This Month in History: December
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December 1, 1970 – Pittsburgh NOW members stage a “sit in” at Frankie Gustine’s to protest discriminatory practice of this male only bar.
December 1967 – Wilma Scott Heide is elected to the board of the National Organization for Women and appointed chair of the Membership Committee at the second national conference.
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
December 1, 1931: LaVera Brown was both the first Black and first employed President of the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Board in 1978. She co-founded the Ad Hoc Committee to Counter the Klan, a coalition of social justice organizations, in 1980
December 10, 1932: Anita Fine is an activist for peace and justice. Wilma Scott Heide recruited Anita and Dan Fine to become founding members of the Greater Pittsburgh Area Chapter of NOW.
December 14, 1931 (2001): Ruth Heimbuecher was a travel writer for the Pittsburgh Press and a founding member of the Greater Pittsburgh Area chapter of NOW.
This Month in History: November
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November 6, 1972 – Members of the Greater Pittsburgh Area Chapter of NOW “sit in” at Rifle and Plow to protest a men’s only dining room.
November 14, 1980 – Nurses NOW, a task force founded in Pittsburgh, host a statewide conference on employment and licensure issues facing nurses in Pennsylvania.
November 18-20-1977 – The National Women’s Conference in Houston, TX, chaired by Bella Abzug, adopted a national plan for action that was submitted to President Jimmy Carter and Congress. Delegates from Pittsburgh include Jeanne Clark, JoAnn Evansgardner, Alma Speed Fox, and Molly Rush.
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
November 8, 2010: Alice Paul was a suffragist, feminist and women’s rights activist. She led a successful campaign for women’s suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. She was the original author of a proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution in 1923.
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This Month in History: October
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October 1, 1973 – Anne Feeney and members of the Greater Pittsburgh Area Chapter of NOW started a rape crisis hotline that would become Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR).
October 1, 1977 – The first “Take Back the Night” march in Pittsburgh was organized by Women Against Violence in the Media and Pornography.
October 3, 2015 – Eleanor Smeal was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame at Seneca Falls, New York.
October 22, 1968 – Wilma Scott Heide and members of the Greater Pittsburgh Area NOW chapter stage a “sit in” at Stouffer’s Men’s Grille to protest exclusion of women in public accommodations.
October 23, 1968 – Wilma Scott Heide and several members of the Greater Pittsburgh Area NOW chapter testified at public hearings held by the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations for the need to add sex as a protected category to the anti-discrimination ordinance.
This Month in History: September
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September 10, 1969 – Gerald Gardner filed a formal complaint on behalf of the Greater Pittsburgh Area Chapter of NOW against the Pittsburgh Press for continuing to publish “help wanted” ads separately for women and men after the sex discrimination was banned in Pittsburgh.
September 20, 1972 – Pennsylvania became the 21st state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
September 21, 1975 – Members of Pittsburgh NOW chapters picketing in front of the Federal Building in downtown Pittsburgh calling attention to the need for childcare for working women.
This Month in History: August
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August 20, 1967 – Wilma Scott Heide and nine other people founded the Greater Pittsburgh Area Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Ms. Heide is elected President.
August 1, 1972 – Led by Jo Ann Evansgardner, Kathy Bonk and Eleanor Smeal, Pittsburgh NOW chapters threatened to challenge the license renewals of area TV stations because of alleged discrimination against women in employment and programming. They reached a negotiated settlement. With the TV stations.
August 26, 1972 – Three women are hired as tenure track faculty to create the Women Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh.
August 25, 1973 – Under the theme “Give Girls A Chance,” NOW members from across the state demonstrated at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
August 26, 1978 – The Southwest Council of NOW chapters sponsored a Walk-a-thon to raise money for the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
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This Month in History: July
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July 1, 1969 – Wilma Scott Heide is appointed to a three-year term as a Commissioner for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
July 9, 1969 – Major Joseph Barr signed into law the amendment to the Pittsburgh anti-discrimination ordinance defining sex as a protected category. Wilma Scott Heide and members of the Pittsburgh NOW chapter initiated and lobbied for the amendment.
