The state of New Hampshire has been sued after officials removed a historic sign commemorating the birthplace of a communist and labor leader just weeks after it was installed.
The state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources unveiled a green aluminum sign with the New Hampshire state seal on May 1, recognizing former Community Party USA head Elizabeth Gurley Flynn as a “nationally renowned labor leader, civil libertarian and feminist organizer.”
But the sign was removed just two weeks later at the direction of Republican Governor Chris Sununu, who has said the “anti-American sign” will not be put back on its watch, according to the Concord monitor.
Retired history professor Mary Lee Sargent and longtime progressive activist Arnold Alpert are now suing the state officials who oversaw its removal, asking a court to order the state to reinstall the sign.
They are represented pro bono by Adru H. Volinsky, a Democrat who ran for governor in 2020.
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was a US Communist Party leader who became known for her labor and feminist endeavors
A sign commemorating her birthplace was put up on May 1 in Concord, New Hampshire, but was removed on May 15
According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in Merrimack County Superior Court, New Hampshire state officials violated the Administrative Procedures Act when they updated the policies and guidelines governing the state’s historic highway marking program.
The policy was revised on May 12 and the marker was removed just three days later.
Under the updated policy, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources commissioner has final approval of new historic markers and whether an existing marker should be decommissioned.
Sununu has claimed the policy has been updated to clarify the process, telling reporters in May, “I went through the guidelines and policies myself and I totally understand why there was a lot of confusion.”
But the lawsuit claims the updated policy is invalid — and Commissioner Sarah C. Stewart violated the new policy anyway because she failed to consult the State Historical Resources Council before removing Flynn’s marker.
She was reportedly ordered to do so by the governor himself. DailyMail.com has contacted Stewart for comment.
“It’s like the state is going against itself in a way,” Sargent told the Monitor. “They should give it back because that’s the right thing to do.
“Unfortunately, once politicians do things, they have to save face and not admit they were wrong. But hopefully the court can rule in our favor and reinstall it.”
However, Sununu has said he has no intention of ever reinstalling the board.
“America is a free country and we appreciate their ability to sue the government for a decision they may not agree with — a privilege not afforded to citizens in communist countries,” he said in a statement Monday.
“An outspoken communist who benefited from a state funeral in Moscow’s Red Square should not be celebrated in New Hampshire,” he added.
Flynn (pictured) was born on August 7, 1890 to parents who lived on Montgomery Street in Concord, New Hampshire.
Flynn, left, became leader of the US Communist Party in 1961. Pictured is with fellow Communist Party members Marion Bachrach, Claudia Jones and Betty Gannett in the back of a police van after being convicted of conspiracy to advocate the overthrow of the government
Flynn was born on August 7, 1890 to parents who lived on Montgomery Street in Concord. The marker placed on the street stated that she joined the Industrial Workers of the World – a labor union – at the age of 17, earning her nickname ‘The Rebel Girl’ for giving ‘fiery speeches’.
The $2,120 plate, now in storage, also recognizes that she was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and joined the US Communist Party in 1936.
Four years later, she was expelled from the ACLU for her membership in the Communist Party (although the group later reversed her decision after her death).
During World War II, Flynn became known for traveling the country in a campaign for equal economic opportunity, equal pay for women, and the establishment of daycare centers for working mothers while rallying support in the fight against fascism.
But in 1953, Flynn was convicted under the Alien Registration Act on charges that she had conspired to advocate the forced overthrow of the US government – which she denied.
She spent two years in federal prison, after which she remained an active member of the Communist Party of the USA – even becoming president in 1961.
Flynn died while visiting the USSR in 1964 and was given a state funeral in Moscow’s Red Square.
Still, Lara Vapnek, a history professor at St. John’s University, described Flynn as a leftist who knew her ideas were controversial but saw her work as an expression of support for American ideals.
“She honestly saw herself as a patriot,” Vapnek told the Boston sphere.
Even if state officials consider her an enemy of the country, Alpert argued, the historical markers program is designed to recognize people, places, events, organizations or innovations that have had a significant impact on history.
“There is no question that Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was an important historical figure,” he said.
His and Sargent’s lawsuit comes after they tried to stop state officials from removing the sign.
They had previously written a letter to Commissioner Stewart, urging her to protect the marker from calls from Republican lawmakers.
Sununu, meanwhile, has said his government has no plans to review other existing markers to assess whether they should be removed as well.
“This has been an obvious point of controversy from the day it went up,” he said in May. “It was a very unique situation.”
The governor, who was once considered a potential Republican presidential nominee, has said so before Fox news he believes that waking culture is “taking us to a place where we don’t want to be like Americans.”
But he has also warned that he disagrees with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ actions to go after companies he disagrees with.