00:00:17.950 --> 00:00:19.981
- [Announcer] Funding for
Step by Step was provided by

00:00:19.982 --> 00:00:22.779
The Hilldale Fund, The Anonymous Fund,

00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:24.659
The Division of Continuing Studies

00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:27.249
and the Humanistic Fund,
all of the University

00:00:27.250 --> 00:00:28.829
of Wisconsin, Madison.

00:00:28.830 --> 00:00:31.739
And by the Wisconsin
Sesquicentennial Commission,

00:00:31.740 --> 00:00:35.143
the Evjue Foundation,
and the Wisconsin Humanities Council.

00:00:36.089 --> 00:00:37.697
♪ Step by step ♪

00:00:37.698 --> 00:00:39.173
♪ Step by step ♪

00:00:39.174 --> 00:00:41.672
♪ Can be won ♪

00:00:41.673 --> 00:00:44.327
♪ Can be won ♪

00:00:44.328 --> 00:00:47.744
- [Narrator] Step by step,
generation after generation,

00:00:47.745 --> 00:00:51.412
American women have
fought for their rights.

00:00:52.353 --> 00:00:57.353
♪ And by union what we will ♪

00:00:58.230 --> 00:01:01.026
♪ Thy will ♪

00:01:01.027 --> 00:01:03.322
- [Narrator] Reaching
across differences of age,

00:01:03.323 --> 00:01:07.330
culture, wealth and
race, these women united

00:01:07.331 --> 00:01:11.160
to challenge the customs and
laws that held them back.

00:01:11.161 --> 00:01:14.493
They called the discrimination
they faced sexism,

00:01:14.494 --> 00:01:16.685
and they organized to end it.

00:01:16.686 --> 00:01:17.738
- [Crowd] Equal pay for equal work.

00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:19.679
When do we want it, now!

00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:23.837
♪ Step by step the longest march ♪

00:01:23.838 --> 00:01:25.839
♪ Can be won ♪

00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.044
♪ Can be won ♪

00:01:28.045 --> 00:01:30.090
♪ Can be won ♪

00:01:30.091 --> 00:01:33.038
- When I talk to young women who don't even

00:01:33.039 --> 00:01:36.679
begin to know about the struggle that was,

00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.299
not to mention the struggle that is,

00:01:39.300 --> 00:01:42.659
and when we talk to them about the road

00:01:42.660 --> 00:01:45.758
over which we've come,
and the trouble waters

00:01:45.759 --> 00:01:48.909
over which we've come,
and yet still we've survived

00:01:48.910 --> 00:01:52.239
and we've helped to make
things different for them.

00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:54.923
Not complete but better for them,

00:01:55.810 --> 00:01:57.702
it's amazing when they say to us

00:01:57.703 --> 00:01:59.723
that they haven't heard the story.

00:02:01.160 --> 00:02:03.369
- [Narrator] This is the
story of the generation

00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:06.499
of Midwestern women who
continue the struggles

00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:09.029
for equality and justice in the decades

00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:11.589
after women won the right to vote.

00:02:11.590 --> 00:02:13.749
They came out of the region's labor unions,

00:02:13.750 --> 00:02:15.649
political parties, religious orders,

00:02:15.650 --> 00:02:18.359
and universities and began their efforts

00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:20.429
during World War Two.

00:02:20.430 --> 00:02:22.579
- I was at Swarthmore as a freshman.

00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:27.359
December 7th happened,
very early in my college years

00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:29.449
and the men disappeared.

00:02:29.450 --> 00:02:32.152
And in looking back I
realized that because of that,

00:02:32.153 --> 00:02:35.169
that I even knew it then, I had roles

00:02:35.170 --> 00:02:38.159
of leadership that were extraordinary.

00:02:38.160 --> 00:02:41.279
I got to go to a leadership
training institute

00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:43.719
at Campobello, the Roosevelt's
home, for five weeks,

00:02:43.720 --> 00:02:45.959
sat on the floor with Mrs. Roosevelt.

00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:49.054
But I was picked because as I later read

00:02:49.055 --> 00:02:52.699
in a letter,
John Chapman had gone in the navy,

00:02:52.700 --> 00:02:56.319
Peter Coo had gone in the army,
and here's Mary Lou Rogers.

00:02:56.320 --> 00:02:58.989
And that stayed I think in my memory,

00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:02.578
that little kernel that
here she is but only because

00:03:02.579 --> 00:03:05.209
the men had left.

00:03:05.210 --> 00:03:08.043
(patriotic music)

00:03:10.345 --> 00:03:15.345
- My first real paying job was
a job at Armor and Company.

00:03:15.730 --> 00:03:20.730
I was hired there in 1941
and I was taken straight

00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:26.078
to the Canning Department
to pack stew in cans

00:03:26.079 --> 00:03:28.119
for the army.

00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.789
And I found out that the women on the line

00:03:30.790 --> 00:03:34.349
made 62 and fraction of cents an hour,

00:03:34.350 --> 00:03:38.709
and that the men made 14
cents more than the women.

00:03:38.710 --> 00:03:41.599
And I discovered that
most of the women thought

00:03:41.600 --> 00:03:44.811
that men's work was valued
more than women's work

00:03:44.812 --> 00:03:46.799
and that it was alright to do that.

00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.300
(light music)

00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:53.069
- [Narrator] Despite unequal
pay, women worked

00:03:53.070 --> 00:03:56.439
in unprecedented numbers
during the second World War.

00:03:56.440 --> 00:03:58.929
There was a 50% increase
in the number of women

00:03:58.930 --> 00:04:00.583
employed outside the home.

00:04:01.421 --> 00:04:03.344
- [Announcer] Workers for victory.

00:04:03.345 --> 00:04:06.078
It's the assembly line
that interests Uncle Sam's

00:04:06.079 --> 00:04:07.259
daughters now.

00:04:07.260 --> 00:04:09.669
The War Production Board
expects a million women

00:04:09.670 --> 00:04:11.053
in industry this year.

00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.399
- Well women were doing all kinds of work.

00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:16.650
They were doing riveting.

00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:21.419
They were operating cranes.

00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:23.113
They were doing inspection.

00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.088
They sent me to school,
taught me how to be a final

00:04:28.089 --> 00:04:30.329
inspector, taught me how to read prints

00:04:30.330 --> 00:04:33.319
and read all the gages
and stuff that I'd need

00:04:33.320 --> 00:04:34.643
to do inspection work.

00:04:36.510 --> 00:04:38.889
The wages were really considerably higher

00:04:38.890 --> 00:04:41.573
than any of us had ever made before.

00:04:42.876 --> 00:04:46.432
(crowd cheering)

00:04:46.433 --> 00:04:49.016
(upbeat music)

00:04:58.130 --> 00:04:59.934
- [TV Announcer] At United
States employment offices

00:04:59.935 --> 00:05:01.619
throughout the country, former war workers

00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:04.399
line up to register for new jobs.

00:05:04.400 --> 00:05:07.749
- When the war was over,
it was extremely difficult.

00:05:07.750 --> 00:05:11.099
I finally went back to
work at Kaiser Fraser

00:05:11.100 --> 00:05:14.099
but I hired in doing a clerical job.

00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:17.559
When I started working in the office I was,

00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:20.109
number one outraged because
they wouldn't give me

00:05:20.110 --> 00:05:21.649
an inspection job.

00:05:21.650 --> 00:05:26.033
And number two that my wages were much less

00:05:27.310 --> 00:05:29.433
than I would have made in the plant.

00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:35.800
I realized when the war
was over that that period

00:05:36.470 --> 00:05:37.613
of my life was over.

00:05:40.159 --> 00:05:42.739
- [TV Announcer] Thanks
mates for a job well done.

00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:45.559
- I knew in a sense that
the men were coming back

00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:48.259
and the role of leadership
was gonna pass back

00:05:48.260 --> 00:05:49.549
to the male leadership.

00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:52.999
And I threw myself I think into the role

00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:57.589
of a mother, had four
children, and a rather intense

00:05:57.590 --> 00:05:58.679
volunteer life.

00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:02.179
Many of the talents that
I had that I developed

00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:04.989
through my political
work in college and all,

00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:07.449
fit in beautifully to the
League of Women Voters

00:06:07.450 --> 00:06:09.519
and politics here in Madison.

00:06:09.520 --> 00:06:14.409
What I call the do-good women
that were the backbone really

00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:17.363
I think of community life.

00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:22.569
- [Narrator] Post war prosperity
fueled the rapid growth

00:06:22.570 --> 00:06:25.999
of suburbs and allowed many
women like Mary Lou Munts

00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:29.043
to devote themselves to
family and community life.

00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:31.949
A few women went into business.

00:06:31.950 --> 00:06:35.019
Gene Boyer and her husband,
a former baseball player

00:06:35.020 --> 00:06:38.113
opened a furniture store in Beaver
Dam, Wisconsin.

00:06:39.090 --> 00:06:42.269
- I immediately went to
the chamber of commerce

00:06:42.270 --> 00:06:47.270
and I purchased two
memberships in the chamber,

00:06:47.320 --> 00:06:49.603
one for myself and one for my husband.

00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:54.049
But within about a couple of
months, the executive director

00:06:54.050 --> 00:06:57.509
of the chamber of commerce
paid a visit to the store

00:06:57.510 --> 00:07:00.929
and took my husband aside and asked him

00:07:00.930 --> 00:07:02.999
if he would see to it that I wouldn't come

00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.039
to anymore of the chamber
of commerce meetings

00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:08.919
because the men were made uncomfortable

00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:10.759
by my presence.

00:07:10.760 --> 00:07:15.589
It was such a put down because
I was the business woman.

00:07:15.590 --> 00:07:18.623
My husband was previously
a baseball player.

00:07:21.670 --> 00:07:24.449
- [Narrator] The economy
boomed as manufacturers

00:07:24.450 --> 00:07:26.849
pushed to meet the demand
for consumer goods,

00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:28.999
especially automobiles.

00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.519
Rising consumer aspirations and increasing

00:07:31.520 --> 00:07:34.499
employment opportunities
pulled an ever growing number

00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:37.909
of wives and mothers into
paid work outside the home.

00:07:37.910 --> 00:07:40.999
- We wanted a home of our own so badly.

00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:45.390
And so I went to the GM plant.

00:07:45.391 --> 00:07:47.839
That was one of the better paying jobs.