July 9, 1969 – Governor Shapp signed into law the amendment to the Pennsylvania anti-discrimination law defining sex as a protected category. Wilma Scott Heide had initiated and lobbied for the amendment.
July 9, 1978 – NOW organized a March on Washington to support the extension of the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. More than 100,000 marched down Constitution Avenue to the D.C Capitol steps, eclipsing the entire Capitol Mall in a sea of purple, gold and white (the old suffragist colors). NOW President Eleanor Smeal was the keynote speaker.
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This Month in History: June
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June 30, 1981 – Kick Off of the ERA Countdown Campaign led by NOW President Eleanor Smeal and Honorary Co-Chairs, Betty Ford and Alan Alda; the deadline for ratification of the ERA was June 30, 1982.
June 21, 1973 – In the case of the Pittsburgh Press v. the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations and the National Organization for Women, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Press’ policy of publishing want ads separately for women and men violated the Pittsburgh anti-discrimination ordinance.
June 30, 1982 –Illinois was one of three states needed to ratify the ERA. The f ailure of the Illinois Legislature to pass the ERA was a death keel for the campaign to ratify the amendment.
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
June 10, 1920 (2011): Ellen Berliner co-founded the South Hills Association for Racial Equality in the 1966 and the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh in 1974.
June 22, 1944: Sandra Bem is a psychologist know for her research on the social construction of gender and sexuality. She was a founding member of the Greater Pittsburgh Area NOW chapter in 1967.
This Month in History: May
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May 2, 1977 – Birmingham Bookstore opened in Pittsburgh. It was the first feminist bookstore in the city.
May 8, 1985 – Wilma Scott Heide, founder of the Greater Pittsburgh Area NOW chapter and the third President of the National Organization for women, died of a heart attack in Norristown, PA.
May 1971 – Following a campaign led by Pennsylvania NOW chapters, voters in a statewide referendum ratified the Equal Rights Amendment that had been proposed when the Commonwealth’s Constitution was revised in 1969.
May 11, 1975 – The Mothers’ Day of Outrage instigated by Jeanne Clarke brought 4000 pro-choice demonstrators to the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C. to publicize the amount of money the Catholic Church had spent to enforce compulsory pregnancy.
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This Month in History: February
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February 9, 1972 – The Greater Pittsburgh Area NOW chapter proclaimed “Public Accommodations Week” to protest “men only” bars and dining rooms to conduct of business.Wilma Scott Heide and members of the Greater Pittsburgh Area NOW chapter integrated the “men only” section of Stouffer’s Grille in downtown Pittsburgh.
February 6-9, 1979 –Pittsburgh NOW members rode buses to Springfield, IL to lobby legislators to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
February 17, 1972 – Molly Rush and others start the Thomas Merton Center, a peace and justice organization, to protest the continuation of the war in Viet Nam.
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
February 18, 1923: Alma Speed Fox was Executive Director of the local NAACP during the height of the civil rights movement. She was an active member of Pittsburgh NOW chapters and served on the board of national NOW. She co-managed the Pittsburgh office for Shirley Chisholm’s campaign for President on the democratic ticket in the 1972 primary election.
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This Month in History: January
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January 8, 1968 – The National Organization for Women announced its support for Cindy Judd Hill, in her fight to regain her position teaching position in a Pittsburgh high school. Ms. Hill was fired after she gave birth to a baby while on sabbatical to obtain a master’s degree.
January 19, 1972 – The Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania denies the appeal by the Pittsburgh Press that they are violating the Pittsburgh anti-discrimination ordinance by publishing want ads separately for women and men.
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
January 10, 1921 (2010): Ann Steyler co-founded the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh in 1974. It was one of the first domestic violence programs in the country.