On this day, 12 August 1887, pioneering Colombian socialist and women's rights advocate María Cano, known as the "Flor del trabajo" ("Labour flower"), was born in Antioquia. At the time, women in Colombia could not hold most jobs, participate in elections, or even spend their own money. Cano was from a middle-class family, but came into contact with lots of people regularly at her local library, and began to support people living in poor neighbourhoods. At the age of 38 she became a socialist, and a leading activist in the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which made her the first woman political leader in the country. She toured widely, wrote agitational texts and gave fiery speeches to huge crowds of mining, oil and banana workers. She was placed under police surveillance, repeatedly arrested and security forces occasionally opened fire to disperse her audiences. Following a strike of banana workers in 1928 which was violently crushed that December, Cano was jailed for conspiracy, despite not having been present. She was subsequently purged from her Party as an "adventurist", but she continued her outreach work and strike solidarity until the end of her life in 1967. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8368/mar%C3%ADa-cano-born Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory. See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