00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:51.539
They had not too many women,
but women were relegated

00:07:51.540 --> 00:07:53.603
to the cushion line at that time.

00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:58.319
I went in under the
objection of my brother.

00:07:58.320 --> 00:08:02.969
My older brother,
who was very active in local 95 union

00:08:02.970 --> 00:08:04.139
at that time.

00:08:04.140 --> 00:08:06.239
He had been president and so on.

00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:10.009
He always sort of felt like
that wasn't a place for women

00:08:10.010 --> 00:08:11.379
to work.

00:08:11.380 --> 00:08:13.549
But I guess as much as I thought of him,

00:08:13.550 --> 00:08:16.563
I figured your there, why can't I be.

00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:20.239
- [Narrator] Like Doris
Thom, most wage-earning women

00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:23.093
were concentrated in
low-paying occupations.

00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:27.519
Women seeking improved
employment conditions

00:08:27.520 --> 00:08:29.279
sought support from the Midwest's more

00:08:29.280 --> 00:08:31.779
progressive labor unions, including the

00:08:31.780 --> 00:08:33.419
United Packing House Workers,

00:08:33.420 --> 00:08:34.893
and the United Auto Workers.

00:08:35.780 --> 00:08:38.999
- I always say that the
union really educated me.

00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:42.069
I had went to school,
but I really didn't get educated

00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:45.519
until I'd become associated
with labor movement.

00:08:45.520 --> 00:08:49.249
It taught me the broader
problems that we face

00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:53.219
in our society and it taught me how to use

00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:54.929
the talents I had.

00:08:54.930 --> 00:08:57.299
It taught me how to speak and how to get up

00:08:57.300 --> 00:09:01.929
in a meeting and project my own thoughts.

00:09:01.930 --> 00:09:05.259
And it taught me what the issues were

00:09:05.260 --> 00:09:08.393
and where I lined up as far
as the issues were concerned.

00:09:09.390 --> 00:09:14.229
- I was a member first of
the United Packing House

00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:19.230
Worker's Union, UBWA,
which was a very progressive union.

00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:22.199
And our workers fought together before the

00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.489
civil rights struggle of the 50s and 60s

00:09:25.490 --> 00:09:28.989
to eliminate the wage differential

00:09:28.990 --> 00:09:31.719
that existed between men and women,

00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:33.579
the wage differential that existed

00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:36.676
between workers in the north
and workers in the south.

00:09:36.677 --> 00:09:41.677
Anti-discrimination was
mandatory within all of our ranks

00:09:42.630 --> 00:09:45.569
and of course we had to
learn how to live with it

00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:47.919
and how to make it happen.

00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:52.549
- The UAW women's department set up in 1946

00:09:52.550 --> 00:09:54.639
regional women's committees.

00:09:54.640 --> 00:09:57.469
And I was appointed to that
regional women's committee

00:09:57.470 --> 00:10:01.562
so I'd at least become well
acquainted with other women

00:10:01.563 --> 00:10:04.719
at that point in time in the UAW.

00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:07.439
- Now as a member of
the executive committee

00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.663
of the UAW local 95 in Janesville,

00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:17.940
I was then sent to the
women's committee central

00:10:18.300 --> 00:10:20.689
headquarters, that was held in Milwaukee.

00:10:20.690 --> 00:10:23.539
Our region 10 was centered
there at that time.

00:10:23.540 --> 00:10:25.789
It was a learning experience.

00:10:25.790 --> 00:10:28.609
I really learned a lot from the women.

00:10:28.610 --> 00:10:31.281
Because most of these women who had worked

00:10:31.282 --> 00:10:33.973
in the plants all in the whole area,

00:10:33.974 --> 00:10:36.949
worked everywhere in the plant.

00:10:36.950 --> 00:10:40.169
And that's where the seed
began to grow in my mind,

00:10:40.170 --> 00:10:42.839
why was I cornered in one little corner

00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:46.377
on the cushion line when
the wages were much better,

00:10:46.378 --> 00:10:50.739
the work itself was much
easier somewhere else

00:10:50.740 --> 00:10:52.189
in the plant.

00:10:52.190 --> 00:10:53.999
- [Narrator] Women were
raising many questions

00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.799
about limitations they
faced in the workplace,

00:10:56.800 --> 00:11:00.579
questions that surfaced in 1953 at a UPWA

00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:03.099
conference on discrimination.

00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:08.100
- In my report as a delegate,
I emphasized the fact

00:11:10.430 --> 00:11:14.159
that we needed to have women leaders

00:11:14.160 --> 00:11:18.329
and we suggested that we'd
have a white male president

00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:22.601
of our local union,
and we should have a woman

00:11:22.602 --> 00:11:24.529
vice president.

00:11:24.530 --> 00:11:29.099
And some of the older
women came to me and said

00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:31.699
it is so moving what we're doing,

00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:34.479
and I think we can really accomplish it.

00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:39.009
But we can't find a woman who will run.

00:11:39.010 --> 00:11:41.399
So we need to ask you to do that.

00:11:41.400 --> 00:11:44.089
And I didn't wanna hear
it because I was already

00:11:44.090 --> 00:11:46.089
involved in my church.

00:11:46.090 --> 00:11:50.139
I was involved in the
community working with youth,

00:11:50.140 --> 00:11:55.140
and I had children at home
and a wonderful young husband,

00:11:55.520 --> 00:11:58.653
and I did not want to be
a leader in the union.

00:12:00.030 --> 00:12:02.272
- [Narrator] Reluctantly
Addie Wyatt agreed to run.

00:12:02.273 --> 00:12:05.073
She won the election as vice president.

00:12:05.074 --> 00:12:07.933
Shortly afterwards, the president resigned

00:12:07.934 --> 00:12:10.619
and Wyatt became the first woman president

00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:12.233
of a UPWA local.

00:12:13.252 --> 00:12:15.069
- It took me about three
months to really say

00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:18.919
to my husband that I am the
president of a local union.

00:12:18.920 --> 00:12:21.229
And he just said to me,
well if you're gonna be

00:12:21.230 --> 00:12:24.699
the president of a local
union, we can't leave things

00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:26.079
undone here at home.

00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:30.919
And that's usually the male
position that they take,

00:12:30.920 --> 00:12:34.519
and I promised that nothing
would go lacking at home.

00:12:34.520 --> 00:12:38.049
But because we were
depending upon the union

00:12:38.050 --> 00:12:41.569
to help us to make life
better for ourselves

00:12:41.570 --> 00:12:44.799
and our children, we had a responsibility

00:12:44.800 --> 00:12:46.050
to help make that happen.

00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:50.119
- My ambition really was serving on the top

00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:54.059
negotiating committee,
and I won that election.

00:12:54.060 --> 00:12:58.449
And of course it was a
real breakthrough for me.

00:12:58.450 --> 00:13:02.509
And some of the people
that I was associated with,

00:13:02.510 --> 00:13:04.679
especially some of the men,
although some of the men

00:13:04.680 --> 00:13:07.769
supported me strongly,
but the ones who I thought

00:13:07.770 --> 00:13:10.709
would be the most supportive,
they really didn't.

00:13:10.710 --> 00:13:13.599
And it was a bitter lesson for me to learn.

00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:15.149
It really was.

00:13:15.150 --> 00:13:16.679
They didn't think the bargaining committee

00:13:16.680 --> 00:13:20.439
was a good spot for a woman, that the kind

00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:22.869
of language and discussion
and negotiations,

00:13:22.870 --> 00:13:25.489
that I wouldn't like it
and that they didn't think

00:13:25.490 --> 00:13:27.489
I should be doing it.

00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:29.239
- [Narrator] As labor
women were gaining ground

00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.209
in their unions,
political activists were carving out

00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:34.249
places for themselves in the progressive

00:13:34.250 --> 00:13:37.009
political parties taking
shape in the Midwest,

00:13:37.010 --> 00:13:40.599
like the Democratic Farm Labor
Party, the DFL.

00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:44.669
- What was so unusual about the DFL was

00:13:44.670 --> 00:13:47.579
that for every chairman
there was a chairwoman.

00:13:47.580 --> 00:13:51.309
And there was a powerful set of older women

00:13:51.310 --> 00:13:54.569
who became role models for me.

00:13:54.570 --> 00:13:57.389
- [Narrator] In 1948,
Arvonne Skelton took a job

00:13:57.390 --> 00:13:58.433
with the DFL.

00:13:59.490 --> 00:14:01.769
- I'll never forget, a young man and I

00:14:01.770 --> 00:14:03.359
were working together.

00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.889
We were gonna get raises.

00:14:05.890 --> 00:14:08.929
I discovered he got more than I did

00:14:08.930 --> 00:14:11.919
and I went into Freemon, the Chair,

00:14:11.920 --> 00:14:15.079
who was a lawyer and said how come he got

00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:16.449
more of raise than I did.

00:14:16.450 --> 00:14:18.883
And he said because you're a woman.

00:14:18.884 --> 00:14:21.809
I was furious.

00:14:21.810 --> 00:14:23.610
I've never forgotten that obviously.

00:14:25.550 --> 00:14:27.919
- [Narrator] During the 1940s and '50s,

00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:30.543
women did the groundwork
to strengthen the party.

00:14:31.570 --> 00:14:34.099
- They knew how to work the system.

00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:36.459
They knew how to run campaigns.

00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:37.380
They raised money.

00:14:37.381 --> 00:14:39.279
They knew everybody.

00:14:39.280 --> 00:14:41.229
They got all the literature out.

00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:42.839
They did the phoning.

00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:47.219
The women ran the
infrastructure and the guys

00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:50.656
ran for office. (laughs)

00:14:50.657 --> 00:14:51.500
- [Narrator] Arvonne Skelton's marriage

00:14:51.501 --> 00:14:54.719
to don Fraser in 1950 forged just such a

00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:56.439
political partnership.

00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.249
A party official herself,
she ran several successful

00:14:59.250 --> 00:15:01.929
campaigns to elect her
husband to state office

00:15:01.930 --> 00:15:03.249
in Minnesota.

00:15:03.250 --> 00:15:06.689
They he decided to run for the US congress.

00:15:06.690 --> 00:15:11.690
- What was a little
irritating was that we paid

00:15:11.950 --> 00:15:15.319
for our household help so
I could run the campaign

00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.699
but somehow the mystique was that he had

00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:23.669
to have a male campaign
manager in name and pay him.

