8 minute read
CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY
by Morgan Roberts by Morgan Roberts
This month, we celebrate the women in our lives: This month, we celebrate the women in our lives: women of all colors, of all religions, of all education women of all colors, of all religions, of all education levels, straight women, lesbians, bi women, trans-levels, straight women, lesbians, bi women, transgender women, queer women, cisgender women, gender women, queer women, cisgender women, and everyone in-between. and everyone in-between.
Advertisement
Photograph by Vlad Tchompalov @ Unsplash.com
While there is an endless list of amazing women in this world, here are FIVE women you should certainly know. - 1 -
SYLVIA RIVERA (1951-2002) – LGBTQ ACTIVIST Growing up in New York City, Sylvia Rivera was raised by her Venezuelan grandmother after her father abandoned her, and her mother completed suicide. Her grandmother greatly disapproved of her effeminate behavior, especially after Rivera began wearing make-up when she was in the 4th grade. Due to this strain and condemnation, Rivera began living on the streets at the age of 11, becoming a sex worker to support herself. She was taken in by the local drag queen community who gave her the name, “Sylvia.” Rivera was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement and second-wave feminist movements. She was a regular patron of the Stonewall Inn. She was present at the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a historical paradigm where gay men, lesbians, bisexual people, drag queens, transgender people, and street people rose up against police during a routine raid. In 1970, Rivera, along with Marsha P. Johnson, founded Street Transvestite Action Revolution (STAR). STAR provided services and advocacy for homeless queer youth. As an organization, STAR also fought for the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, and the exercise of civil rights. At the Gay Liberation Rally in NYC in 1973, Rivera gave a rousing speech in which she called out heterosexual males who were preying upon vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community. In 1992, Rivera’s friend, Marsha P. Johnson was found dead in the Hudson River. Johnson’s death was ruled a suicide. Rivera held the belief that Johnson’s death was not due to suicide. In 1995, Rivera would attempt suicide by walking into the Hudson Rivera. That same year, she was interviewed for the PBS series, The Question of Equality. In the final five years of her life, Rivera renewed her activism, giving speeches about the Stonewall Uprising. She also urged unity amongst transgender people to fight for their historic legacy as the forefront of the LGBT movement. Rivera died at age 50 from complications of liver cancer.
“Our armies are rising and we are getting stronger.”
- 2 -
INEZ MILHOLLAND (1886-1916) – AMERICA SUFFRAGETTE Born into a progressive family, Inez Milholland was destined to strive for equality. She was privileged enough to spend time between New York and London during her formative years. She attended Vassar College where she was suspended for some time due to organizing Women’s Rights groups, claiming them to be classes. She applied to many law schools but due to her gender, could not attend. She finally graduated from NYU School for Law with her LLB. Not only was she a women’s rights activist, Milholland was an active member of the NAACP, using her law degree to help African Americans at the time. She became the face of suffragette parades after attending her first march in 1911. Milholland believed women should vote because they would metaphorically become the “house cleaners” of the nation. She saw women having a tremendous impact on poverty, hunger, working conditions, and more. In 1916, Milholland went out west for a tour for the National Women’s Party. Despite being ill, she persited.
During her speech in Los Angeles, she collapsed. She would die a month later at the age of 30. Her last words spoken to the public were, “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?”
“I am prepared to sacrifice every so-called privilege I possess in order to have a few rights.”
- 3 -
ANGELA DAVIS (B. 1944) – POLITICAL ACTIVIST, ACADEMIC, AUTHOR Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, AL. The militant racism of the South would greatly impact her youth. She grew up in the “Dynamite Hill” neighborhood that was plagued with bombings in attempts to scare middleclass black residents away. Davis would attend Brandies University for her Bachelor’s degree. Followed by her Master’s at University of California, San Diego and PhD from Humboldt University in East Berlin. After earning her advanced degrees, Davis began teaching at UCLA. Davis faced great opposition from the Board of Regents due to her involvement with the Community Party and the Black Panther Movement. In late 1970, Davis became a national figure after she was charged in connection to the armed takeover of a Marin County courthouse, which left four people dead. For a while, Davis evaded capture. In October of that year, the FBI had her in custody. Davis maintained her innocence and in 1972, Davis was acquitted of all charges by an all-white jury. Today, at 74, Davis remains active as an educator and activist. At the 2017 Women’s March, Davis was made an honorary chair. She was also interviewed for the 2016 Ava DuVernay documentary, 13th. “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change… I’m changing the things I cannot accept.”
