Veteran Feminists of America

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Past VFA Board Member Close-up	PAST FEMINISTS of the MONTH	PAST VFA FEMINIST ICONS	Past Honor Events/ Celebrations		PAST CREATING FEMINIST LANGUAGE		FEMINISTS IN THE ARTS & HUMANITIES	The Men of the VFA		Me & Kate Millett by Eleanor Pam

VFA is the foremost source of information about the Second Wave women's movement for journalists, historians and other writers. It is the foremost organization for honoring the achievements of Second Wave feminists. It is the foremost organization for bringing together pioneer feminists in a continuing campaign to educate and motivate today's young people through the example of feminist victories and sacrifices. President - Jacqui Ceballos Co pres/Exec VP - Sheila Tobias Vice President - History - Judith Kaplan Vice President - Public Relations - Joan Michel Vice President - Intergenerational - Gracia Molina Pick Secretary - Virginia Watkins Treasurer - Amy Hackett BOARD CHAIR: -Muriel Fox Board of Directors: Kathy Bonk, Heather Booth, Mary Jean Collins, Roxanne Conlin, Barbara De Battiste, Carole DeSaram, Mary Eastwood, Janet Elsea, Lois Herr, Merle Hoffman, Dori Jacobson, Jean Ledwith King, Barbara Lifton, Barbara Love, Rebecca Lubetkin, Sally Lunt, Mary Ann Lupa, Beverly McCarthy, Jeanne McGill, Maureen Nappi, Zoe Nicholson, Himilce Novas, Eleanor Pam, Helen Pearl, Kathy Rand, Bernice Sandler, Karen Spindel, Mary Stanley, Linda Stein, Grace Welch, Bonnie Wheeler ADVISORY BOARD Karen Coolman Amlong, Nikki Beare, Patricia Hill Burnett, Inez Casiano, Marlene Crosby, Karen DeCrow, Dr. Carl Degler, Frances ( Sissy) Farenthal, Sonia Pressman Fuentes, Bonnie Howard, Ann Jawin, Jurate Kazickas, Anita Murray, Betty Newcomb, Jennifer MacCleod, Jill Ruckelshaus, Dorothy Senerchia, Elizabeth Shepard, Gloria Steinem, Winnie Wackwitz

IN THE NEWS click item below FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH - Visit the Pauli Murray Project at Duke University URGENT MESSAGE FROM VFA SAVING THE FEMINIST LEGACY - UPDATE 01.25.2012 BARBARA MATERKA ALL AROUND FEMINIST ACTIVIST, WORLD TRAVELER NONAGENARIAN THREE GENERATIONS OF FEMINISTS: JACQUELINE MICHOT CEBALLOS, MICHELE CEBALLOS MICHOT, NATALIA RONCERIA CEBALLOS AVAILABLE AT LAST ON CD! Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975 ONLY $29.95! EQUALITY...I AM WOMAN DVD - ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY - JUST $15 ROLLINS EVENT OCTOBER 28th and 29th, 2011 EXCERPTS FROM ELEANOR PAM'S KATE MILLETT AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH Gloria Steinem at Rollins College A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE: Veteran Feminists of America announces The Bridge Project ERA REPORT FROM ZOE NICHOLSON IT'S EASY TO SAVE IF YOU ARE A FEMINIST! Feminists Who Changed America can be yours for ONLY $64! SECOND CHANCE FOR SECOND-WAVE FEMINISTS 2009 VFA Archive

ONLINE APPLICATION CLICK HERE! JOIN VFA DONATE TO THE VFA OR PAY YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEE HERE Missed a VFA E-Blast? WE ARCHIVED ALL BACK ISSUES OF THE VFA E-NEWS. Click Below View our Archive Email Marketing by Constant Contact®

VETERAN FEMINISTS of AMERICA join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. Visit the Pauli Murray Project at Duke University. The Project seeks to create opportunities for dialogue about our history that will enable us to establish a better foundation for positive change in the future.

Advance the legacy of Pauli Murray through community programs and the renovation of her childhood home as featured in a television segment on ABC 11's Heart of Carolina Perspective CLICK: http://paulimurrayproject.org/

