Hutchins, Grace (1885–1969)
Hutchins, Grace (1885–1969)
American social reformer. Born Grace Hutchins on Aug 19, 1885, in Boston, MA; died July 15, 1969, in New York, NY; dau. of Edward Webster Hutchins (Boston attorney) and Susan Barnes (Hurd) Hutchins; lived with Anna Rochester (1880–1966, author and social critic).
Worked as teacher and principal at Episcopal St. Hilda's School for Chinese Girls, Wuchang, China (1912–16); joined Socialist Party (late 1910s); worked with pacifist organization, Fellowship of Reconciliation, as contributing editor to The World Tomorrow (1922–24), as press secretary (1924–26), and as business executive (1925–26); co-authored with Anna Rochester, Jesus Christ and the World Today (1922), and authored Labor and Silk (1929) and Women Who Work (1933); traveled across Asia and Europe, and met social reformers, including Gandhi (1926–27); joined Communist Party (1927); was correspondent for Federated Press; arrested during demonstration supporting Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1927); cofounded Labor Research Association (LRA, 1927), working as staff member (1929–67), and editing LRA's Railroad Notes (1937–62); as a Communist, ran unsuccessfully in NY for alderman (1935), controller (1936), and lieutenant governor (1940); accused of making death threats by Whittaker Chambers during Alger Hiss trial (1948); as trustee of Civil Rights Congress' Bail Bond Fund, was involved in litigation (1951–56).