- 4 -
MAYA LIN (B. 1959) – DESIGNER AND ARTIST A first generation American, Maya Lin was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. Her parent immigrated to the United States from China. She graduated from Yale University, earning both her Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Architecture. As a Yale undergrad, Lin won a public design contest for the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. She beat out over 1,400 other submissions. The wall is a granite, V-shape rising from the ground with one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other pointing to the Washington Monument. Her concept for the piece was to be an opening or a wound in the earth, which symbolized the gravity of the loss of soldiers. Her piece was controversial for several reasons. First, the it was unconventional and non-traditional especially for a war memorial. The dark complexion of the granite made some believe that the color symbolized disgust and sadness towards this specific war. Moreover, the memorial excludes names of surviving veterans. There was also controversy surrounding her age and professional inexperience. The biggest controversy was Lin’s ethnicity. The fact that an Asian woman designed the Vietnam War Memorial had some outraged. She received harassment due to her ethnicity. Politician Ross Perot called her “egg roll” after learning she was Asian. He withdrew his monetary donation for the memorial. Lin had to testify before Congress and reached a compromise with lawmakers. The Three Soldiers, a bronze status of a group of soldiers, as well as an American flag were placed off to one side of her design. Lin believes that had the competition not been blind and her name was attached to her work, she would have never won.
Lin calls herself a “designer” rather than an “architect.” She has designed numerous projects including the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL and “Women’s Table” in front of the Sterling Memorial Library at her alma mater Yale University. “I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.”
- 5 -
AMANDA BLACKHORSE (B. 1982) – SOCIAL WORKER AND NATIVE AMERICAN ACTIVIST A member of the Navajo people, she has worked as a psychiatric social worker on the Navajo reservation since 2014. She holds her B.S.W. from University of Kansas and her M.S.W. from Washington University in St. Louis. While she was a student at KU, she attended a Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs game during which she was subjected to racial harassment. She reported “peopled yelled, ‘Go back to your reservation!’ ‘We won, you lost, get over it!’ ‘Go get drunk!’ And so many different slurs…I’ve experience racism in my lifetime, but to see it outwardly…” Blackhorse was also appalled by the lack of support she received from others witnessing this racial harassment. Due to her experience, she became the lead plaintiff in Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc., which sought to revoke the trademark for “Washington Redskins.” In June 2017, the Supreme Court tendered the legal issue moot. Both the Native American petitioners and the Justice Department have withdrawn from any further litigation. Blackhorse called the decision disheartening noting that while they can legally continue to use the team name, it does not make it right. “I’d ask [Washington team own Dan Snyder], ‘Would you dare call me a redskin, right here, to my face?’... I suspect that, no, her would not do that.” She continues to advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples. “Here was a chance to rid this world of this derogatory name… It is a racist name that has no business being utilized, let alone trademarked.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Roberts is currently an Associate Director at Lifespan, Inc. She supervises an amazing team of social workers who go out into the homes of seniors to provide services and assist them in the community. Roberts holds a B.S. in Psychology from Fort Hays State University (Hays, KS) and an M.S. in Professional Counseling from Carlow University (Pittsburgh, PA). During her time in Kansas, she worked with social advocacy organizations on campus. She surrounded herself with the coolest, passionate people. Moving to Pittsburgh for graduate school, Roberts continued her fiery feminism. It helps that Pittsburgh is a city of bridges and not walls. One of her life highlights was attending the Women’s Marches in 2017 and 2018. Ladies are awesome. Ladies are powerful. And intersectional feminism is the only way we can succeed. In her spare time, Roberts loves watching films, reading, playing her guitar, listening to true crime podcasts, and eating pizza. Headshot was taken by my amazing friend, and even more amazing photographer, Brandon Penny.