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SAVING THE FEMINIST LEGACY REPORT from Rebecca Lubetkin January 25, 2012 Dear Veteran Feminists and our younger sisters, This is a follow up to my recent alert (see below) reminding you that we continue to dedicate ourselves to a project for which we value your contributions. Not money, but the contributions of the artifacts reflecting your part in our feminist progress. We are committed to cultivating an appropriate repository for a collection of "grass roots" materials saved by American feminists, with a special focus on activists of the second wave. Our current vision is at an early stage. We know that as activists, who have been instrumental in attaining change in our little corners of the world back in the 60s and 70s, many of us have memorabilia that are worth salvaging and developing into a museum-quality exhibit. We are not aiming only for the national leaders. We are looking for artifacts and other evidence of local struggles, for example: to permit girls to play Little League; to desegregate the want ads to give women and men access to all advertised jobs; to secure for widowers the same Social Security benefits as widows; to increase the number of sports teams for girls; to open all high school courses to both boys and girls. Clearly there were hundreds more. To get such changes in policy and practice required countering enormous resistance, as differential treatment seemed the natural and appropriate order of things. Huge changes in every aspect of society were effected within only a few years. We are all getting older, and the few artifacts each of us has saved may not be deemed worth saving by us or our heirs, but together they could comprise a valuable contribution to American history. Ultimately we will need to find an institution, in a high tourist area, that is willing to house, curate, exhibit and enable the collection to travel to other venues. This will be a collection for the public, not simply for scholars. In the meantime we need a place to collect your treasures. If you have access to a secure place that could be a temporary home (a place for members to send parcels) and are willing to receive and store them, please let us know. Ideally this would be without cost to VFA but, if it means paying for public storage we will seek to secure funds to pay the rent. Just let us know of the possibilities. I have included below the call for materials. As you can see, we are asking you and your families not to discard what you have saved and to expect to hear from us with regard to a place to send them. We are looking forward to hearing from you. In Sisterhood, Rebecca Lubetkin Member VFA Board Chair - Legacy Committee Call for materials What will happen when you and I are gone? Will the feminist movement continue? We must act to ensure that our Movement won’t fade away --- as did every feminist movement since the beginning of the patriarchy. If you say that, what with all the organizations, libraries, women’s studies departments in colleges, feminist books, etc., this can’t happen, just ask around. Ask younger women , from age 50 on down…. Who is Betty Friedan? We’ve asked young people who is Gloria Steinem? And many don’t know. So how would they know about the feminist movement?! The good news is we can save our legacy! HOW? By collecting the artifacts and memorabilia that will tell our story. Here is how we aim to save feminist history, especially reflecting the issues you or your associates worked on. Each one of us has a small or larger collection stashed somewhere that we can’t bear to get rid of; but, as we age, we know that if we don’t do something with it soon, it may be thrown away when we pass on. The good news is that our struggles will not be forgotten. We are planning long-term for a museum-quality exhibit that illustrates and makes tangible our successes. We hope to have a place for you to send your precious collections within the next few months; meanwhile, please don’t throw anything away -- and , just in case , please tell your next of kin to hold on to it until they hear from us. Here are some of the things (in no special order) we are hoping that you will save for the future exhibit: artwork t-shirts, hats, hats with buttons data-charts, tables, graphs (before and after graphics) newspaper articles, op eds, letters to the editor, editorials newsletter articles or announcements letters for advocacy photos, scrapbooks, photo albums video or audio recordings interview transcriptions guides, workbooks, study materials to advance campaigns diary or journal entries detailing activity sashes, special clothing worn at demonstrations and other events invitations, certificates speeches bumper stickers, buttons, campaign posters and signs planning documents essays, columns, books opposing material from our critics reading lists We probably have left out some category. Please do not throw any of it away. It would be helpful if you can date (approximate) the material and indicate who, where and what is depicted. If you can send us a list of what you have, that would be greatly appreciated. Also if you have a suggestion of a no-cost central place, safe from people and the elements, where we can temporarily store these artifacts, please let us know. And, most valuable, if you have a suggestion of an ideal museum, college or other possible repository for posterity please suggest that as well. In addition to VFA members we will be issuing this call to save our heritage to other feminist organizations and their members. Please alert us to names and email addresses. We are very enthusiastic and hope you are too. Sincerely for feminism, Jacqui Ceballos and Rebecca Lubetkin* *Rebecca Lubetkin, a member of VFA's board, is professor emerita at Rutgers University's School of Planning and Public Policy. For much of her academic career she served as founder and director of Rutgers Consortium for Educational Equity. In retirement she hosts the cable TV show, New Directions for Women, sponsored by the Morris County (NJ) Chapter of the National Organization for Women. More than 220 shows have been produced, and all are archived at Smith College; most shows are available on youtube at www.youtube.com/mcnownj Comments to: Jacqui Ceballos - jcvfa@aol.com Back to Table of Contents