00:15:23.670 --> 00:15:28.629
And that was hard for
the male campaign manager

00:15:28.630 --> 00:15:31.049
and it irritated the heck out of me.

00:15:31.050 --> 00:15:33.413
But I loved running the campaign.

00:15:35.750 --> 00:15:38.909
- [Narrator] When John F
Kennedy took office in 1961,

00:15:38.910 --> 00:15:41.846
women hoped his campaign
theme of a new frontier

00:15:41.847 --> 00:15:44.683
would include expanded
opportunity for them.

00:15:47.530 --> 00:15:50.739
- During the '60s presidential election,

00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:54.159
when Kennedy was elected,
women were very active

00:15:54.160 --> 00:15:55.199
in that campaign.

00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:57.077
They encouraged them to be active

00:15:57.078 --> 00:15:59.729
and the democratic party encouraged them

00:15:59.730 --> 00:16:01.083
to be active.

00:16:01.084 --> 00:16:03.169
- Mr. President, the democratic platform

00:16:03.170 --> 00:16:07.189
in which you ran for election, promises

00:16:07.190 --> 00:16:11.349
to work for equal rights for
women including equal pay.

00:16:11.350 --> 00:16:15.439
Now you had made efforts
on behalf of others.

00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:17.489
What have you done for the women according

00:16:17.490 --> 00:16:19.613
to the promises of the platform?

00:16:21.330 --> 00:16:23.776
- Well I'm sure we haven't done enough.

00:16:23.777 --> 00:16:26.027
(laughter)

00:16:29.530 --> 00:16:31.359
- [Narrator] Under pressure
to take women's issues

00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.529
seriously, President Kennedy
established a commission

00:16:34.530 --> 00:16:36.609
on the status of women and appointed

00:16:36.610 --> 00:16:40.350
former first lady Eleanor
Roosevelt as chair.

00:16:40.351 --> 00:16:43.549
- The commission was
established to examine the need

00:16:43.550 --> 00:16:46.149
to right for American women today

00:16:46.150 --> 00:16:48.779
and to make recommendations
for the elimination

00:16:48.780 --> 00:16:52.389
of barriers that result in wage injustice

00:16:52.390 --> 00:16:54.049
and frustrations.

00:16:54.050 --> 00:16:57.039
I feel confident that in the years ahead,

00:16:57.040 --> 00:16:59.749
many of the remaining out moated barriers

00:16:59.750 --> 00:17:02.993
to women's aspirations will disappear.

00:17:04.340 --> 00:17:07.569
- I was appointed to
serve on the commission

00:17:07.570 --> 00:17:09.869
on the status of women.

00:17:09.870 --> 00:17:12.338
Our job was to make a study of the status

00:17:12.339 --> 00:17:16.209
of American women and to hold conferences

00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:19.729
throughout this country and to report

00:17:19.730 --> 00:17:24.730
to President Kennedy our
findings and also recommendations

00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:28.919
to make the status of women in our country

00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.449
better to improve their
plight economically,

00:17:32.450 --> 00:17:34.383
politically and socially.

00:17:35.300 --> 00:17:38.559
- One of my assignments was to research all

00:17:38.560 --> 00:17:41.059
of the supreme court cases having to do

00:17:41.060 --> 00:17:43.089
with discrimination against women.

00:17:43.090 --> 00:17:45.231
And it was under the 14th Amendment.

00:17:45.232 --> 00:17:48.739
And the issue was do we
need another amendment.

00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:50.549
Do we need an equal rights amendment.

00:17:50.550 --> 00:17:55.309
So they wanted me to
research the cases thus far.

00:17:55.310 --> 00:17:56.859
And it was a real eye opener.

00:17:56.860 --> 00:18:00.646
I was very surprised to learn
that women really were not

00:18:00.647 --> 00:18:05.139
equal legally in this country
under the constitution.

00:18:05.140 --> 00:18:10.140
- It really was the forerunner
of bringing together

00:18:10.770 --> 00:18:15.229
women from very diverse kind of groups

00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:18.819
who discovered that they had
the same kind of problems.

00:18:18.820 --> 00:18:20.349
- [Narrator] After two years of studying,

00:18:20.350 --> 00:18:22.609
the commission issued its report entitled,

00:18:22.610 --> 00:18:25.889
American Women,
in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt

00:18:25.890 --> 00:18:28.099
who died as they were
completing their work,

00:18:28.100 --> 00:18:29.979
the commissioners chose her birthday

00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:32.999
in October, 1963 to present their results

00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.799
to President Kennedy.

00:18:34.800 --> 00:18:37.489
In the months that
followed, individual states

00:18:37.490 --> 00:18:40.269
created groups to study women's lives.

00:18:40.270 --> 00:18:42.919
At the University of
Wisconsin, Professor Kathryn

00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:46.339
Clarenbach called a
conference in February, 1964

00:18:46.340 --> 00:18:48.249
to launch that state's commission.

00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:51.689
- And I'll never forget
watching Kathryn Clarenbach

00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:53.829
talking about the real conditions

00:18:53.830 --> 00:18:55.483
that women in our society.

00:18:56.540 --> 00:19:01.469
It was opening up the
floodgates of emotions

00:19:01.470 --> 00:19:05.199
that I had accumulated over
all those previous years

00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:08.829
of feeling that I was somehow a stranger

00:19:08.830 --> 00:19:10.719
in this world.

00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:14.430
I can hear her voice even today saying

00:19:14.431 --> 00:19:19.419
the Chinese bind the feet of their women

00:19:19.420 --> 00:19:22.573
and we bind the minds of our women.

00:19:23.520 --> 00:19:28.049
It was so, it made such an impact on me

00:19:28.050 --> 00:19:32.519
that the tears just began
to stream down my face.

00:19:32.520 --> 00:19:37.520
From that time on, I became a feminist.

00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:40.369
I went home and looked
it up in the dictionary

00:19:40.370 --> 00:19:43.959
because I realized that I
now had a different view

00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.269
and I think she must have used the term

00:19:46.270 --> 00:19:50.399
in her speech,
that means that you are a believer

00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:54.119
in the equality of women at all levels,

00:19:54.120 --> 00:19:57.779
educational, economically, philosophically.

00:19:57.780 --> 00:20:00.769
And I thought, yes, that is me.

00:20:00.770 --> 00:20:02.053
I do believe in that.

00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:06.619
- [Narrator] Across the
nation, women were rethinking

00:20:06.620 --> 00:20:08.433
their beliefs as Gene Boyer did.

00:20:09.270 --> 00:20:12.009
Many had begun to question
the cultural pressures

00:20:12.010 --> 00:20:14.993
that channeled women into
roles as wives and mothers.

00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:18.679
Betty Friedan's book,
The Feminine Mystique,

00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.499
gave a name to the frustrations
they were experiencing.

00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:23.739
- I get a call in the middle of the night

00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:26.399
and a woman in Pittsburgh is
saying, I put my kids

00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:27.679
in their pajamas in the station wagon

00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:29.229
and I've gone all over the city looking

00:20:29.230 --> 00:20:32.966
for a copy of your,
of this book I've heard about.

00:20:32.967 --> 00:20:35.209
And I know it's what I
need, it's what I need

00:20:35.210 --> 00:20:36.669
and where can I get it.

00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:40.549
And it was as if there
were millions of women

00:20:40.550 --> 00:20:42.429
and each one thought she was a freak.

00:20:42.430 --> 00:20:45.669
She was alone if she
wasn't having an orgasm

00:20:45.670 --> 00:20:47.693
waxing the kitchen floor.

00:20:48.672 --> 00:20:51.792
- [Man] Hey Judy,
how about a couple of eggs this morning?

00:20:51.793 --> 00:20:55.949
- Okay, dear,
oh but get a move on or you'll be late.

00:20:55.950 --> 00:20:59.199
- I mean, no matter how much
she wanted that husband,

00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:01.149
those children, the suburban dream house

00:21:01.150 --> 00:21:03.699
that was supposed to be the
end of every woman's life then,

00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:06.829
that sometimes, even peanut
butter sandwiches with the kids

00:21:06.830 --> 00:21:09.789
in this suburban sexual ghetto were between

00:21:09.790 --> 00:21:11.999
the hours of nine and five, nothing stood

00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.243
over three feet tall,
and she said, is this all.

00:21:18.270 --> 00:21:21.859
- When Don was elected
to congress and we moved

00:21:21.860 --> 00:21:26.839
to Washington,
I was devastated after the move.

00:21:26.840 --> 00:21:30.569
I had had a real career in Minnesota.

00:21:30.570 --> 00:21:32.719
Everybody thought I should be delighted

00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.159
to be sitting in the suburbs
with six little kids.

00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:37.329
I was not delighted.

00:21:37.330 --> 00:21:40.655
I hated it, even got to the point of being

00:21:40.656 --> 00:21:43.769
fairly seriously depressed.

00:21:43.770 --> 00:21:45.959
And a friend gave me Betty Friedan's,

00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:50.949
The Feminine Mystique,
and that sort of did it.

00:21:50.950 --> 00:21:53.039
- I read this book and
I thought she's missed

00:21:53.040 --> 00:21:54.609
the whole point.

00:21:54.610 --> 00:21:56.909
I was just very resentful because I felt

00:21:56.910 --> 00:21:59.559
she was denigrating the great work

00:21:59.560 --> 00:22:02.289
that I was doing and that others were doing

00:22:02.290 --> 00:22:03.809
in a variety of things.

00:22:03.810 --> 00:22:07.579
And the fact that this
was not only something we

00:22:07.580 --> 00:22:09.859
enjoyed doing, we were doing the real work

00:22:09.860 --> 00:22:11.269
for the common wheel.

00:22:11.270 --> 00:22:13.789
On the other hand, there was a little seed

00:22:13.790 --> 00:22:14.790
that she planted.

00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:17.879
- [Narrator] In 1964, women lobbied for

00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:20.843
and won legislation to advance their cause.

00:22:22.386 --> 00:22:24.429
- [Radio Announcer] Congress
passes the most sweeping

00:22:24.430 --> 00:22:27.729
civil rights bill ever to
be written into the law.

