where her conviction was upheld. She served less than two weeks total time imprisonment due to legal maneuverings and poor health. In 1927 she was pardoned by the governor of California who stated that the law was legal and necessary but her particular conviction was unjust.

Through the following years Whitney continued to advocate for communism and change. She was arrested a number of other times for lesser charges and ran for California public office under the CLP, at times gaining over 100,000 votes. She was elected the national chairwoman of the Communist Party in 1936.

Whitney died in 1955 in San Francisco and is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery of Oakland.