Adella Kean Zametkin (born Adella Emanuelovna Khean; October 12, 1863 – May 19, 1931) was a Russian-born Jewish-American writer and activist.

Life

Zametkin was born on October 12, 1863 in

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, , , ) is a city in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion of the Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Administratively, Mohyliv-Podilskyi is incorporated as a town of regional significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv- ...

Tsarist Russia Tsarist Russia may refer to: * Grand Duchy of Moscow (1480–1547) *Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721) *Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of ...

as Adella Emanuelovna Khean. Her parents were saloon-keepers. Zametkin was given private lessons from a tutor at an early age, and as a young woman was a tutor herself to poor girls. She immigrated to America in 1888 and quickly gravitated towards the socialist movement. She participated in the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

, lectured in women's groups, and contributed to leading socialist publications. She helped found ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...

'' in 1897 and worked as its cashier. She wrote and lectured on women's issues like nutrition, hygiene, birth control, and child education. She focused on aiding Americanizing poor Jews in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, and was credited with organizing several women's organizations. In 1918, Zametkin began running a weekly column in ''

Der Tog ''Der Tog'' ( en, The Day) was a Yiddish-language daily newspaper published in New York City from 1914 until 1971. The offices of ''Der Tog'' were located on the Lower East Side, at 185 and 187 East Broadway. History The newspaper's first issue ...

'' called ''Fun a froy tsu froyen'' (From one woman/wife to another), which was soon supplemented by a second weekly column called ''In der froyen velt'' (In the world of women/wives). The columns included mainly advice on household management like cooking tips and recipes as well as teaching women about topics like microbes and the importance of getting fresh air, with the goal of making Jewish working-class immigrant more educated of modern American society She also wrote about history, science, notable women like

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

. Zametkin translated several books into Yiddish, including Nikolay Chernyshevsky's ''

What is to Be Done ''What Is to Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement'' is a political pamphlet written by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (credited as N. Lenin) in 1901 and published in 1902. Lenin said that the article represented "a skeleton plan t ...

'' and Émile Zola's

La Bête humaine ''La Bête humaine'' (English: ''The Beast Within'' or ''The Beast in Man'') is an 1890 novel by Émile Zola. The story has been adapted for the cinema on several occasions. The seventeenth book in Zola's ''Les Rougon-Macquart'' series, it is ba ...

. In 1930, she published ''Der froys handbukh'' (The woman’s handbook). In 1928, Zametkin ran for the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

as a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

in Queens County's 4th District, losing to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Robert J. Hunt. She ran again in the same district in 1929, losing to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Joseph D. Nunan. She ran for a third time in the district in 1930, losing to Democrat James A. Burke. The district was in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

. While she lost each election, she polled more votes than any other previous Socialist candidate had in the district. In 1889, she married Jewish labor leader

Michael Zametkin Michael Zametkin (January 6, 1859 – March 7, 1935) was a Russian-born American labor activist. Life Zametkin was born on January 6, 1859, in Odessa, Russia, the son of papakhi manufacturer Chaim Yoel and Malka. Zametkin attended the Odessa C ...

. They had a son and two daughters, including

Laura Z. Hobson Laura Zametkin Hobson (June 19, 1900 – February 28, 1986) was an American writer, best known for her novels ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and ''Consenting Adult'' (1975). Early life and career Laura Kean Zametkin was born on June 19, 1900So ...

Death

Zametkin died following a long illness at Presbyterian Hospital on May 19, 1931.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zametkin, Adella Kean 1863 births 1931 deaths People from Mohyliv-Podilskyi People from Mogilyovsky Uyezd (Podolian Governorate) American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jews from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American community activists Jewish American journalists Jewish American trade unionists New York (state) socialists Members of the Socialist Labor Party of America Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) American women journalists Journalists from New York City 20th-century American journalists Translators to Yiddish Yiddish-language journalists Politicians from Queens, New York People from Jamaica, Queens