In reading a New York Times review today of a book called Sacco and Vanzetti: The Men, the Murders and the Judgment of Mankind, I came across this: "Both men belonged to the Gruppo Autonomo, an anarchist cell in East Boston that favored the violent overthrow of the government."I did a little research on the Internet and found that Il Gruppo Autonomo di East Boston was formed in the early part of the 20th century as part of an influx of Italian anarchists coming to America. There was a Gruppo Autonomo di New York, as well as others in urban areas of the Midwest and Eastern seaboard. One of the most highly-regarded anarchist newspapers, Cronaca Sovversiva (Subversive Chronicle) was published in Lynn (until supressed by the US government in 1918).
After a number of bombings and a failed plot to send bombs through the mail, a pair of anarchists were arrested in New York City in the spring on 1920. Gruppo Autonomo -- including Sacco and Vanzetti -- met on April 25 "in a hall" in Maverick Square (I wish I knew where) to rally support for their comrades. The group also met in Eastie on May 2, the day before one of the men held in New York fell to his death from a 14th-floor window during questioning. The police said he jumped.
On May 5 Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested for the daylight murder of two payroll guards in Braintree that took place on April 15. They were convicted after a trial that featured flimsy evidence, an incompetent defense lawyer and a biased judge. They were executed via the electric chair seven years later.
Few believe today that these two immigrants were the trigger men in the Braintree killings. However, there is evidence that Sacco and Vanzetti were involved in some of the violence attributed to the Italian anarchist movement, and some of their activities were likely planned by the group that met 87 years ago here in East Boston.
5 comments:
During that time period, there are two possibilities: The Maverick House or Columbus Hall. The Maverick House is located where the parking lot and cell phone/key copy/ passport photo business is. It was torn down in 1929 to build a gas station. The gas station lasted for quite a while before it became a parking lot for commuters.
Columbus Hall (also known as Lyceum Hall) was located on the parking lot next to Cancun Taqueria. It was renovated into a "bowling garden" sometime in the early 1930s. I'm not quite sure how it became a parking lot, but I would put my bets on fire insurance money.
Thanks for the bit of history. I'm going to add this to my lectures this fall.
FYI the author of this book, Bruce Watson, will be giving a talk about the book at BPL at Copley on Tuesday, August 21 at 5:30. http://www.bpl.org/saccoflyer.pdf
Italians used to be radical. Now, they're all conservative.
Go figure.
Marco Polo
I wonder if anybody is left from that group. It would be interesting to interview people about what they remember from the group, the anarchist movement in Boston and what has changed. East Boston has such a wealth of history. It just has to be uncovered.
The group met every Sunday at the Italian Independent Naturalization Club at 42 Maverick Street in Maverick Square. The building was torn down in the 1950s.
Post a Comment