00:22:27.730 --> 00:22:31.559
- This Civil Rights Act is
a challenge to all of us

00:22:31.560 --> 00:22:34.590
to go to work in our
communities and our states,

00:22:34.591 --> 00:22:38.607
in our homes and in our hearts to eliminate

00:22:38.608 --> 00:22:43.608
the last vestiges of injustice
in our beloved country.

00:22:44.643 --> 00:22:46.334
(applause)

00:22:46.335 --> 00:22:47.659
- [Narrator] Title seven
of the Civil Rights Act

00:22:47.660 --> 00:22:49.749
prohibited discrimination in employment

00:22:49.750 --> 00:22:52.419
on the basis of sex as well as race

00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:55.369
and established the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission,

00:22:55.370 --> 00:22:58.513
the EEOC, to enforce the new law.

00:23:00.100 --> 00:23:03.929
- Women were talking about the
Equal Opportunity Commission.

00:23:03.930 --> 00:23:07.769
That made me think maybe
that's the vehicle I need

00:23:07.770 --> 00:23:10.009
to get out of the cushion line.

00:23:10.010 --> 00:23:13.569
So I went back to the
plant and first thing I did

00:23:13.570 --> 00:23:15.069
was sign a grievance.

00:23:15.070 --> 00:23:19.149
I called my committee
man and I said I wanna

00:23:19.150 --> 00:23:20.010
file a grievance.

00:23:20.011 --> 00:23:21.810
I wanna get out of the cushion line.

00:23:22.870 --> 00:23:26.349
Immediately I was called
in, the whole entire

00:23:26.350 --> 00:23:29.849
executive board,
I sat there with all these people,

00:23:29.850 --> 00:23:31.399
people from Detroit.

00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:34.341
They were not happy with
me, let me tell you.

00:23:34.342 --> 00:23:36.619
I can remember one man saying to me,

00:23:36.620 --> 00:23:38.439
young woman do you know what your doing?

00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:39.879
Do you realize?

00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:41.963
I said you bet your life I do.

00:23:43.850 --> 00:23:46.369
He said look at the books that
we're gonna have to change.

00:23:46.370 --> 00:23:47.433
And I said tough.

00:23:48.710 --> 00:23:52.029
- As we were passing those
laws, even the legislators

00:23:52.030 --> 00:23:54.389
would say to us,
well you know you can change the law

00:23:54.390 --> 00:23:56.549
but you can't change attitudes.

00:23:56.550 --> 00:23:58.529
Of course they were right
but we would say to them,

00:23:58.530 --> 00:23:59.649
you change the laws.

00:23:59.650 --> 00:24:01.832
Let us worry about the attitudes.

00:24:01.833 --> 00:24:04.169
We'll continue to work on that.

00:24:04.170 --> 00:24:06.139
- [Narrator] Doris Thom
was assigned to a job

00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:10.059
in the pits putting weather
stripping on car doors.

00:24:10.060 --> 00:24:12.029
- People would come from all over the plant

00:24:12.030 --> 00:24:14.311
and point and say, look
at, there's a woman working

00:24:14.312 --> 00:24:16.209
down there.

00:24:16.210 --> 00:24:19.660
They'd look like you were an
animal in the zoo of course.

00:24:19.661 --> 00:24:22.096
At first I got kind of a kick out of it.

00:24:22.097 --> 00:24:24.969
And then it kinda irked me a little bit.

00:24:24.970 --> 00:24:29.149
But that didn't bother
me as much as the fact

00:24:29.150 --> 00:24:31.676
that nobody would talk to me.

00:24:31.677 --> 00:24:32.961
And I thought how am I gonna do this now.

00:24:32.962 --> 00:24:35.143
They aren't speaking to me.

00:24:36.630 --> 00:24:38.229
So I brought in two cakes.

00:24:38.230 --> 00:24:41.349
I brought in a chocolate
cake and a white cake.

00:24:41.350 --> 00:24:44.079
And I brought in napkins.

00:24:44.080 --> 00:24:47.279
I brought in little paper plates and forks.

00:24:47.280 --> 00:24:50.829
Then gradually one by one they came down.

00:24:50.830 --> 00:24:52.979
They came down and had a piece of cake.

00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:55.539
You know it's a little hard
not to say to somebody,

00:24:55.540 --> 00:24:58.719
well happy birthday if
they're eating your cake.

00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:00.289
And that did it.

00:25:00.290 --> 00:25:01.477
And that broke the ice.

00:25:02.790 --> 00:25:04.809
- [Narrator] Individual
breakthroughs like Thom's

00:25:04.810 --> 00:25:06.749
were few and far between.

00:25:06.750 --> 00:25:09.219
Women were flooding the
Equal Employment Opportunity

00:25:09.220 --> 00:25:12.109
Commission with grievances,
especially concerning

00:25:12.110 --> 00:25:14.659
the segregation of job listings.

00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:18.029
- The commission was
failing to issue regulations

00:25:18.030 --> 00:25:21.519
that would make newspapers
stop advertising jobs

00:25:21.520 --> 00:25:23.859
under help wanted male
and help wanted female.

00:25:23.860 --> 00:25:26.019
If you were a woman you had
to look under those jobs

00:25:26.020 --> 00:25:29.609
and those were mainly clerking in
stores, secretaries,

00:25:29.610 --> 00:25:30.659
this sort of thing.

00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:32.619
If you were an engineer,
you would be looking

00:25:32.620 --> 00:25:35.579
under the men, help wanted
men, and chances are

00:25:35.580 --> 00:25:37.429
they weren't interested in a woman.

00:25:37.430 --> 00:25:39.883
And EEOC was doing nothing about that.

00:25:40.890 --> 00:25:43.369
- I would take off and go to the local,

00:25:43.370 --> 00:25:46.559
the office of the local
newspaper and talk to them

00:25:46.560 --> 00:25:48.549
about this policy.

00:25:48.550 --> 00:25:52.869
In Sheboygan the editor
literally grabbed me

00:25:52.870 --> 00:25:55.389
by the scruff of the neck and tossed me

00:25:55.390 --> 00:25:57.659
out of his office,
'cause he thought I guess

00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:01.259
I was just too uppity
a female to deal with.

00:26:01.260 --> 00:26:04.259
He was totally affronted by this suggestion

00:26:04.260 --> 00:26:07.539
that he should change his policies.

00:26:07.540 --> 00:26:10.119
- [Narrator] Tired of lobbying
and conducting studies

00:26:10.120 --> 00:26:12.439
only to have their grievances ignored,

00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:14.269
representatives of the state commissions

00:26:14.270 --> 00:26:17.469
on the status of women
gathered in Washington, DC

00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:21.063
in June of 1966 to talk strategy.

00:26:22.430 --> 00:26:24.979
- I remember sitting
at the end of the table

00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:29.949
and in walked Betty
Friedan, and in her usual

00:26:29.950 --> 00:26:34.839
impatient style,
kept pushing for us to create

00:26:34.840 --> 00:26:38.779
a resolution to take to the
floor of the conference.

00:26:38.780 --> 00:26:43.780
One of them was to call
on the EEOC to actually

00:26:44.280 --> 00:26:47.269
implement Title seven
of the Civil Rights Act

00:26:47.270 --> 00:26:51.969
which had never been
applied seriously to women.

00:26:51.970 --> 00:26:55.879
And that was when Kay
Clarenbach got called into it.

00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:58.549
Off she went to try to get this to happen.

00:26:58.550 --> 00:27:02.299
Word came back, much to her
surprise, they were not

00:27:02.300 --> 00:27:06.109
going to permit us to
introduce these resolutions

00:27:06.110 --> 00:27:07.409
on the floor of the conference.

00:27:07.410 --> 00:27:08.889
And I think the reason that was given

00:27:08.890 --> 00:27:12.659
was that this was a conference
sponsored by government

00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:15.239
and at least one of our
resolutions was critical

00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:16.073
of government.

00:27:16.074 --> 00:27:20.349
We were saying government
do your job and implement

00:27:20.350 --> 00:27:22.153
this law that's been passed.

00:27:23.170 --> 00:27:26.279
So we were denied the
opportunity to do that.

00:27:26.280 --> 00:27:30.199
Well this made Betty
Friedan absolutely furious.

00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:33.619
And when Betty gets furious,
then it really starts

00:27:33.620 --> 00:27:34.999
the wheels turning.

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:38.609
- By that time there had been
talk among various groups

00:27:38.610 --> 00:27:42.199
about the need to start a women's group.

00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:46.596
And we knew that if we were
gonna build an organization

00:27:46.597 --> 00:27:49.319
it had to be something like the NAACP.

00:27:49.320 --> 00:27:52.599
It had to be a pressure
group from the outside.

00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:57.600
- And so NOW was formed,
the National Organization for Women

00:27:58.270 --> 00:28:01.809
and even the word for is very illuminative

00:28:01.810 --> 00:28:04.669
because it wasn't the
National Organization of Women

00:28:04.670 --> 00:28:07.279
because we wanted both women
and men to be involved.

00:28:07.280 --> 00:28:10.699
And so we discussed every
issue under the sun,

00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:15.700
tried to decide where we
should center our efforts.

00:28:18.130 --> 00:28:21.069
One of the good things about
all those different women

00:28:21.070 --> 00:28:24.203
was they brought such desperate experience.

00:28:25.443 --> 00:28:28.299
- [Narrator] NOW was
founded in October, 1966

00:28:28.300 --> 00:28:32.616
to "take action to bring women
into truly equal partnership

00:28:32.617 --> 00:28:33.929
"with men".

00:28:33.930 --> 00:28:35.789
Betty Friedan was the first president.

00:28:35.790 --> 00:28:38.196
Kathryn Clarenbach,
first Chair of the Board.

00:28:38.197 --> 00:28:40.459
The United Autoworkers in Detroit,

00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:43.139
and the University of
Wisconsin provided resources

00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:45.599
and support for the new organization.

00:28:45.600 --> 00:28:48.169
Midwestern women from
educational, religious,

00:28:48.170 --> 00:28:50.549
political and labor groups were a majority

00:28:50.550 --> 00:28:53.319
of NOW's initial members.

00:28:53.320 --> 00:28:58.320
Sister Austin Doherty,
Gene Boyer, Dorothy Haener,

00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:04.440
Doris Thom, Addie Wyatt, and Mary Eastwood

00:29:04.820 --> 00:29:09.419
were all founding members and
help set NOW's priorities.

