“Women will run the 21st Century…. 
This is going to be the women’s century and young people are going to be its leaders.”

Bella Abzug, April 1997

Bella S. Abzug (1920-1998) was one of the most influential and recognizable female politicians and leaders of the late 20th century.

Congresswoman Bella Abzug was an activist her entire life, beginning in early adolescence when she delivered impassioned speeches in the subways for causes she championed. After an acclaimed career as a civil rights lawyer, peace activist and political organizer, the Hunter College and Columbia Law School graduate sought public office for the first time at age 50 under her famous slogan: “This woman’s place is in the House – the House of Representatives.” She decisively won election to Congress in 1970 beating an 18-year incumbent to represent Manhattan’s West Side and Lower East Side. Bella helped to bring billions of dollars in public works and transportation funding to New York City and New York State and authored or co-authored several historic bills, including Title IX, a bill prohibiting sex discrimination in educational opportunities by schools receiving Federal funding assistance (though Title IX did not mention athletics, it became known most prominently for its impact on high school and college sports), the Freedom of Information Act, and the first law banning discrimination against women with respect to obtaining credit.

Bella also chaired historic hearings on government secrecy. She was voted by her colleagues the third most influential member of the House as reported in the U.S. News and World Report. Bella was known for her keen intelligence, her flamboyance and her colorful wide-brimmed hats. Often recognized by these vibrant hats, Bella reminded all who admired them: “It’s what’s under the hat that counts!”

Ms. Abzug was the first woman to run for the U.S. Senate from New York. After losing the Senate race to Patrick Moynihan in 1976 (by less than 1 percent!), Bella ran for Mayor of New York City in 1977, becoming the first woman ever to run for that office. As a result of her groundbreaking campaigns for higher office, Bella is often credited with paving the way for women aspiring to even higher levels of office, and opening doors to power for all women and especially to generations of women leaders in politics and government. Increasingly influential on the national and world stages, Bella went on to serve as Chairwoman of President Carter’s National Women’s Advisory Council. In that capacity, Bella, among other accomplishments, presided over the first National Conference on Women in Houston in 1977 where 2,000 elected delegates from every state and territory in the U.S. and 18,000 observers attended and developed a precedent-setting National Platform of Action for women.

As a pioneering attorney, a highly effective member of Congress (D.NY) representing all of Manhattan’s West Side and the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and a leader in the global movement for women’s rights, Ms. Abzug has often been credited with “jumpstarting the international feminist movement.” Bella always moved deftly between community activism and government or institutional power by exercising her tactical brilliance, wit and charisma in the courts, the Congress, the United Nations and in the streets—yet she always preserved her fierce integrity and never hesitated to take risks on behalf of her ideals. She was skilled at translating her visions and altruistic hopes into pragmatic solutions. She was the author of two successful books, “Bella: Ms. Abzug Goes to Washington” and “The Gender Gap,” the latter co-authored with friend and colleague, Mim Kelber. She also lectured widely throughout the United States and internationally, tirelessly campaigning for the rights of women.

Ever open to new approaches, Bella continually devised innovative strategies to further her vision of equality and power for women in the United States and abroad. In the last decade of her life, in the early 1990’s, she co-founded the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), one of the largest non-governmental organizations working in the United Nations and internationally to achieve full economic rights and equal representation for women. Bella led WEDO until her death, at age 77, in 1998. She was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls and is the recipient of numerous prestigious national and international awards. A year before her death, Bella received the highest civilian recognition and honor at the U.N., the Blue Beret Peacekeepers Award. Bella was married to her beloved husband Martin for 42 years. Together they raised two daughters, Eve and Liz (Isobel).

 “About Bella Abzug” from the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute  abzuginstitute.org         

For those who met her and/or knew her well the following quote from the Jewish Women’s Archive seems to embody that which was Bella.

 Bella was "born yelling" in 1920. A daughter of Russian immigrants, she grew up poor in the Bronx. By the age of thirteen, she was already giving her first speeches and defying convention at her family's synagogue. At tuition free Hunter College, Bella was student body president, and on scholarship at Columbia she was one of only a minuscule number of women law students across the nation.

Mary Musgrove  (1700? - 1763?)

As the daughter of an English trader and a Native American woman, Mary Musgrove was able to understand many cultures. Her mixed heritage and language skills allowed her to become a negotiator between English and Native American communities. She is most commonly known for playing an important role in the development of Colonial Georgia. She is also known for her business knowledge as a trader and interpreter.

