Gabriella (Ella) Segata Antolini (1899–1984) was an Italian–American anarchist activist.

Personal life

Antolini was born in 1899 in the province of Ferrara and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1913. Her family worked as

contract labor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...

ers in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and later settled in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, where they found employment in manufacturing. Antolini began working as a factory laborer at the age of fourteen and only received one year of elementary school.

Anarchism

Antolini joined the anarchist movement in 1916 after having prior exposure to the newspaper '' Cronaca Sovversiva'' through her brother Alberto, the same year she married her husband August Segata, a member of Italian rebel organization Gruppo I Liberi. The following year Antolini joined the organization herself. It is through the anarchist movement that she met Carlo Valdinoci, who later became her lover. In 1918 Antolini was arrested for transporting dynamite to Chicago and spent six months in a prison in

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

, Missouri alongside Emma Goldman and

Kate Richards O'Hare Carrie Katherine "Kate" Richards O'Hare (March 26, 1876 – January 10, 1948) was an American Socialist Party activist, editor, and orator best known for her controversial imprisonment during World War I. Biography Early years Carrie Katherin ...

, who were imprisoned in the same facility. While in jail Goldman and O'Hare became friendly with Antolini, the latter of whom helped Antolini improve her English skills. While Antolini was in prison her husband Segata "vanished from sight" and was believed to have returned to Italy. Historians have no further information on Segata after this point. Following her release, Antolini moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, where she met and married a Sicilian man named Jerome Pomilia. The two had a son, Febo Pomilia.

References

1899 births Year of death missing American anarchists Italian anarchists Italian emigrants to the United States {{Anarchist-stub