00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:13.219
- We decided to picket the EEOC for failing

00:29:13.220 --> 00:29:16.749
to require employers to
publish their want ads

00:29:16.750 --> 00:29:18.323
in a non discriminatory manner.

00:29:19.610 --> 00:29:23.499
And so we made a lot of
picket signs in my apartment

00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:26.049
and we wanted press of
course, but at the same time

00:29:26.050 --> 00:29:27.859
we were scared,
those of us who were working

00:29:27.860 --> 00:29:28.760
in the government.

00:29:28.761 --> 00:29:31.919
We picketed during our lunch
hour, and it was my luck

00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:33.799
to have my picture in the Washington Post

00:29:33.800 --> 00:29:36.779
the next morning carrying a picket sign.

00:29:36.780 --> 00:29:39.899
My boss indicated to me that
was not a very good idea

00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:41.379
when you're working for
the government because they

00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:43.649
could, somebody could spot me and realize

00:29:43.650 --> 00:29:45.600
that I work for the Justice Department.

00:29:46.568 --> 00:29:49.609
- [Narrator] NOW began pushing
for full legal equality

00:29:49.610 --> 00:29:51.679
in the form of an equal rights amendment

00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:53.803
to the constitution, the ERA.

00:29:56.370 --> 00:29:58.209
- I believed that the
Equal Rights Amendment

00:29:58.210 --> 00:30:03.210
was a minimum commitment
to the equality of women.

00:30:03.330 --> 00:30:06.279
The constitution is our basic document

00:30:06.280 --> 00:30:09.060
and it was extremely
important that it reflect

00:30:10.190 --> 00:30:11.649
what our fundamental rights are.

00:30:11.650 --> 00:30:14.268
And I thought that to be feminist, it means

00:30:14.269 --> 00:30:16.489
that you believe that women should be equal

00:30:16.490 --> 00:30:17.923
with men under the law.

00:30:20.310 --> 00:30:22.779
- One of the interesting
board meetings that I remember

00:30:22.780 --> 00:30:25.309
of the National Organization for Women

00:30:25.310 --> 00:30:29.479
was a meeting we held in
Chicago in the mid '60s.

00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:32.829
And one of the women,
a lawyer who was very influential

00:30:32.830 --> 00:30:35.629
on the board, she was there,
and she was not feeling well.

00:30:35.630 --> 00:30:37.709
And so we knew that we
should go out and get

00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:39.239
some medication for her.

00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:40.073
But it was late at night.

00:30:40.074 --> 00:30:42.599
I think it was maybe
perhaps almost midnight.

00:30:42.600 --> 00:30:45.519
Sisters Austin Doherty
and Joelle Reed decided

00:30:45.520 --> 00:30:48.529
to walk several blocks
to the nearest pharmacy.

00:30:48.530 --> 00:30:50.779
- And it was interesting to
me that all the other women

00:30:50.780 --> 00:30:54.489
on the board recognized that even though

00:30:54.490 --> 00:30:56.579
they didn't want to impose on us,

00:30:56.580 --> 00:30:59.609
they knew that that would
be the best thing to do

00:30:59.610 --> 00:31:03.779
because we were in habit
as Roman Catholic sisters

00:31:03.780 --> 00:31:07.939
and we would be safer on
the streets than other women

00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:08.773
might be.

00:31:08.774 --> 00:31:11.164
As we reflected on it,
it taught us a great deal

00:31:11.165 --> 00:31:14.139
about some of the issues that we all had

00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:16.339
to be a little bit more concerned about

00:31:16.340 --> 00:31:19.673
and why was it that certain women might be

00:31:19.674 --> 00:31:23.283
able to be secure on streets
and other women were not.

00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:31.069
- [Narrator] Meanwhile,
a younger generation of activists

00:31:31.070 --> 00:31:33.639
with experience in civil rights, anti war

00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:36.629
and radical student groups,
began mounting their own

00:31:36.630 --> 00:31:39.182
protests against sex discrimination.

00:31:39.183 --> 00:31:42.094
- Yes siree boys, step right up.

00:31:42.095 --> 00:31:44.688
How much am I offered for this number one

00:31:44.689 --> 00:31:48.065
piece of prime American property.

00:31:48.066 --> 00:31:50.169
- [Narrator] Their
demonstrations, like those

00:31:50.170 --> 00:31:53.367
at the 1968 Miss America
Pageant, raised new issues

00:31:53.368 --> 00:31:56.839
and promoted a social
revolution they called

00:31:56.840 --> 00:31:58.063
women's liberation.

00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:03.713
♪ We're gonna ask all our sisters here ♪

00:32:03.714 --> 00:32:06.534
♪ To come and join the fight. ♪

00:32:06.535 --> 00:32:09.116
♪ To come and join the fight ♪

00:32:09.117 --> 00:32:11.515
♪ To come and join the fight. ♪

00:32:11.516 --> 00:32:15.045
♪ We're gonna ask all our sisters here ♪

00:32:15.046 --> 00:32:18.796
♪ To come and join the fight ♪

00:32:21.908 --> 00:32:24.419
- [Narrator] Public protests were designed

00:32:24.420 --> 00:32:26.499
to capture media attention.

00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:28.869
But much more of the
women's liberation movement

00:32:28.870 --> 00:32:31.719
occurred in small
consciousness raising groups

00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:34.139
where women explored the
personal and political

00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:36.453
implications of being female.

00:32:37.351 --> 00:32:38.946
- I think we're oppressed
for a lot of reasons.

00:32:38.947 --> 00:32:41.669
But how do you feel oppressed as a woman?

00:32:41.670 --> 00:32:43.949
Why do you think being
a woman might limit you?

00:32:43.950 --> 00:32:47.579
- And so what was the women's
movement was something

00:32:47.580 --> 00:32:50.809
that came upon me in a
variety of exposures.

00:32:50.810 --> 00:32:52.409
I remember one of the
first things that happened,

00:32:52.410 --> 00:32:54.567
I was on an advisory committee to the YWCA

00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:58.779
and a young woman came up from Chicago

00:32:58.780 --> 00:33:02.999
and this had to be early,
I mean maybe '66 or seven.

00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:05.799
And she had us sit around a circle.

00:33:05.800 --> 00:33:09.053
And we had to go around
and sort of describe

00:33:09.054 --> 00:33:10.929
where we are.

00:33:10.930 --> 00:33:12.737
I didn't even know the phrase where we are.

00:33:12.738 --> 00:33:15.919
She really meant where
we are in our development

00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:17.129
of our feminist consciousness.

00:33:17.130 --> 00:33:19.279
I now understand that's what she meant.

00:33:19.280 --> 00:33:23.019
But it was really quite
amazing because we didn't

00:33:23.020 --> 00:33:25.089
quite know what we were doing, but we knew

00:33:25.090 --> 00:33:27.560
we were doing something different.

00:33:27.561 --> 00:33:31.839
And it was because we
were listening to this

00:33:31.840 --> 00:33:34.939
young woman who had already,
she was already some place.

00:33:34.940 --> 00:33:36.826
She knew where she was.

00:33:36.827 --> 00:33:38.969
- It's that you don't
have any opportunities.

00:33:38.970 --> 00:33:40.569
You don't have options open to you.

00:33:40.570 --> 00:33:43.604
You have a lot of options,
you can be somebody's wife.

00:33:43.605 --> 00:33:44.438
You can be somebody's mother.

00:33:44.439 --> 00:33:45.769
You can be somebody's lover.

00:33:45.770 --> 00:33:48.010
You can be somebody's anything,
but you can be somebody.

00:33:48.145 --> 00:33:52.339
- There was just beginning
to be information

00:33:52.340 --> 00:33:56.004
in the newspaper about the
young women's youth groups.

00:33:56.005 --> 00:34:01.005
I was talking to other wives
about living in Washington.

00:34:03.080 --> 00:34:07.040
All these discussions
and this reading led to

00:34:07.041 --> 00:34:12.041
calling sort of group
together with the brown bag.

00:34:13.090 --> 00:34:16.799
We decided nobody was gonna make a
lunch, a fancy lunch.

00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:19.137
So we were all gonna bring brown bags.

00:34:19.138 --> 00:34:23.428
And we also decided we
were not going to go around

00:34:23.429 --> 00:34:27.178
and introduce ourselves
as related to any man.

00:34:27.179 --> 00:34:29.948
And one woman said this is the first time

00:34:29.949 --> 00:34:33.893
in 20 years that anybody
has asked me who I am.

00:34:34.835 --> 00:34:37.585
(crowd chanting)

00:34:39.380 --> 00:34:42.988
- [Narrator] As the 1970s
began, women of all generations

00:34:42.989 --> 00:34:46.238
and political persuasions
joined forces to fight

00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:48.149
the sexism that pervaded American

00:34:48.150 --> 00:34:50.137
attitudes and institutions.

00:34:50.138 --> 00:34:51.979
- [Woman] That's real work that women do.

00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:54.589
- [Narrator] When NOW
called a nationwide Strike

00:34:54.590 --> 00:34:59.138
for Equality on August 26,
1970, the 50th anniversary

00:34:59.139 --> 00:35:02.993
of women's right to vote,
feminists took to the streets.

00:35:05.311 --> 00:35:09.639
- And I did a one-woman
demonstration in Beaver Dam,

00:35:09.640 --> 00:35:13.059
a town of 14,000 very conservative souls

00:35:13.060 --> 00:35:16.159
and I stood out there in
front of my furniture store

00:35:16.160 --> 00:35:19.389
with my buttons and my literature and I did

00:35:19.390 --> 00:35:21.599
all the things that they
were doing in New York

00:35:21.600 --> 00:35:24.159
except march up and down the street.

00:35:24.160 --> 00:35:25.909
And the manager of the
Penny's store happened

00:35:25.910 --> 00:35:28.969
to walk by and gave me the old line about

00:35:28.970 --> 00:35:31.029
a woman's place was in the home.

00:35:31.030 --> 00:35:33.719
And I simply said to
him, well when you return

00:35:33.720 --> 00:35:36.089
to your store,
I'd like you to count the number

00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:38.929
of women and let me know how many you have

00:35:38.930 --> 00:35:42.819
that are outside of the,
working outside of the home today

00:35:42.820 --> 00:35:46.509
and how important it is to
them to have that income.