BARBARA MATERKA ALL AROUND FEMINIST ACTIVIST, WORLD TRAVELER NONAGENARIAN I was born Barbara Fisher on December 25, 1919 in Rockford, Illinois, where my maternal grandparents lived. Since my father was an educator who eventually went into administration, we moved several times during my childhood, each time because of a better position opening for him. It was the period of the Great Depression, so jobs were not plentiful for those like my father who were soldiers returning to civilian life after WWI. I remember life in small towns in the Midwest as very pleasant and especially cherish my years from 10 to 16 spent in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Newberry, a small isolated lumber town. Life centered around the schools and the Community Center. We all learned to toboggan and ice skate and dance. Football and basketball were highly popular. Most of us strived for good grades in school and were proud when we achieved them. We didn't need to be taught tolerance for other cultures and beliefs because we were all friends: Swedish, Finnish, Catholics, Protestants and Jews, with a few Canadian French mixed in. With a father who was my high school principal and being an only child, I always understood I would be attending college and that I could choose my own field. However, I also understood that the only fields open to girls were nursing, teaching or secretarial jobs. I chose teaching, which prompted my parents to insist that I attend the University of Michigan, the best school they could afford for me. Happily, I was delighted with their choice. Striking out on my own on a huge campus was challenging but immensely exciting. Best of all, I found that in the 30's and 40's, women there were expected to be as active and live up to the same standards as men, even though there were vestiges of more "protection" for women, such as week-night curfews. I was even pleasantly surprised when my zoology professor suggested I would be a good candidate for the School of Medicine. (Women physicians were almost non-existent at the time.) Another example of the university's progressive attitudes was evident when my political science professor urged every woman in his class to join the League of Women Voters after graduation. This was 1941 and he expected women to be politically active! I was tempted by medical school, but realized my parents did not have the resources to help me pursue that dream, so immediately after graduation I took a job teaching. Yet I was still eager to learn more, so I also enrolled in graduate courses on weekends and during the summers, paying my own way, and finishing my M.A. degree in January 1943. A wartime marriage brought me face to face with sex discrimination and male chauvinism for the first time in the person of my southern-born husband, who had old-fashioned ideas about women's inferiority and a married man's male privileges. We lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when he returned from WWII to complete his residency in surgery. Two children were born in Ann Arbor from this marriage: Kathleen, who married a Frenchman in France. She is deceased (2002) but her daughter, Elsa Brunet, born in 1980, is an M.D. practicing Family Medicine in Paris, France. My son, Dr. Brian Mahon, is a practicing psychologist, who lives in Manhattan in New York City and is married to Alice Phillips, an artist. They have no children.. In 1950, my husband and I and our children moved to Texas to start his practice in surgery. He was from Texas originally and attended the U. of Texas before coming to the Medical School of the Univ. of Michigan. After years of trying to make the marriage work, I finally liberated myself in 1964. And that is when I first felt like a real feminist. I was on my own with two teenage children to educate with very little help from him, but I knew I could handle the situation and I did. I returned to teaching, moved into a small apartment and went on with my life. After a couple of years, I married William J. Materka, who came to Dallas from New Jersey to study at SMU on the GI bill. We met when we were both performing in Kiwanis Club benefit musicals during the late 50's and early 60's. He is deceased (1984) but his two children (my stepchildren) live in the Dallas area and we are very close. I consider his grandchildren to be my grandchildren and they think of me as their grandmother. There are six Materka grandchildren, and as of March 11, 2011, there is a great-granddaughter, Chloe Sunshine Link (pictured left). This second marriage allowed me to give up my job (1967) and become active in the community. I joined the first women's organization to grow out of the suffrage movement recommended by my political science professor, the League of Women Voters. We were soon involved in the drive for the ERA and on reaching a consensus for a woman's right to decide when and whether to bear children. It was an exciting time for feminists and I remember marching for the ERA in Houston and then celebrating after the state of Texas passed its own ERA. I went on to take a succession of positions with the League, culminating in serving as Dallas president, and two years on the organization's state board. Our study of reproductive rights led me to accept an invitation to serve on the board of Planned Parenthood of North Texas and five years later to chair that board. During my term there I traveled to Washington with a local group to march for reproductive rights. Locally, we often faced fierce opposition from the Religious Right of that day, with demonstrations outside our clinics and attempts to "crash and disrupt" many of our public gatherings and conferences. Nevertheless, women's organizations began to proliferate and I became active in the Dallas Coalition for Reproductive Rights, the Women's Issues Network and the Dallas Women's Council. My husband and I performed in a number of sociopolitical satires for such groups as the Dallas Women's Center, The Amigos (a tri-ethnic group fighting racial discrimination), the League of Women Voters and an environmental group called the Texas Conservation of Natural Resources. All in all, I'm happy that my activist years occurred when they did. Civil Rights and Women's Rights were the cutting-edge issues of the1960's and 70's.They inspired me and many others to work hard and long to help bring about much-needed change. The struggle goes on, but those of us "of a certain age" saw the Movement take hold and were pulled into action. Some of the accomplishments we remember are: revoking the Texas Poll Tax desegregation of the Dallas public schools a woman's right to hold property in Texas in her own name women becoming eligible to serve on juries the Roe v. Wade decision passage of the ERA in Texas some advancement toward equal pay for equal work My favorite hobby for the last 25 years or so has been world travel. I've been to India, as well as to Thailand and Malaysia, China and Japan, Australia and New Zealand, around South America's horn and the Cape of Good Hope, to Alaska, to above the Arctic Circle in Norway; I'll just have to miss the Antarctic and such exotic places as Easter Island. Glad I traveled when it was easier and cheaper! I have already traveled to most of the places on my dream list, thank heavens! Probably won't do much of it from now on, but I am going on a "People-to-People" Tour of Cuba the first week in March. We look forward to seeing a new generation of women taking up the good fight for complete equality for Americans of all ethnic backgrounds and all genders. COMMENTS: Jacqui Ceballos jcvfa@aol.com Contact Barbara: barbara@materka.com Back to Table of Contents