Mary Musgrove was born around 1700 in Coweta, Creek Nation. She was given the name Coosaponakeesa at birth by her Native American mother. Her mother was related to many of the prominent leaders in the community. Her brother was the chief of Coweta. Musgrove grew up learning to speak the Creek language of Muskogee and the cultural traditions of Creek Natives. Musgrove also spent much of her childhood in South Carolina. Her father, Edward Griffin, took her and her younger brother to a small town in South Carolina called Pon Pon when she was about seven years old. In Pon Pon, Musgrove learned English and changed her name to Mary. In 1717, Mary got married to an English trader named John Musgrove. They had three children, but all died very young. Mary and John Musgrove set up a trading post near the Savannah River shortly after they were married where Mary served as a skilled interpreter. Her business caught the attention of General James Oglethorpe, one of Georgia’s charter members. General Oglethorpe hired Musgrove as his primary interpreter. She worked for him from 1733 to 1743. Two years into her work with General Oglethorpe, Mary’s husband John Musgrove died.

At the time of her husband’s death, John Musgrove owned their land in South Carolina. He also owned 500 acres in Georgia that included their trading post, house, and cow pen on Yamacraw Bluff. Due to Georgia laws, Mary was only permitted to hold the land until her oldest son could take over the land as owner. However, all of her sons died. Historian Michael D. Green concludes that Musgrove married her second husband, Jacob Matthews, in 1737 because she was in danger of losing her property. Matthews was one of her indentured servants and was many years younger than she was. Musgrove was then allowed to keep her property. The new couple started another trading post in Mount Venture on the Altamaha River. Musgrove continued to work as an interpreter for General Oglethorpe. She helped maintain peaceful and fair trade relations between the new Georgia Colony and the Creek Nation. During her time in Yamacraw Bluff, she successfully negotiated relations between the Yamacraw Chief, Tomochichi, and the Savannah settlers. Unfortunately, Musgrove’s second husband Matthews died in 1742.

Two years later, Musgrove married Christian missionary Reverend Thomas Bosomworth. This marriage came with a rise in social class. Musgrove and Reverend Bosomworth opened a second trading post on the Altamaha River in 1746. They continued to serve as cultural mediators. Musgrove and her husband traveled to Native American communities with messages from General Oglethorpe and the English King and they would return with the speeches and concerns of the Native American communities. Sometimes, they taught Christian missionaries the Muskogee language to help with their interactions. However, Musgrove and Reverend Bosomworth faced a problem when the Lower Creek Chief Malatchi gave them three islands. These three islands, Ossabaw, Sapelo, and St. Catherines, were known as the “Sea Islands" that belonged to the Creeks. British officials refused to honor Musgrove’s claim to the land. They stated that a nation can only grant land to another nation, not to an individual. Musgrove fought this decision. In 1749, over 200 Creek people went with her to Savanah to petition Georgia officials. When they refused her claim, she went to England to plead her case before the Board of Trade. The Board referred her case back to the Georgia courts. When she arrived back home, Georgia had taken control of her land. Decades later, royal governor Henry Ellis compromised. He granted Musgrove St. Catherines Island and £2,100, when she released her claims to the other two islands. Musgrove continued to serve as a mediator between Georgia and Creek nation until her death on St. Catherines Island around 1763.

By Kerri Lee Alexander, NWHM Fellow | 2018-2019

MLA - Alexander, Kerri Lee.  "Mary Musgrove." National Women's History Museum.  National Women's History Museum, 2019.  Date accessed.

Chicago - Alexander, Kerri Lee.  "Mary Musgrove."  National Women's History Museum.  2019.  www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-musgrove.

Mary Church Terrell was born Mary Eliza Church on September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her parents, Robert Reed Church and Louisa Ayers, were both former slaves who became small business owners and a vital part of Memphis’ growing black population. Her father became one of the South’s first African-American millionaires; her mother owned a beauty salon.
Terrell and her brother were taught the values of a good education, hard work and ambition. Using the lessons learned, she went on to Oberlin College, becoming one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and then to earn her master’s degree in education.
She taught for two years at Wilburforce College before moving to Washington, DC, to teach at the M Street Colored High School in 1887. It was there that she met Robert Heberton Terrell. They were married in 1891. The Terrells had one daughter and adopted another.
In 1892, when her friend, Thomas Moss, was lynched by whites in Memphis because his business competed with theirs, Terrell joined Ida B. Wells-Barnett in anti-lynching campaigns. She also became involved in the suffrage movement because she understood she belonged “to the only group in the country that has two huge obstacles to surmount…both sex and race.
She actively campaigned for women’s suffrage and for black women’s suffrage. She both spoke and wrote tirelessly to black organizations and mainstream white organizations about suffrage and civil rights. She even picketed the White House with members of the National Woman’s Party.
Among her accomplishments were:
• Co-founder of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW).
• President of NACW from 1896 to 1901.
• A founder and charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
• Co-founder of the College Alumnae Club (later renamed the National Association of University Women).
• Author of her autobiography, “A Colored Woman In A White World”.
• The first African-American woman ever appointed to a school board.
• Served on a committee that investigated police mistreatment of African-Americans.
When, at 86, Terrell was refused service at the John R. Thompson restaurant in Washington, DC, she challenged segregation in public places. In 1953 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in eating facilities was unconstitutional. She was victorious!
Terrell died in 1954 in Highland Beach, Maryland. She left a remarkable legacy of service to women, both black and white, and to African-Americans.
**