00:35:46.510 --> 00:35:48.459
- [Narrator] Across the
nation in places like

00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:52.169
Beaver Dam and Madison,
Wisconsin, Chicago and New York,

00:35:52.170 --> 00:35:54.849
the slogan for the day was don't iron while

00:35:54.850 --> 00:35:56.193
the strike is hot.

00:35:57.128 --> 00:35:59.979
- And another slogan that
women have for this strike,

00:35:59.980 --> 00:36:02.259
which says sisterhood is powerful.

00:36:02.260 --> 00:36:05.738
And that's what we're here
reminding ourselves today.

00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:07.771
♪ I am woman hear me roar ♪

00:36:07.772 --> 00:36:10.781
♪ In numbers too big to ignore ♪

00:36:10.782 --> 00:36:15.782
♪ And I know too much
to go back and pretend ♪

00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:18.715
- [Narrator] Feminism
was now a mass movement.

00:36:18.716 --> 00:36:21.099
- [Crowd] Equal pay for equal work.

00:36:21.100 --> 00:36:22.785
When do we want it, now.

00:36:22.786 --> 00:36:27.786
♪ No one's every gonna
keep me down again. ♪

00:36:27.794 --> 00:36:29.729
- [Narrator] Women who had
been activists for decades

00:36:29.730 --> 00:36:31.759
returned to their homes and their work

00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:33.732
with new energy and vision.

00:36:33.733 --> 00:36:38.733
♪ Yes I pay the price but
look how much I gained ♪

00:36:39.125 --> 00:36:41.438
♪ If I have to ♪

00:36:41.439 --> 00:36:44.119
♪ I can do anything ♪

00:36:44.120 --> 00:36:46.319
- [Narrator] Working in her
husband's congressional office,

00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:49.149
Arvonne Fraser was at
the center of a new push

00:36:49.150 --> 00:36:51.029
for legislative change.

00:36:51.030 --> 00:36:55.645
- I began to meet other
women on Capitol Hill

00:36:55.646 --> 00:37:00.646
who were interested in
the, let's say incipient

00:37:01.570 --> 00:37:04.199
in a way feminist movement.

00:37:04.200 --> 00:37:07.959
We were inside the
structure, but we also had

00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:10.747
all kinds of elected officials who knew

00:37:10.748 --> 00:37:15.748
since this movement and were responsive.

00:37:17.080 --> 00:37:21.385
And so we began a kind
of feminist underground

00:37:21.386 --> 00:37:26.386
right there in pretty
much on the house side

00:37:26.500 --> 00:37:28.543
of Capitol Hill.

00:37:29.730 --> 00:37:32.663
- [Narrator] Feminism did not
remain underground for long.

00:37:33.720 --> 00:37:36.609
Public policy activists
scored impressive gains

00:37:36.610 --> 00:37:40.379
in such areas as education and
health, military

00:37:40.380 --> 00:37:43.879
and social security
benefits, financial credit,

00:37:43.880 --> 00:37:45.743
reproduction and employment.

00:37:47.193 --> 00:37:50.129
A key strategy was to use the courts

00:37:50.130 --> 00:37:52.749
to challenge state laws
that placed limitations

00:37:52.750 --> 00:37:55.769
on what women could do in the workplace.

00:37:55.770 --> 00:37:58.329
- I worked with several
other women attorneys

00:37:58.330 --> 00:38:02.059
on several cases challenging
the state protective laws

00:38:02.060 --> 00:38:03.599
under Title seven.

00:38:03.600 --> 00:38:05.359
- [Narrator] One case
was against the Colgate

00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:07.799
Palmolive Company which excluded women

00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:12.269
from any job that required
lifting 35 pounds or more.

00:38:12.270 --> 00:38:17.069
- Well the court record in
the trial of that case itself

00:38:17.070 --> 00:38:19.909
weighed 38.6 pounds, and we had to carry it

00:38:19.910 --> 00:38:22.439
up numerous steps to the post office

00:38:22.440 --> 00:38:23.890
to send it back to the court.

00:38:25.090 --> 00:38:27.569
- [Narrator] The courts
ruled that Colgate Palmolive

00:38:27.570 --> 00:38:30.559
and other employers that
restricted jobs by sex

00:38:30.560 --> 00:38:33.109
were violating federal law.

00:38:33.110 --> 00:38:36.249
As barriers to equal employment
fell, women tackled

00:38:36.250 --> 00:38:37.469
other issues.

00:38:37.470 --> 00:38:40.999
In 1972 congress passed
the Equal Rights Amendment

00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:44.269
and sent it to the states for ratification.

00:38:44.270 --> 00:38:47.499
The following year,
feminist attorneys won a landmark

00:38:47.500 --> 00:38:50.799
supreme court case legalizing abortion.

00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:52.892
- You felt like you were part of a movement

00:38:52.893 --> 00:38:55.833
that was going to change
things for all time for women.

00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:01.019
- You were feeling it
everyplace, and I think the most

00:39:01.020 --> 00:39:05.119
striking thing to me was
happening with my own mother.

00:39:05.120 --> 00:39:07.979
She had graduated with
a master's in chemistry

00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:10.219
from the University of
Washington and couldn't

00:39:10.220 --> 00:39:11.999
get a job in a laboratory.

00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.469
I never heard her talk
about that until it became

00:39:15.470 --> 00:39:18.519
possible for her to talk about it.

00:39:18.520 --> 00:39:23.069
To say, this happened to me, and that meant

00:39:23.070 --> 00:39:25.239
that she was able to be
supportive of my running

00:39:25.240 --> 00:39:28.369
for the legislature in a way
that my father actually wasn't.

00:39:28.370 --> 00:39:30.069
He was sort of what about the children

00:39:30.070 --> 00:39:32.879
and my mother said, that's right for you.

00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:35.129
That's a wonderful thing for you to
do, Mary Lou.

00:39:35.130 --> 00:39:39.739
Women became supportive of their daughters

00:39:39.740 --> 00:39:41.809
when they were fearful
before that their daughters,

00:39:41.810 --> 00:39:44.079
if they tried it,
they wouldn't be successful.

00:39:44.080 --> 00:39:48.063
But she thought, ah,
this time she may be successful.

00:39:49.610 --> 00:39:52.799
- [Narrator] At age 46,
Mary Lou Munts entered law school

00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:56.279
and was later elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly,

00:39:56.280 --> 00:39:58.489
one of only seven women in the assembly,

00:39:58.490 --> 00:40:00.949
she paid particular
attention to the concerns

00:40:00.950 --> 00:40:02.889
feminists were raising.

00:40:02.890 --> 00:40:05.209
- When I go out and talk to
traditional women's groups,

00:40:05.210 --> 00:40:08.559
like an AAUW chapter or junior league

00:40:08.560 --> 00:40:11.759
or mostly women not
employed outside the home,

00:40:11.760 --> 00:40:13.509
I would say you know the problem is

00:40:13.510 --> 00:40:15.679
that you keep working for nothing.

00:40:15.680 --> 00:40:18.742
You do all these homemaker
tasks and they're not

00:40:18.743 --> 00:40:22.529
accounted in the GNP and
they're not appreciated,

00:40:22.530 --> 00:40:24.649
not because they don't
have value but because

00:40:24.650 --> 00:40:26.399
you don't get paid for them.

00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:29.209
And so what you really ought
to do is you should stop

00:40:29.210 --> 00:40:32.519
doing your own housework, go next door,

00:40:32.520 --> 00:40:34.919
and do your neighbor's housework.

00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:37.549
And she will you pay you
and put money in your

00:40:37.550 --> 00:40:40.939
social security account
so that when you retire

00:40:40.940 --> 00:40:43.429
you will have claim to own social security

00:40:43.430 --> 00:40:45.949
and then she should come
and work in your house

00:40:45.950 --> 00:40:49.039
and you pay her and pay her social security

00:40:49.040 --> 00:40:51.139
and give her the benefits of employment.

00:40:51.140 --> 00:40:55.099
And then we will have a
system in which homemaking

00:40:55.100 --> 00:40:58.140
is appreciated and valued and recognized

00:40:58.141 --> 00:41:02.093
for what it contributes to
the economy of our society.

00:41:03.410 --> 00:41:05.269
- [Narrator] Mary Lou
Munts sponsored legislation

00:41:05.270 --> 00:41:07.879
to reform Wisconsin's property laws.

00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:11.119
The reform would redefine
marriage as an economic

00:41:11.120 --> 00:41:14.949
partnership of equals and
make Wisconsin the first state

00:41:14.950 --> 00:41:17.849
to change from a separate
property to a marital

00:41:17.850 --> 00:41:19.279
property system.

00:41:19.280 --> 00:41:21.709
- Bankers, accountants, real estate people,

00:41:21.710 --> 00:41:25.700
all of the groups that
lobby the legislature

00:41:25.701 --> 00:41:29.449
when they understood what this bill meant,

00:41:29.450 --> 00:41:31.149
were just shocked.

00:41:31.150 --> 00:41:32.529
Real hostility.

00:41:32.530 --> 00:41:35.430
It made feminists out of women who I think

00:41:36.940 --> 00:41:39.492
just thought they were doing a good League

00:41:39.493 --> 00:41:40.326
of Women Voter's bill.

00:41:40.327 --> 00:41:41.809
They didn't know they'd
gotten into something

00:41:41.810 --> 00:41:43.699
that was as fundamental I think in terms

00:41:43.700 --> 00:41:47.559
of ingrained attitudes toward women.

00:41:47.560 --> 00:41:49.859
- [Narrator] After debating
the bill for three sessions,

00:41:49.860 --> 00:41:52.569
the state assembly passed
the Marital Property

00:41:52.570 --> 00:41:53.929
Reform Act.

00:41:53.930 --> 00:41:57.239
- What it means is that
this homemaking role

00:41:57.240 --> 00:42:02.240
became equally valuable and
that's a fundamental change.

00:42:02.627 --> 00:42:06.669
You're not working for pay
and yet you are contributing

00:42:06.670 --> 00:42:07.969
equally to the marriage.

00:42:07.970 --> 00:42:11.009
And what marital property says
is that what you accumulate

00:42:11.010 --> 00:42:14.429
together is equally
shared regardless of role.

00:42:14.430 --> 00:42:17.773
And that is a really revolutionary concept.