THREE GENERATIONS OF FEMINISTS JACQUELINE MICHOT CEBALLOS, MICHELE CEBALLOS MICHOT, NATALIA RONCERIA CEBALLOS After I graduated from Southwestern College in Lafayette, LA in 1945, I went to New York City to study voice, hoping to have a career on Broadway. By 1951 nothing much had happened, so in those days of “marry or be an old maid,” I married a dashing Colombian 12 years older than I -- a “man of means,” as my mother would say. In later years an astrologer, interpreting my marriage chart, pointed to a conglomeration of planets in the chart and said, ”Here Jacqui is saying, “If I’m going to be married, it will be different!” I was now Jacqueline Michot de Ceballos; the “de” meaning I belonged to Ceballos. We bought a house in New Rochelle, New York. I had two sons and a daughter and went back to singing. Life was nice, but there was a hole in my heart and I didn’t know why. Things picked up when we moved to Bogota, Colombia in 1958. With servants, I had the freedom to do a few things in this heavily male chauvinist country. So I acted and sang with the Teatro Americano, had another daughter and did what I could to help people in poverty. At an audition for a part in an opera, I discovered great voices and learned that the teacher of these outstanding singers lived in Bogota. Soon I was involved with them and taking part in weekly informal concerts. These great voices needed to be heard, so I organized an opera company, El Teatro Experimental de la Opera. It was very successful, and my photo and name were often in the newspapers. Perhaps that is why my husband got jealous (he’d always been proud of my singing), and he actually left our home! I later heard that some of his friends suggested maybe I was having affairs with those handsome tenors! El Teatro de La Opera‘s first ( and only) performance at the Teatro Colon opened to great applause, but the newspaper “El Tiempo” reported that “La opera destruyo un matrimonio.” (The opera destroyed a marriage.) Well, my marriage also destroyed the opera! Friends and family urged me to get him back. He was “a good man, a good father, a good husband.” I was miserable and didn’t know what to do, until a friend returned from a stateside visit and handed me The Feminine Mystique. I’d read Simone de Beauvoir, but Betty Friedan got me where I was! Now I realized it wasn’t my husband, or me--but society, and society had to change! And I was determined to help change it. So I plotted my way back to NYC. My husband had returned home as though nothing had happened, but things were no longer the same, and in 1966 with his help I returned to New York with my four children to join NOW. But there wasn’t a NOW chapter until the next year. Meanwhile I was organizing our new life in the Big Apple. Jacqui and daughter Michele My daughters got scholarships to the National Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts, which taught dance, music, art and academic subjects, and were busy from 7 to 7. My oldest son was in a private school, and the younger one was in a good New York public school. But before long it was obvious that I couldn’t handle the four children, especially two boys in their teens, so later I sent them back to Bogota to live with their dad. Now I had time to work with the young NOW chapter. The New York NOW chapter already had over 100 members and was incredibly active. Often there were demonstrations , and my daughters were sometimes able to attend. One they especially remember was our action against Colgate Palmolive, which refused to pay women employees the same as their male employees, in spite of Title VII. That day several of us gathered on Park Avenue in front of CP headquarters and marched around chanting that CP‘s products were bought by women, yet CP women were earning less than men.The big moment was when we poured Ajax down Kate Millett’s sculptured toilet – The toilet had a woman’s legs and feet in high heels straddling the toilet bowl, dramatizing the degradation of women.“This is where you pour your Ajax, women,” we’d scream. The reporters loved it . Photos of our demo ran in major newspapers around the country. Colgate Palmolive changed it’s discriminatory policy the next week. In 1971 Michele went to London to study at the Royal School of Ballet and later Janine went to the Bejart School of Dance in Belgium. In a few years both were involved in their careers and personal lives, and I, worn out after years of heavy movement activity, moved back to Louisiana. But , as most feminists activists are “ at it” until the end of their lives, the loss of the ERA and the growing negative attitude towards feminists ( we were now called “femininazis”! ) spurred me on again. Seeing that all the work we’d done would be forgotten, as would we, in 1993, with the help of some great feminists, I founded Veteran Feminists of America. VFA has thrived from the first, especially with the help of Muriel Fox--a founder of NOW--and Sheila Tobias, writer/lecturer. Our webpage, www.vfa.us, is testimony of all we have done. Jacqui with Granddaughter Natalia Ronceria Ceballos and Betty Friedan By 2006 Michele, now single, her two children grown, was running her dance school and company in Phoenix, and freer to actively get involved in VFA. She was a major help at the three events we held that year: honoring Helen Reddy in Los Angeles on May 1; on May 2, when we paid tribute to California pioneer feminists; and that November, when we introduced Feminists Who Changed America at Columbia University and Barnard College in New York. In 2009 I moved to Phoenix to spend my “golden” years near Michele, who’s become invaluable to VFA. In August that year VFA honored pioneer feminists in Stockton, CA, where my son Denis and his family live. Michele ran VFA business -- greeting guests, selling items, being a gracious host. We couldn’t have done without her. My daughter in law, Elinor, who is a photographer , took photos of the event and proudly displayed them on several websites. So my VFA work has kind of become a family affair! Again in March 2010, at our huge event in Dallas, TX. Michele was running the VFA table, selling VFA items, signing in members. In April the following year I was soley in charge of a memorial celebration of Betty Friedan on the 48th anniversary of The Feminine Mystique and the 45th of NOW. There is no way I could have managed without Michele. We also had help from Michele’s niece (daughter of her half sister) and a friend of Michele’s. The three were charming hosts, greeting everyone, doing whatever had to be done. That October VFA had our most successful event yet, a collaboration with Rollins College in Orlando Florida - the first time VFA had joined with a college to put on an event. Again, Michele was indispensable, especially helping run the Silent Auction. My granddaughter, Michele’s daughter Natalia, finds time from her salaried executive position to handle VFA’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and assists with computer/email/webpage business whenever I need it. I hear that children of some feminist activists resented their mother’s involvement in the Movement. I’m happy to say that my children--not only my daughters, but my two sons as well--have always supported me in my feminist activities. In 1968 my son Douglas acted in Myrna Lamb’s play. “But What Have You Done For Me Lately?”, playing a male legislator who had fought to make abortion illegal , but somehow was impregnated and desperate for an abortion . My son, Denis pays dues and helps in other ways. Daughter Janine cannot help, but she is raising her young son as a feminist. I am truly blessed that my children, especially Michele, have taken this journey with me. If the feminist movement is to succeed worldwide , our children and grandchildren and on and on must be with us and help as they are able. --Jacqui Michot Ceballos, January 15, 2012 jcvfa@aol.com Back to Table of Contents

Only $29.95 AVAILABLE AT LAST ON CD! Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975 THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON THE MODERN WOMEN'S MOVEMENT Over 2200 Biographies of Feminist Leaders (Yes, all Leaders!) Countless QUOTES in leaders' own words At last, an irreplaceable CD on women's issues! Feminists Who Changed America, currently in its fourth printing with University of Illinois Press, can now be obtained in CD form from its co-publisher Veteran Feminists of America. A keyword search now gives you instant access to first-person reports on hundreds of subjects, such as laws, lawsuits, companies, unions, cities and states, government officials, schools and universities, sexual harassment, violence, people having abortions, lesbians, race discrimination, teachers, arrests, etc. Current owners of the book will want to add this easy-to-research computer version. New purchasers will also enjoy the biographies of 2200 women and men who created the modern women's movement, with exciting life stories using their own words. "Works like a charm!" says Sherrill Redmon, director of the Smith College Collection. An invaluable resource, a fascinating read.

