""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" November 26, 1995 - Episode 485 - Women of Achievement and Herstory compiled by Irene Stuber """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Born Nov. 26, 1858, Mother Mary Katharine Drexel, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. MKD inherited $14 million in 1880; she used her funds freely while directing her order's work, which ranged from a school for black girls in Virginia to schools for Indians in the West. In 1915 she endowed and began forming Xavier University in New Orleans, the only Catholic college for blacks in the U.S. 11-26 Anniversaries ........................................... B. Nov. 26, 1792, Sarah Moore Grimke, along with her sister Angelina, drew audiences in the thousands, but were widely criticized for addressing audiences of both sexes. Angelina's letters to Catherine Beecher regarding slavery and abolition along with Sarah's letters on the _Equality of the Sexes_ and _The Condition of Women_, published in 1838, constitute some of the earliest written advocacy for women's rights in the US. B. Nov. 26, 1822, Lilly Martin Spencer, her paintings were sold for higher prices than George Caleb or John J. Audubon"s. B. Nov. 26, 1827, Ellen Gould Harmon White, author of the nine volumes of the Seventh Day Adventist _Testimonies for the Church_. B. Nov. 26, 1832, (some say 11-25-1832) Mary Walker, physician, surgeon or charlatan? First woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor in 1865, rescinded by Congress in 1917 and reinstated in 1972. For a bibliography of this controversial woman, write istuber@cswnet.com. Decide for yourself. D. Nov. 26, 1883, Sojourner Truth, black abolitionist who is said to have adopted the name Sojourner as a symbol of her lecture tours, which espoused abolition and women's rights. Her original name was Isabella. B. Nov. 26, 1938, Judith Blecker Goldsmith, NOW president 1982-1985, who attempted to move the National Organization for Women (NOW) towards political strength and power rather than protests. She was defeated for reelection by former NOW president Ellie Smeal, whose protesting tactics stalled the ERA amendment three states short of ratification. Quotes du jour ................................................ "Clearly, `civilized' man cannot tolerate such memories within a male- ordered society based on monogamous marriage and on total faithfulness of the wife. To protect his patrilineal descent, his son must be the son of the father and not the son of the mother. His affairs will not endanger the male line of succession, but, given the same freedom, his wife might become pregnant by somebody else and restore the supremacy of matrilineal descent. "Interestingly, female succession was clearly customary among the Celts, to judge by their mythological traditions. Still half-way between gynocratic and androcratic society, they were much more tolerant of female adultery than purely patriarchal societies. It is the very freedom of the woman to use her sex as she likes that threatens masculine authority, since it implies that woman is capable of everything." -- Markdale, Joan. _Women of the Celts_. ....................... * ........................ Don't let anyone tell you there weren't notable and effective women throughout history. They were always there, but historians failed to note them in our histories so that the women of each generation have had to reinvent themselves. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>(C) 1995, All Rights Reserved, Irene Stuber, PO Box 6185, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71902, voice mail or fax, 501-624-5262 ID #300, or email istuber@cswnet.com or irenestuber@delphi.com with comments and suggestions. Distribute verbatim copies freely with copyright notice for non-profit use. We are accepting *limited* donations (only what can be spared) to help offset the costs of posting WOA.<<