00:42:18.640 --> 00:42:20.869
- [Narrator] Women in
newfound positions of power

00:42:20.870 --> 00:42:22.797
were making fundamental change.

00:42:22.798 --> 00:42:26.573
Many found they paid a personal price.

00:42:26.574 --> 00:42:28.819
- For example, a woman whom I'd known

00:42:28.820 --> 00:42:31.839
for many years,
I was walking down the street one day,

00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:34.099
and she was approaching
me, and all of a sudden

00:42:34.100 --> 00:42:38.207
she stopped dead in her
tracks and crossed the street.

00:42:38.208 --> 00:42:42.169
And I realized she was
not doing that for any

00:42:42.170 --> 00:42:44.609
other reason but to avoid me.

00:42:44.610 --> 00:42:46.919
And so I called her up on the telephone

00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:49.699
and I said is there some problem?

00:42:49.700 --> 00:42:51.989
Have I done something to offend you?

00:42:51.990 --> 00:42:53.089
She said, oh no.

00:42:53.090 --> 00:42:55.749
And she practically was
whispering into the phone.

00:42:55.750 --> 00:42:58.819
She said my husband says I had better not

00:42:58.820 --> 00:43:02.289
talk to that Gene Boyer
anymore 'cause she has

00:43:02.290 --> 00:43:04.569
some mighty weird ideas.

00:43:04.570 --> 00:43:07.343
And I don't want her
filling your head with them.

00:43:08.720 --> 00:43:10.839
- [Narrator] As feminists
pushed for new rights,

00:43:10.840 --> 00:43:13.169
they learned that sisterhood was powerful

00:43:13.170 --> 00:43:14.919
but it was not simple.

00:43:14.920 --> 00:43:18.959
Inequalities among women
often created conflict.

00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:21.039
- Two of my big concerns have always been

00:43:21.040 --> 00:43:24.783
the question of minimum wage and equal pay.

00:43:24.784 --> 00:43:28.349
'Cause on minimum wage,
2/3 of the working people

00:43:28.350 --> 00:43:31.979
in this country affected
by that law are women.

00:43:31.980 --> 00:43:35.218
And a good share of them
are women who really

00:43:35.219 --> 00:43:39.055
have to work, have no choice about it.

00:43:39.056 --> 00:43:43.029
So that has been one of my primary issues.

00:43:43.030 --> 00:43:45.096
And it really has not been a big issue

00:43:45.097 --> 00:43:46.623
of the women's movement.

00:43:47.630 --> 00:43:51.160
(crowd chanting)

00:43:51.161 --> 00:43:54.719
- There were things like
the Equal Rights Amendment.

00:43:54.720 --> 00:43:57.239
It was hard selling that to some women.

00:43:57.240 --> 00:44:00.399
You had some of them who
believed in abortion.

00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:04.389
You had some of them
who believed in racism.

00:44:04.390 --> 00:44:05.849
They really were racists.

00:44:05.850 --> 00:44:09.509
They did not wanna see black
and white women together.

00:44:09.510 --> 00:44:12.109
There were some who did not believe

00:44:12.110 --> 00:44:16.903
in women of all economic
classes sharing together.

00:44:18.370 --> 00:44:20.689
I can recall in one of our meetings,

00:44:20.690 --> 00:44:23.129
some of the women were
championing the cause

00:44:23.130 --> 00:44:25.499
of poor women on welfare.

00:44:25.500 --> 00:44:28.649
And so they took off to
say I think we should have

00:44:28.650 --> 00:44:32.739
invited women on welfare
to attend this meeting.

00:44:32.740 --> 00:44:34.799
And everybody looked around.

00:44:34.800 --> 00:44:36.569
Some looked around with guilt.

00:44:36.570 --> 00:44:39.159
And it's a good idea but
nobody thought of it.

00:44:39.160 --> 00:44:42.169
We should have invited
women who are on welfare.

00:44:42.170 --> 00:44:44.829
And a sister stood up,
she said, what do you mean

00:44:44.830 --> 00:44:47.609
women on welfare are not here.

00:44:47.610 --> 00:44:51.469
She said, what do you
expect them to look like.

00:44:51.470 --> 00:44:52.470
We're here.

00:44:58.020 --> 00:44:59.553
- [Crowd] Join our ranks.

00:44:59.554 --> 00:45:01.261
Every woman join our ranks.

00:45:01.262 --> 00:45:03.689
Every woman join our ranks.

00:45:03.690 --> 00:45:05.569
- I think the conflict and controversy

00:45:05.570 --> 00:45:08.959
within the women's movement
was on the whole very healthy.

00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:12.819
The split offs on these
various issues caused a lot

00:45:12.820 --> 00:45:16.209
more women to become involved
in the different organizations

00:45:16.210 --> 00:45:19.369
and it also,
some of the more controversial ideas,

00:45:19.370 --> 00:45:21.934
some of the more radical
ones caused other women

00:45:21.935 --> 00:45:24.835
who were more conservative
in their approach

00:45:24.836 --> 00:45:29.063
to rethink, and to at least
think about these other issues.

00:45:29.995 --> 00:45:32.729
(drum music)

00:45:32.730 --> 00:45:34.999
- [Narrator] The number of
women committed to feminism

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:36.729
was growing steadily.

00:45:36.730 --> 00:45:38.749
As the United States prepared to celebrate

00:45:38.750 --> 00:45:41.249
its 200th anniversary as a nation,

00:45:41.250 --> 00:45:44.119
movement leaders seized
upon the bicentennial

00:45:44.120 --> 00:45:46.593
as an occasion to widen their impact.

00:45:48.020 --> 00:45:51.219
- It had been well over 10 years since the

00:45:51.220 --> 00:45:54.999
dyanism of the women's
movement had taken off again.

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:57.513
And so we wanted to keep
that momentum going.

00:45:58.630 --> 00:46:01.309
- [Narrator] In 1975,
Bella Abzug, and other

00:46:01.310 --> 00:46:04.129
congresswomen,
called for a national initiative

00:46:04.130 --> 00:46:06.629
to assess the progress women had made

00:46:06.630 --> 00:46:09.389
and to find ways to remove
the remaining obstacles

00:46:09.390 --> 00:46:12.153
to their full participation
in American life.

00:46:13.840 --> 00:46:15.389
- This is a great country.

00:46:15.390 --> 00:46:18.119
We think it's a marvelous democracy.

00:46:18.120 --> 00:46:20.799
It's a great constitution
under which we function.

00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:24.129
Our forefathers did a
great job in drafting it

00:46:24.130 --> 00:46:27.187
except that they forgot
all about our foremothers.

00:46:27.188 --> 00:46:30.019
(drum music)

00:46:30.020 --> 00:46:32.589
- [Narrator] Kathryn Clarenbach
took on the two-year task

00:46:32.590 --> 00:46:35.649
of organizing meetings in
every state and territory

00:46:35.650 --> 00:46:38.119
to select delegates and propose resolutions

00:46:38.120 --> 00:46:41.119
for a plan of action to
be debated at a national

00:46:41.120 --> 00:46:43.233
gathering in Houston, Texas.

00:46:45.160 --> 00:46:48.229
- [Woman] Congress passed
legislation which calls for

00:46:48.230 --> 00:46:52.309
a national women's
conference to bring together

00:46:52.310 --> 00:46:54.079
women from all over the country,

00:46:54.080 --> 00:46:58.379
people of all races,
ethnic backgrounds, religions,

00:46:58.380 --> 00:47:02.149
ages, geographic areas, economic levels

00:47:02.150 --> 00:47:05.669
with funding to make it
possible for low income

00:47:05.670 --> 00:47:07.189
women to attend the meetings.

00:47:07.190 --> 00:47:10.066
- Thank you, thank you very much.

00:47:10.067 --> 00:47:12.259
- You know this is a basic precept

00:47:12.260 --> 00:47:15.029
of a democratic society that no one

00:47:15.030 --> 00:47:17.889
shall be above the law and that no one

00:47:17.890 --> 00:47:20.369
shall be treated differently because

00:47:20.370 --> 00:47:23.763
of extraneous factors,
because of any factor.

00:47:24.910 --> 00:47:27.369
- [Narrator] In all, 20,000 women attended

00:47:27.370 --> 00:47:30.449
the Houston conference in 1977.

00:47:30.450 --> 00:47:33.769
Doherty, Wyatt, Haener,
Fraser, Munts and Boyer

00:47:33.770 --> 00:47:36.599
were there as the torch,
which had been carried across

00:47:36.600 --> 00:47:39.119
the nation arrived to mark the opening

00:47:39.120 --> 00:47:41.024
of the historic event.

00:47:41.025 --> 00:47:43.692
(crowd yelling)

00:47:46.148 --> 00:47:49.315
- We are here to move history forward.

00:47:52.450 --> 00:47:56.603
Despite some gains made
in the past 200 years,

00:47:57.610 --> 00:48:02.610
men made barriers, laws,
social customs and prejudices

00:48:04.400 --> 00:48:09.400
continue to keep a majority of
women in an inferior position

00:48:09.510 --> 00:48:14.289
without full control of
our lives and our bodies.

00:48:14.290 --> 00:48:18.249
- We demand as a human right a full voice

00:48:18.250 --> 00:48:21.979
and role for omen in
determining the destiny

00:48:21.980 --> 00:48:25.169
of our world, our nation, our families

00:48:25.170 --> 00:48:27.614
and our individual lives.

00:48:27.615 --> 00:48:29.865
(applause)

00:48:35.790 --> 00:48:36.889
- The needs of women that were there,

00:48:36.890 --> 00:48:40.449
our own delegation,
the diversity, to be there

00:48:40.450 --> 00:48:43.639
with this kind of group was
just, it was just dynamite.

00:48:43.640 --> 00:48:46.529
It was one of the most moving
experiences of my life.

00:48:46.530 --> 00:48:48.449
- [Narrator] For three
days the delegates debated

00:48:48.450 --> 00:48:52.310
the 26 planks of the
proposed plan of action.

00:48:52.311 --> 00:48:56.645
They voted to promote
federally funded childcare,

00:48:56.646 --> 00:49:00.199
accurate portrayal of women in the media,

00:49:00.200 --> 00:49:02.429
services for older and disabled women,

00:49:02.430 --> 00:49:06.149
and the elimination of violence.