Only $29.95 includes postage. PAY BY CHECK You Can Send a check Made out to VFA and mailed to: Amy Hackett, 473 Westminster Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11218 INCLUDE THIS FORM WITH YOUR CHECK Name: ________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________ City: ___________________________ST: ________ ZIP_______________ E-mail: ___________________________ You can even use PayPal by going to the the Feminists Who Changed America Homepage at www.fwca-cd.vetfems.org Contact Sheila Tobias: SheilaT@SheilaTobias.com Contact Barbara Love: BJLove@msn.com Back to Table of Contents

EQUALITY...I AM WOMAN Premiered June 17, 2011 at VFA's Tribute to Betty Friedan and the NYC 1970 March down Fifth Avenue at the National Arts Building, Gramercy Park, NYC. ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! WHY NOT ORDER SEVERAL COPIES FOR THE GRAND KIDS? $15.00 includes Shipping & Handling This inspirational documentary of the 1970 Women's Strike for Equality features the music of Helen Reddy, narration by Gloria Steinem and Jacqui Ceballos, excerpts from Betty Friedan's speech in Bryant Park, and images by photojournalist Bettye Lane and others. The historic, archival footage documents the largest gender equality event in US history, where fifty thousand gathered in New York City to celebrate. It also acknowledges the contribution of the early pioneer feminists. Helen Reddy's hit song, I Am Woman, sets the tone for the exciting era. Betty Friedan's stirring speech addresses the 'unfinished business' of equality for women of all ages and races. Gloria Steinem describes how the March 'changed our consciousness', and makes reference to the 'cult of masculinity' that has dominated our culture. Jacqui Ceballos, Founder of Veteran Feminists of America, shares her vivid memories of the Women's Strike for Equality that commemorated the 50th anniversary of women's right to vote in the US (19th Amendment). The spirit of the March, as captured in the film, should reach out and inspire women of the world today. Special “Open Mic” guests at the tribute and screening included such notable feminists as Muriel Fox, Founder of NOW, Karen DeCrow, Chair of the Women’s Strike for Equality and former NOW President, Ann ( no e) O’Shea, Betty Friedan’s Assistant in 1972 and now the Assistant Justice of the New York Supreme Court. Hilde Caren, Betty Friedan’s assistant for the last fourteen years of Betty’s life. Other close friends of Betty Friedan shared their memories as well. Renowned Artist Linda Stein who was recently featured defending women’s equality in the film by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen a k a Ali G, “Borat”, presented the VFA with a portrait of Betty Friedan. Mail Check made out to VFA and mailed to VFA's treasurer: Amy Hackett, 473 Westminster Rd., Brooklyn, NY 11218 Be sure to note it's payment for the Equality DVD Link to Film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1854270/?licb=0.2687071217224002 Back to Table of Contents

ROLLINS EVENT OCTOBER 28th and 29th, 2011 Rollins College students and Gloria Steinem photo by: Dori Jacobson Wenzel VFA held an extraordinary event at Rollins college in Orlando, Florida, the weekend of October 28th and 29th. For the first time in our 20 years of existence, instead of “borrowing” college space to hold events where we honored pioneer feminists and documented the history of a certain facet of the Movement, we were the guests and co-participants in a celebration of the Feminist Movement, and shared the stage and interacted with the students and college personnel. From the opening event Friday evening, the appreciation, love and respect from the students, teachers and personnel for the Second Wave’s accomplishments and for all veteran feminists permeated the atmosphere. It all began in October 2010, when Muriel Fox, VFA Chair, was guest speaker at Rollins College, where she had been a student for two years before transferring to Barnard College in New York City. October 29, 2011 would mark the 45th anniversary of the founding of NOW and the birth of the modern Feminist Movement, so Muriel suggested that Rollins host a celebration of the Movement. She also proposed that 12 Rollins students be linked with pioneer feminists from Veteran Feminists of America, all members of VFA’s board . Rollins leaders–especially their supportive president Lewis Duncan, Winter Park Institute director Gail Sinclair, and faculty members Wendy Brandon and Ryan Musgrave—agreed. Thus began a year of work to make it happen. Judy Kaplan (left) with Toni VanPelt (right) photo by: Dori Jacobson Wenzel The planning was intense. We reached feminist activists from all over Florida, including some who would receive VFA’s medal of honor; we were interviewed by phone and email by Rollins students and teachers; sold tickets for the event and the closing dinner session; and most specially, organizing a Silent Auction, Muriel’s great idea to raise money for VFA. Judy Kaplan, VFA’s vice president of history and a resident of Orlando, was the on-the-scene planner with co-president Sheila Tobias organizing the awards and the printed program from Tucson, while I, Barbara Love and Eleanor Pam assisted from Arizona, Connecticut and New York. Muriel, also from New York, was overall director. After a lovely reception Friday evening, we met bright and early Saturday for the “Day of Dialogues With Feminist Heroes.” Muriel and Drs. Wendy Brandon and Ryan Musgrave welcomed us and introduced the first panelists, Heather Booth, Sally Lunt, Zoe Nicholson, Kathy Rand and Virginia Watkins. With two Rollins students, they talked about the Direct and Indirect Responses to Injustice. The second panel, featuring Muriel, Mary Jean Collins, and Mary Ann Lupa joined by college women, discussed “Coalitions.”. The final panel, “Leaving a Legacy,” introduced Amy Hackett, Judith Kaplan, Sheila Tobias and me. We regaled the audience with stories of feminist actions of the past--the serious and the sometimes comedic demonstrations. A highlight was a dialogue between Gloria Steinem and former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder with Muriel moderating, discussing the past and future of the Movement. The Guerilla Girls photo by: Dori Jacobson Wenzel The session ended with an amusing performance by The Guerilla Girls. (The Guerilla girls who with song and dance expose racism, sexism and homophobia.) In the meantime, the Silent Auction had been set up in a room across from the auditorium. Mary Stanley, indefatigable fundraiser of The National Women’s Political Caucus and a VFA board member, ran it with the help of my daughter, Michele Ceballos ; board members Barbara Love, Eleanor Pam, Sally Lunt and James Lewis, a friend of board member from Chicago, Dori Jacobson who saved the day by taking charge of the till. There were over 50 items on sale, including paintings by artists Linda Stein, Kate Millett and Diana Kurz; autographed posters by Judy Chicago; historical documents and photos autographed by Gloria Steinem, Jill Ruckelshaus, Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi. It was an incredible feminist store, including a Safari trip organized by Barbara Love, and a week’s stay at Mary Stanley’s lovely home in Matzatlan, Mexico. Patricia Schroeder, Gloria Steinem , Muriel Fox photo by: Dori Jacobson Wenzel The highlight of the evening was the VFA Gala Awards Dinner, with Gloria Steinem graciously serving as M.C. and former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder with Muriel moderating, discussed the past and future of the Movement. Gloria and Sheila then helped award the VFA medals of honor to several Florida feminists.(See their names below). The Lifetime Service Awards went to Barbara Love, NOW’s president Terry O’Neill and Sherrill Redmon, Director of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History Archives at Smith College, the nation’s oldest such repository. And the first-ever Kate Millett Award, founded this year on September 14th, Kate’s 77th birthday, was presented to Eleanor Pam. Included below is Eleanor’s wonderful speech lauding Kate. Friday evening Gloria addressed a cheering crowd of 2,500 women and men and talked brilliantly about current events as relating to feminism and the future of the Movement. I couldn’t help but wonder what we would do when Gloria leaves this planet, but she said she hopes to live to be 100 – so she’ll outlive many of us! Our Rollins visit was a joy especially because of the attention and help we got from Gail Sinclair and Wendy Brandon. and Maureen Mäensivu, the Assistant Director of Foundation Relations for Institutional Advancement. We left Rollins with a new purpose and new friends . FLORIDA AWARDEES - for their extraordinary contributions to the feminist cause: Judge Alice Blackwell, Rita Bornstein, Becky Cherney, Jaime Dison, Adele Guadalupe, Sue Idensohn, Jeanne Linders, Diedre Macnab, Monica Mendez, Meredith Ockman, Judith Setzer, Donna Slutiak, Joanne Sterner, Toni Van Pelt, Carol Wick and Kay Wolf. Comments to: Jacqui Ceballos - jcvfa@aol.com Back to Table of Contents

