Real-Life “League of Their Own:” Remembering Dottie

Dorothy “Dottie” Kamenshek, the star of the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) died Friday at the age of 84 in her Palm Desert home. Kamenshek, the talented first-base player who inspired the character of Dottie Hinson (played by Geena Davis) in the 1992 film A League of Their Own, was widely regarded as the [...]

Farewell to Ms. Lena

“You have to be taught to be second class; you’re not born that way”, is just one of the many Lena Horne aphorisms that traversed through social networking sites yesterday at the news of the pioneer’s passing. President Barack Obama, Bill Cosby, Janet Jackson and millions of citizens across the globe felt the weight of [...]

Lynn Redgrave, RIP

Lynn Redgrave, youngest daughter of the famed Redgrave acting family in England, has died after a seven-year “journey” with breast cancer, as her family’s statement put it. She was 67. Redgrave first rose to fame for her portrayal of Georgy Girl in the 1966 film, and while never as prominent as her sister Vanessa, tackled [...]

Dr. Dorothy Height, A Sister Whose Shoulders We Stand On

I join the nation in mourning the passing of Dr. Dorothy Height, one of our iconic feminist leaders. She was one of a legion of women who did not get the fame and recognition of their more famous male counterparts, but whose impact on the struggle for human rights leaves footprints so large they may [...]

Cherokee Leader Wilma Mankiller Dies

Wilma Mankiller, one of the few women ever to lead an American Indian tribe, has passed away at age 64 at her home in rural Oklahoma. Her husband, Charlie Soap,  announced a month ago that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Mankiller served as principal chief of the more than 200,000-member Cherokee Nation from [...]

Granny D Walks Her Last Mile

It’s one thing to write a letter to your Congressperson, but quite another to walk across the country for campaign finance reform at the age of 89. Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock’s 3,200-mile walk took over a year and two birthdays on the road to complete. She gave speeches along the way urging single women and [...]

On the 97th Year Since Harriet Tubman Died

In children’s books, scholarly texts, popular culture and any Black History Month curriculum, Harriet Tubman is a fixture, and rightfully so: Her bravery still astounds. Born a slave in Maryland during 1822, the adolescent Tubman (then Araminta Ross) suffered a blow to her head from a cruel overseer, as a result suffering  seizures, headaches and [...]

The Heart and Soul of JoAnn Evansgardner

JoAnn Evansgardner stood less than five feet tall, but she was a giant in women’s history and in my personal journey. I first met her when I was 22 and new to all this feminist stuff. I wandered into a board meeting of the newly created Pennsylvania NOW and stood at the door trying to [...]