00:49:06.150 --> 00:49:08.619
- So there was a lot of
learning there, meeting

00:49:08.620 --> 00:49:10.349
together and sharing with other women

00:49:10.350 --> 00:49:12.909
who were not on your side but trying

00:49:12.910 --> 00:49:17.559
to get them to understand
how you win support

00:49:17.560 --> 00:49:19.729
and how you lose support.

00:49:19.730 --> 00:49:21.959
- [Narrator] On the second day proceedings

00:49:21.960 --> 00:49:25.129
grew tumultuous as a
caucus of African American,

00:49:25.130 --> 00:49:28.199
Latina, Native American
and Asian American women

00:49:28.200 --> 00:49:30.299
sought to substitute their own plank

00:49:30.300 --> 00:49:32.093
on minority women's issues.

00:49:34.150 --> 00:49:38.779
- The delegates to this
conference are not (mumbles)

00:49:38.780 --> 00:49:41.449
not of a single mind.

00:49:41.450 --> 00:49:45.029
We should not be of a single mind.

00:49:45.030 --> 00:49:47.280
(applause)

00:49:49.715 --> 00:49:54.715
No one person and no sub
group at this conference

00:49:57.220 --> 00:50:00.679
has the right answer.

00:50:00.680 --> 00:50:02.930
(applause)

00:50:04.060 --> 00:50:06.289
- [Narrator] Delegates
celebrated passage of the plank

00:50:06.290 --> 00:50:09.219
as a sign that for the first
time, minority women

00:50:09.220 --> 00:50:11.399
were present in such a critical mass

00:50:11.400 --> 00:50:13.739
that they were able to
define their own needs

00:50:13.740 --> 00:50:15.290
and forge their own coalitions.

00:50:16.585 --> 00:50:20.335
(crowd singing and cheering)

00:50:28.120 --> 00:50:30.631
- We represented millions
and millions and millions

00:50:30.632 --> 00:50:32.159
of other women.

00:50:32.160 --> 00:50:35.089
And so it was thrilling,
and then there were moments

00:50:35.090 --> 00:50:37.589
of frustration and disgust.

00:50:37.590 --> 00:50:40.419
As a matter of fact we
learned how to disagree

00:50:40.420 --> 00:50:42.073
and even fight on the floor.

00:50:43.106 --> 00:50:45.773
(crowd yelling)

00:50:47.680 --> 00:50:48.829
- [Woman] Please be quiet.

00:50:48.830 --> 00:50:52.439
- One of the most divisive
issues at the women's

00:50:52.440 --> 00:50:56.129
conference in 1977 was the question of gay

00:50:56.130 --> 00:50:57.849
and lesbian rights.

00:50:57.850 --> 00:51:00.529
There was a whole section of
women that I came to think

00:51:00.530 --> 00:51:03.869
of as the pursed lips
crowd because they sat

00:51:03.870 --> 00:51:08.870
and it was visually obvious
that they could hardly

00:51:09.710 --> 00:51:12.749
think about this issue.

00:51:12.750 --> 00:51:14.249
- [Narrator] The delegates had to approve

00:51:14.250 --> 00:51:16.515
or reject the plank supporting legislation

00:51:16.516 --> 00:51:20.533
to end discrimination on the
basis of sexual preference.

00:51:22.660 --> 00:51:25.179
- And there was a woman
who had been sitting

00:51:25.180 --> 00:51:27.438
among the pursed lips crowd who I had had

00:51:27.439 --> 00:51:29.919
some dialog with at one point.

00:51:29.920 --> 00:51:34.920
And she was particularly
turned off by this issue.

00:51:36.320 --> 00:51:40.189
But as the proposition came before the body

00:51:40.190 --> 00:51:45.189
and timidly at first,
one hand after another was raised

00:51:45.190 --> 00:51:49.099
in support of this issue being included

00:51:49.100 --> 00:51:53.699
in the plan, I saw her raise her hand.

00:51:53.700 --> 00:51:58.700
And I thought,
this is really a tremendous change

00:51:58.710 --> 00:52:01.839
in the national consciousness.

00:52:01.840 --> 00:52:03.899
- [Narrator] The vote was
a historic endorsement

00:52:03.900 --> 00:52:06.719
of lesbian rights as a feminist issue.

00:52:06.720 --> 00:52:09.039
The plank became part of
the conference report,

00:52:09.040 --> 00:52:11.199
the Spirit of Houston, which was sent

00:52:11.200 --> 00:52:13.539
to the President of the United States.

00:52:13.540 --> 00:52:15.609
Hundreds of women's organizations adopted

00:52:15.610 --> 00:52:19.093
the Houston plan and pledged
to work towards implementation.

00:52:23.293 --> 00:52:24.799
- It was an agenda
setting for women that was

00:52:24.800 --> 00:52:27.239
enormously impressive.

00:52:27.240 --> 00:52:29.859
Sometimes you need to
sort of celebrate where

00:52:29.860 --> 00:52:31.369
you've come and where you're going

00:52:31.370 --> 00:52:33.247
and I think that's what Houston did.

00:52:35.019 --> 00:52:37.769
(crowd cheering)

00:52:41.236 --> 00:52:43.583
- It was a beautiful conference,
and the recommendations

00:52:43.584 --> 00:52:48.059
came out of there were
really good resolutions

00:52:48.060 --> 00:52:49.419
and recommendation.

00:52:49.420 --> 00:52:51.979
They haven't really been implemented yet,

00:52:51.980 --> 00:52:52.980
but they were good.

00:52:53.864 --> 00:52:58.031
(violin music and crowd cheering)

00:53:02.022 --> 00:53:05.329
- It began to be clear
to us that we were headed

00:53:05.330 --> 00:53:08.619
into a whole new period for women.

00:53:08.620 --> 00:53:12.169
There was beginning to
be some serious outspoken

00:53:12.170 --> 00:53:14.469
opposition to the progress that women

00:53:14.470 --> 00:53:16.053
were beginning to make.

00:53:20.658 --> 00:53:23.459
- And that backlash is
in itself an indication

00:53:23.460 --> 00:53:26.249
of our success,
the fact that we really had gotten

00:53:26.250 --> 00:53:28.719
people to understand, we are starting

00:53:28.720 --> 00:53:30.649
to get the institutions to change.

00:53:30.650 --> 00:53:33.112
And because it's happening,
people are afraid

00:53:33.113 --> 00:53:35.959
'cause they were moving into the unknown.

00:53:35.960 --> 00:53:38.229
And what is this unknown?

00:53:38.230 --> 00:53:41.729
This unknown is the egalitarian society

00:53:41.730 --> 00:53:45.993
in which women really carry half the sky.

00:53:47.011 --> 00:53:52.011
♪ We're gonna keep on walking forward ♪

00:53:52.571 --> 00:53:57.571
♪ Keep on walking forward ♪

00:53:57.641 --> 00:54:02.641
♪ Keep on walking forward ♪

00:54:02.727 --> 00:54:07.727
♪ Never turning back ♪

00:54:07.966 --> 00:54:11.049
♪ Never turning back ♪

00:54:12.612 --> 00:54:13.881
- [Narrator] The
Midwestern women who helped

00:54:13.882 --> 00:54:16.487
pave the way to Houston,
continued step by step

00:54:16.488 --> 00:54:18.905
to advance women's interests.

00:54:20.724 --> 00:54:23.598
Gene Boyer founded a coalition
to expand opportunities

00:54:23.599 --> 00:54:26.343
for Wisconsin business women.

00:54:26.344 --> 00:54:28.387
As Dean of Alberno College in Milwaukee,

00:54:28.388 --> 00:54:31.479
Sister Austin Doherty developed
a nationally celebrated

00:54:31.480 --> 00:54:33.230
curriculum for women.

00:54:34.379 --> 00:54:36.306
Mary Eastwood was elected president

00:54:36.307 --> 00:54:39.360
of a national women's party
and remained committed

00:54:39.361 --> 00:54:41.273
to the Equal Rights Amendment, which has

00:54:41.274 --> 00:54:42.941
never been ratified.

00:54:44.419 --> 00:54:46.036
Arvonne Fraser became a top official

00:54:46.037 --> 00:54:48.973
in the US Agency for
International Development

00:54:48.974 --> 00:54:50.780
where she advocated women's interests

00:54:50.781 --> 00:54:53.448
in the making of foreign policy.

00:54:54.569 --> 00:54:56.893
Dorothy Haener served on
the Michigan Human Rights

00:54:56.894 --> 00:54:59.459
Commission and as a member
of the Older Women's League

00:54:59.460 --> 00:55:04.171
helped secure equal
pension benefits for women.

00:55:04.172 --> 00:55:07.161
After serving six terms in
the Wisconsin state assembly,

00:55:07.162 --> 00:55:09.798
Mary Lou Munts became
the first woman appointed

00:55:09.799 --> 00:55:13.248
to the state's Public Service Commission.

00:55:13.249 --> 00:55:15.559
Doris Thom remained involved
in the women's committee

00:55:15.560 --> 00:55:18.422
of her local union and
was proud to help select

00:55:18.423 --> 00:55:20.640
the first woman minister of her church

00:55:20.641 --> 00:55:23.018
in Janesville, Wisconsin.

00:55:23.019 --> 00:55:25.188
Addie Wyatt became
International Vice President

00:55:25.189 --> 00:55:28.113
of her union and Vice President
of the National Council

00:55:28.114 --> 00:55:29.856
of Negro Women.

00:55:29.857 --> 00:55:32.234
She and her husband are
co-pastors of the Vernon Park

00:55:32.235 --> 00:55:34.318
Church of God in Chicago.

00:55:35.455 --> 00:55:40.455
♪ We're gonna work for change together ♪

00:55:40.930 --> 00:55:45.835
♪ Work for change together ♪

00:55:45.836 --> 00:55:50.787
♪ Work for change together ♪

00:55:50.788 --> 00:55:55.788
♪ Never turning back ♪

00:55:55.831 --> 00:56:00.831
♪ Never turning back ♪

00:56:01.038 --> 00:56:06.038
♪ We're gonna keep on walking forward ♪

00:56:06.492 --> 00:56:11.369
♪ Keep on walking forward ♪

00:56:11.370 --> 00:56:16.370
♪ Keep on walking forward ♪

00:56:16.621 --> 00:56:21.621
♪ Never turning back ♪

00:56:21.729 --> 00:56:24.896
♪ Never turning back ♪