Thanks to these who gave priceless items for our successful Silent Auction: June Blum, Shirley Boccaccio,Judy Chicago, Penny Colman, Dori Jacobson, Diane Kurz, Barbara Love, Jeanne McGill, Kate Millett, Dianne Post, Susan Schwalb, Mary Stanley- and through Mary, Senator Diane Feinstein & Nancy Pelosi, Linda Stein, Al Sutton, Grace Welch. (Please let us know if we forgot anyone. ) EXCERPTS FROM ELEANOR PAM'S KATE MILLETT AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH I am expecially honored and delighted to receive VFA’s first Kate Millett award. Kate is a foremother and leader of the women’s movement – and one of its most important activists and scholars. Eleanor Pam photo by Dori Jacobson Wenzel I am so very proud of her as I accept this award in her name, and thrilled that there now is an award in her name -- thanks to VFA -- because she does so deserve to be celebrated as one of our generation’s greatest women – and not coincidentally – possessed of one of its finest minds. Kate’s contributions to our movement are deep and long. She was at the head of the line during the famous August 26, 1970 march down Fifth Avenue celebrating the 50th anniversary of women getting the vote. That was the day we early feminists of the 2nd save began to comprehend the strength, reach, resolve, appeal – and most of all – the power of this evolving and controversial new idea about equal rights for women. Kate Millett grasped more than the microphone that day as she addressed the crowd of many thousands. She grasped the meaning and implications of what was unfolding before us. Triumphant -- and with the most exquisite simplicity, she declared to the excited and emotional crowd, “Now we are a movement!” Kate had supplied the words as well as the mandate. She told us who we were and what we were charged to do. We heard, and stormed into history – and we never looked back! Earlier in that same year Kate gave us the Bible of Feminism , Sexual Politics, the first of eleven books she’s written. Sexual Politics defined and analyzed patriarchy in its many forms – as a system adverse to females in which the entire culture supports masculine authority in every area of life – within and outside of the home. That bold and brilliant book took on many sacred cows – in life and in literature – as she shone a beacon of light into gender darkness, changing the lives of girls and women irrevocably, and causing Andrea Dworkin to observe, “The world was sleeping and Kate Millett woke it up.” Doubleday called it one of the ten most important books the company published in its 100 year existence. Kate and I were friends, yes, but we were also comrades in the movement. She and I – a committee of two—served together on NOW”S first education committee. In those days everything was up for grabs: media, health, mental health, sexuality, politics, publishing, advertizing , employment, custody, abortion We early feminists were trying to realign the world, change values, overcome negative images and self images. We tackled and hoped to change, enduring and systemic problems of stereotyping, bias, male entitlement and entrenched interests in every area of our society. Our lens was on everything. It was both telescope and microscope, looking outwards, looking inwards. Kate and I have always been passionately interested in issues of women and violence. Her sympathies are especially with those she feels have been unfairly confined – whether in prisions, mental hospitals, nursing homes or even a family basement. Kate Millett and Eleanor Pam at Kate's Farm I have been deeply involved in the rescue of particular individuals from the shackles of their victimization – rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment and unfair incarceration. To this day, cruelty against girls and women abounds, morphs, proliferates, and continues. We have, both, in different ways, been warriors in that fight, and still are … Kudos to VFA for creating this annual Kate Millett Award – which will now, in perpetuity, recognize and pay tribute to Kate as a feminist hero – and to her extraordinary life and work. Finally, heartfelt thanks and gratitude to VFA for choosing me as its first recipient – connecting my friend and I to each other-- and serving as a natural marker in our lives – a kind of sweet bookending. It’s been a special privilege and pleasure to be here with you on this memorable, moving and marvelous evening. Eleanor Pam . October 29, 2011 A few of the many comments we received after our event: An outstanding event! Beautifully planned and a model for other parts of the country. The matching of veteran feminists with college students was a brilliant idea, implemented impressively by students through Rollins' womens studies program and VFA. I'm grateful to Rollins college and their Women's Studies program for preserving the Legacy of modern women's history through their Oral history project. Their plan to archive the stories of modern feminists will hopefully have a lasting impact on future generations. I was touched by my student partner, Liza who wanted to know how I became an activist for human rights. Liza also gave me hope for our future by sharing her present day activism as a feminist. Mary-Ann Lupa, Chicago I have great words of praise for Rollins and the people who made our event successful. I thought we were treated as VIPs by everyone. The campus is beautiful and I am thrillled that so many students were excited about our visit. This was the best event ever, and also the most complex. It could never have been done without the skills and caring of Rollins staff and faculty. I reconfirmed my opinion that Gloria Steinem is the most gracious and humble celebrity in the world. I was so fortunate as to run into three old friends from the early NOW days in the Midwest; Mary Jean Collins, Kathy Rand, and Mary-Ann Lupa, as I arrived at the hotel. We had lively conversation. With the Rollins experience, I am finally encouraged about the future of the women's movement. A very diverse group of people were involved. Men were well represented. I think we are really onto something with visiting college campuses. Virginia Watkins (of MN - VFA’s secretary) This was a joyous, rewarding, memorable, experience. I am glad to have been part of it! Being surrounded by other feminist friends always make for a warm, happy time. The weekend at Rollins was wonderful with many highlights. Thanks to all who helped make it possible. Karen Spindel ……. And thank you Muriel, for bringing the VFA women to campus. Your organization brought many wonderful stories, and I believe they inspired our young women. Neither these women, nor I, were fully aware of the history, "herstory," and some of the grassroots fights that were waged by your generation. The stories were amazing, and I look with eagerness to see how our campus will build upon this and truly carry the torch into the future. Thank you and the VFA for lighting our way. Thank you also for the terrific book, "Feminists Who Changed America" identifying those many women and men upon whose legacy we now stand. I will cherish it and feel even more inspired by their stories. Gail Sinclair Comments to: Jacqui Ceballos - jcvfa@aol.com Back to Table of Contents