Greetings with some good news for the women’s world. Just recently, one of the most prestigious mathematics prizes in the world – The Abel Prize was awarded to a woman for the first time ever. Yes! Karen Uhlenbeck is a mathematician and a professor at the University of Texas and is now the first woman to win this prize in mathematics. You go Karen!

The award, which is modeled by the Nobel Prize, is awarded by the king of Norway to honor mathematicians who have made an influence in their field including a cash prize of around $700,000. The award to Karen cites for “the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics.” This award exists since 2003 but has only been won by men since.

Among her colleagues, Dr. Uhlenbeck is renowned for her work in geometric partial differential equations as well as integrable systems and gauge theory. One of her most famous contributions were her theories of predictive mathematics and in pioneering the field of geometric analysis.

Sun-Yung Alice Chang, a mathematician at Princeton University who was in the prize committee says about her: “She did things nobody thought about doing, and after she did, she laid the foundations of a branch of mathematics.”

Its’ campus consisted of 16 small buildings in Miami Shores, Florida, with a student body of 1,750 when she became the president in 1981. By the time she retired in 2004, Barry University had become a 55-building multi-campus with 7,000 students and included a law school. That was the result of the phenomenal fundraising skills and academic vision of Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin, an Adrian Dominican Sister.

On May 4, 1929, just before the crash of the stock market, Jeanne Marie O’Laughlin was born to Mary Margaret and Thomas O’Laughlin in Detroit, Michigan. While still a child, she would learn what doctors had told her mother on the occasion of Jeanne’s birth. Mary Margaret would never survive another pregnancy.The doctors were right. Five years later Sister O’Laughlin and her three siblings lost their mother when she once again conceived. This memory and that of growing up without a mother would affect some of the views that sometimes caused her to be called into question by the Church.

A streetcar ride when she was thirteen years old would leave another vivid memory that would shape her life. A black woman boarded the car with four small children. As the streetcar lurched forward, one of the children fell into Jeanne’s lap. Jeanne gladly held the child for the remainder of the ride. Later, a man exiting the car spit on Jeanne. That evening when telling her father of the incident, she asked him, “Dad, what causes prejudice?” “Ignorance,” he said. “How do you get rid of it,” she asked. He looked at her and said, “ Only through education”. She knew then what she would do with her life.

In 1958 she earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and biology at Siena Heights University. Then earned her masters and doctorate at the University of Arizona. She joined the board at Barry in 1973 while still assistant dean at St. Louis University; assuming the role of Barry’s president in 1981.

Sister Jeanne was dedicated to providing higher education and worked for greater access for all students. To that end she also served as chair of the Council of Independent Colleges; chair of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; president of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities; and chair of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

Her involvement in the community went well beyond Barry University. Sister Jeanne held leadership roles in the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Miami Coalition for a Drug-Free Community. She was the first woman to serve on the Orange Bowl Committee and the first woman to win the Chamber of Commerce’s Sand in My Shoes Award. She was deeply involved on behalf of the homeless and immigrant rights. As the first woman in the Non-Group, an influential behind-the-scenes group of community business men and civic leaders, she helped raise $7 million in private contributions for a fund to help small, black-owned businesses in riot-scarred Liberty City. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew, she was a key figure in We Will Rebuild, the volunteer recovery committee.

After her retirement Sister Jeanne returned to Michigan to the Motherhouse of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Despite the fact she was battling recurrent cancer, she did not stop her service to others. She helped start the Share the Warmth Center for the homeless and acted as advisor to the Adrian Sisters for their fundraising.

She was 90 when she passed away at the Motherhouse of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.