The National Women’s Political Caucus was founded in 1971 when activists across the country recognized the urgent need for women in leadership. Black women are the backbone of gender and reproductive rights activism in the United States. During Black History Month, we’d like to highlight some of the incredible Black women who shaped our organization.
Eleanor Holmes Norton serves as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. Prior to serving in Congress, Holmes Norton organized for Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the civil rights movement and was chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Fannie Lou Hamer was a voting and women’s rights activist, community organizer, and a leader in the civil rights movement. She was the vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, which she represented at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Hamer also organized Mississippi’s Freedom Summer along with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Myrlie Evers Williams worked for over three decades to seek justice for the 1963 murder of her husband Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist. She also served as chairwoman of the NAACP. On January 21, 2013, she delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of Barack Obama.
Florynce Kennedy fought for women’s rights and civil rights, gay rights, abortion rights and media discrimination against women and people of color. Her motto was “Don’t agonize; organize”. She helped to start the National Organization for Women, and founded the Feminist Party and the Media Workshop to fight racial stereotyping.
Shirley Anita Chisholm was the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major-party nomination for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
The National Women’s Political Caucus would not exist without the tenacity of our founders. We continue to carry out the legacy of our founders by centering diversity and inclusion in everything we do. Your contribution will help us continue to recruit, train, and elect a diverse coalition of women across the country. We hope you’ll join us in this fight.
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The National Women’s Political Caucus, founded in 1971, is the oldest national, multi-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to identifying, recruiting, training, electing, and supporting pro-choice women candidates for elected and appointed office.
