Flynn was born on August 7th, 1890, in Concord, New Hampshire. Her parents introduced her to socialism at a young age and she felt called to act for change, giving her first speech at the age of fifteen.
In 1908 she married J.A. Jones, a local organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World. The had two sons - John Vincent who died in infancy, and Fred Flynn, who died at the age of 29 after an operation.
Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union, played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World. In 1936 she joined the Communist Party USA, becoming it’s chairwoman just a few years before her death in Russia in 1964.
Her autobiography was first published as I Speak My Own Piece: Autobiography of "The
Rebel Girl,” by Masses and Mainstream in New York in 1955. After her death the book was revised and republished as “The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography, My First Life 1906-1926.”