Gloria Steinem at Rollins College: 'It is not a post-feminist era' October 28, 2011|By Joseph Freeman, Orlando Sentinel Gloria Steinem speaking at Rollins College (David Noe/Rollins College) WINTER PARK — In between sips of herbal tea to ward off the flu, longtime feminist Gloria Steinem explained why the women's movement will be around for a while. "If something is going to last and be absorbed by society, it's going to last a century," said Steinem in an interview Friday at Rollins College in Winter Park, where she is participating in events for the 45th anniversary of the National Organization for Women. At 77, Steinem can hold forth on any number of topics thrown at her. She contended that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin represents men's interests more than women's concerns, and she described the difference between her protest days and the Occupy Wall Street-inspired demonstrations, which she praised. "It's great. The protests of the '60s on campuses were related to the draft. This has much wider implications because they are much more popular," she said. Since she first went undercover as a Playboy Bunny in 1963 for a magazine article, Steinem never has really retired from life as an activist. She co-founded Ms. Magazine. She has campaigned for civil and women's rights; she has spoken out against child abuse and the death penalty; and she has denounced the proliferation of pornography. The causes she has supported read like a story of social debates in the 20th century. In recent years, Steinem has trained her sights on collecting history of the women's movement, and she appeared in an HBO documentary called "Gloria: In Her Own Words." Though the heyday of her fight may be long gone, Rollins students say Steinem still is a symbol in the broader struggle to eliminate inequality across race, class and gender lines. "The word 'feminist' is more of an umbrella term today," said Roxanne Szal, 20, a junior and political science major. Szal joined other students in the past couple months interviewing feminist activists from the 1960s and 1970s. They are presenting their work Saturday on campus. Classmate Jamie Pennington, a 21-year-old philosophy major, said that Steinem was more prominent in her mother's generation. "I fully believe women my age are ignorant to what Gloria Steinem and others had to go through to get where they are," she said. Before a packed house Friday inside Rollins' Alfond Sports Center, Steinem was at times funny, irreverent and impassioned. She ticked off outstanding issues facing women today, such as their disproportionate numbers in Congress, and her view that women are hurt more by student-loan debt because they earn less over the course of their lifetimes. "But they don't tell us that when we're getting our education and paying the same for it," she said. In a question-and-answer period, one woman related what her 10-year-old said to her as she left for Steinem's speech: "Does Daddy know that you're going?" "I said, 'I make my own decisions, sweetie.' " Comments to: Jacqui Ceballos - jcvfa@aol.com Back to Table of Contents

For Immediate Release July 9, 2011 Veteran Feminists of America announces The Bridge Project June 21, 2011, the Veteran Feminists of American launched the Bridge Project; offering the opportunity for feminists from different generations to meet and share with one another. The Bridge Project is a matching service that can introduce feminists from different generations and encourage partnerships with the intention to establish a true lineage in the American Women’s Movement. Is there some one you would like to get to know, to write, to email, to call and talk with about the politics of the day, the latest book, a TV show or movie’s portrayal of women? Maybe you want to invite a feminist to share an event, write a blog together comparing points of view? The possibilities are endless and entirely up to the partners to decide. While there are no rules, it is intended to match Veteran Feminists (20+ years in the women’s movement) with Rising Feminists, (19- years in the women’s movement). The Bridge Project is open to members of the VFA. Members can submit an application to the Bridge Project Committee. They can make a specific request or ask for help to match interests, identify pairs. The Committee sends invitations to the two feminists. Applications are similar to the ones uses in the development of the book, Feminists Who Changed America. The relationship is as strong or light as the partners define. Exchanging ideas, values, talents and skills. These matches can enrich the lives of all who participate; neither partner doing more or less, each contributing their best with as much or as little as they mutually agree. The hope is that matching intersecting pairs will create continuity, community and intergenerational communication. Here's a Match or Two and MORE: RISING FEMINIST Chelsea Del Rio has been a tireless grassroots activist for over a decade. She has advocated for access to low income child care, marched on Washington, organized one of the country’s longest running Women Take Back the Night events, karaoke’d for choice, and testified in court against anti-choice protestors. Chelsea is currently a Ph.D. student studying lesbian and feminist history, teaching undergraduates, and serving her graduate student labor union. VETERAN FEMINIST Heather Booth has been an organizer for 40+ years starting with civil rights & women's movement. At the start of Chicago Women’s Liberation Union; Jane, abortion counseling service; 1st ERA march; March for Women’s Lives; Consultant to MoveOn.org, National Council of La Raza, Campaign for America’s Future, NOW, Campaign for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Past Director of the Health Care Campaign for the AFL-CIO; Founding Director American’s for Financial Reform; Senior Advisor to One Nation Working Together; Current President of Midwest Academy, training social change leaders.   RISING FEMINIST Kamala Lopez. Kamy was awarded the 2011 NWPC Woman of Courage Award for her inspiring work bringing the ERA to the attention of new feminists of the 21st Century. Actress, screenwriter, director and producer; 30 feature films, 60 TV shows. She is the owner of Heroica Films and her feature directorial debut, A Single Woman, about the life of first Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, won the 2009 NWPC Exceptional Merit in Media Award. Currently she is the Executive Director of The ERA Education Project; National Program Director of Global Girl Media; VP Media Pacific Shore NOW and serves on the Advisory Board of The Women’s International Film and Television Showcase. VETERAN FEMINIST Sally Lunt. Sally was destined to be a feminist as her mother was both a suffragist and volunteer at a Sanger clinic. Degrees from Hood College, Simmons, Harvard and MA School of Law. Champion of women and mental health in the field and classroom, teaching at Boston University. Leader in NWPC, founder of Womanspace, advisor for Sojouner, delegate to the UN Conference in Mexico City. From reproductive health, the ERA, and consumer assistance, Sally has been at the helm. Today you will find her on a Tall Ship and on the board of the VFA.   RISING FEMINIST Jamie Pennington Jamie is a senior at Rollins College and is planning to pursue women’s studies in graduate school. She is active in the United Nations Association, was an active member of the Orlando chapter from 2009- 2010 and Amnesty International. Jamie has been a volunteer working with high school, grade school and pre-school children in Winter Park, FL. She has been a fundraiser for the U.N. and African Children in Need. She shares her interest in yoga, languages and the Women’s Movement with her Bridge Match. VETERAN FEMINIST Grace Welch - A founder and Past President South Shore NOW, currently President Emerita, Mid-Suffolk NOW Stony Brook, VFA Board Member. She took part in 1970 Women’s Strike March down Fifth Avenue, joined NOW and began a life of full-fledged feminist activism. Grace was in the film, Borat; interviewed about American feminism. She and the other VFA members were onto him instantly and walked out. She has studied & practiced yoga for 30 years and is a member of the Long Island Yoga Association & the New York Yoga Teachers Association. She teaches beginner, intermediate & advanced classes in Islandia, Long Island and Manhattan, New York. She conducts yoga instruction Italian by appointment.   For information on the project: http://www.bridgeproject.us Bridge Project application for a match http://www.bridgeproject.us/application.html Contact information http://www.bridgeproject.us/contact-information.html Further Details: Zoe Nicholson Zoe@onlinewithzoe.com Back to Table of Contents

From Zoe Nicholson - VFA's ERA Liaison "This country needs an equal rights amendment right now, and NOW supports and works toward all strategies to secure its long-overdue ratification," said NOW President Terry O'Neill. "With so many attacks on programs that help women press for equal opportunities and a failure to pass a strong equal pay law last Congress, it's abundantly clear that guaranteeing protection from sex discrimination is not just a moral imperative -- it's urgent." ERA REPORT FROM ZOE NICHOLSON: EQUALITY is rising up on all fronts. The universe is breathing equality. The Equal Rights Amendment (HJRCA 2) has been introduced in Illinois. Great News! The ERA bill in Virginia passes State Senate with a bipartisan vote of 24 yays and 16 nays Putting women into the U.S. Constitution will guarantee equal rights for women and men under the law, and NOW pledges to work for its passage in the 112th Congress. This International Women's Day, March 8, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and seven co-sponsors introduced a resolution (H.J. Res.47) to remove the arbitrary deadline that prevents the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) from becoming part of the Constitution -- even if three more states ratified it, bringing up the total number to the required 38 states. The ERA in Congress 112th Session (2011-2012): On Mar. 8, Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced H.J.Res 47, which would remove the ERA’s ratification deadline and make it part of the Constitution when three more states ratify. It is anticipated that the “start-over” ERA ratification bills will be introduced by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) during April 2011. The ERA in the States FLASH! On Feb. 7, 2011, the Virginia Senate passed a resolution (SJ357) ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. However, the House of Delegates companion bill (HJ640, chief sponsor Del. Mark Sickles) was tabled in Subcommittee #1 (Constitutional) of the Privileges and Elections Committee twice, on Jan. 31 and Feb. 14. No further action can be taken in this legislative session. For more information, contact Diana Egozcue, Virginia NOW President, vanowpresident@hotmail.com. Zoe Nicholson (Author of The Hungry Heart, A Woman’s Fast for Justice; Founder ERA Once and For All; NWPC ERA Liaison; Member ERA Roundtable; President Pacific Shore NOW) Comments to Zoe: Zoe@onlinewithzoe.com Zoe's WebBlog: onlinewithzoe.com Back to Table of Contents

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Contact: jcvfa@aol.com Veteran Feminists of America Jacqui Ceballos VFA PO Box 44551, Phoenix, AZ 85016