Who are Today's Female Heroes?

[captcalhoun]

I'll add Grace Darling to the list, partially because she's an iconic figure in English history.

so iconic i've never heard of her.

 

[Sky]

Violette Szabo, who was working with the french resistance in world war 2 when she was captured, tortured and executed by the Nazis; and whose story forms the basis of the film Carve Her Name With Pride.

Oh, and then also Sophie Scholl.

 

[trampledamage]

I'll add Grace Darling to the list, partially because she's an iconic figure in English history.

so iconic i've never heard of her.

Maybe it's a story you hear more when you live by the sea (not that I did but we did a lot of holidays to light houses )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Darling

 

[Locutus of Bored]

A timely one given the push to reduce government regulation and to strip collective bargaining rights from unions, not to mention it being a century since the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which played a huge role in influencing both:

Clara Lemlich

Clara Lemlich

Years before the Triangle fire, garment workers actively sought to improve their working conditions—including locked exits in high-rise buildings—that led to the deaths at Triangle. In fall 1909, as factory owners pressed shirtwaist makers to work longer hours for less money, several hundred workers went on strike. On Nov. 22, Local 25 of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) convened a meeting to discuss a general strike. Thousands of workers packed the hall.

Nineteen-year-old Clara Lemlich was sitting in the crowd listening to the speakers—mostly men—caution against striking. Clara was one of the founders of Local 25, whose membership numbered only a few hundred, mostly female, shirtwaist and dressmakers. A few months earlier, hired thugs had beaten her savagely for her union involvement, breaking ribs.

When the meeting’s star attraction, the American Federation of Labor President Samuel Gompers, spoke, the crowd went wild. After he finished, Clara expected a strike vote. Instead, yet another speaker went to the podium. Tired of hearing speakers for more than two hours, Clara made her way to the stage, shouting, “I want to say a few words!” in Yiddish. Once she got to the podium, she continued, “I have no further patience for talk as I am one of those who feels and suffers from the things pictured. I move that we go on a general strike...now!” The audience rose to their feet and cheered, then voted for a strike.

...

The Uprising of 20,000

The next morning, throughout New York’s garment district, more than 15,000 shirtwaist makers walked out. They demanded a 20-percent pay raise, a 52-hour workweek and extra pay for overtime. The local union, along with the Women’s Trade Union League, held meetings in English and Yiddish at dozens of halls to discuss plans for picketing. When picketing began the following day, more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories had walked out. More than 70 of the smaller factories agreed to the union’s demands within the first 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the fiercely anti-union owners of the Triangle factory met with owners of the 20 largest factories to form a manufacturing association. Many of the strike leaders worked there, and the Triangle owners wanted to make sure other factory owners were committed to doing whatever it took—from using physical force (by hiring thugs to beat up strikers) to political pressure (which got the police on their side)—to not back down.

Soon after, police officers began arresting strikers, and judges fined them and sentenced some to labor camps. One judge, while sentencing a picketer for “incitement,” explained, “You are striking against God and Nature, whose law is that man shall earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. You are on strike against God!”

...

The Legacy of the Shirtwaist Makers

A week after the fire, Anne Morgan and Alva Belmont hosted a meeting at the Metropolitan Opera House to demand action on fire safety, and people of all backgrounds packed the hall. A few days later, more than 350,000 people participated in a funeral march for the Triangle dead.

Three months later, after pressure from activists, New York’s governor signed a law creating the Factory Investigating Commission, which had unprecedented powers. The commission investigated nearly 2,000 factories in dozens of industries and, with the help of such workers’ rights advocates as Frances Perkins, enacted eight laws covering fire safety, factory inspections and sanitation and employment rules for women and children. The following year, they pushed for 25 more laws—entirely rewriting New York State’s labor laws and creating a State Department of Labor to enforce the laws. During the Roosevelt administration, Frances Perkins and Robert Wagner (who chaired the commission) helped create the nation’s most sweeping worker protections through the New Deal, including the National Labor Relations Act.

Clara Lemlich became a full-time activist, after being blacklisted by the garment industry association, and founded a working-class suffrage group. She later organized mothers around housing and education issues. Even in her last days at a nursing home, Clara helped to organize the orderlies.

http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/history/uprising_fire.cfm

As far as Lady Gaga goes, it's up to you how you define a hero or not, but she has done a huge amount of advocacy for the LGBT community, and extensive work on promoting the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which was an insult to gay men and women who served our armed forces. I'd say that's certainly worthy of admiration and not just simple dismissal of her as a pop star alone.

 

[scottydog]

Just wanted to thank all of you who participated in this thread. You gave me many great suggestions! Thanks to you, I've written blog posts on Christa McAuliffe, Marie Curie, Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan, plus a piece on The Proud Muslimah, a young woman who is spotlighting Muslims who make the world a better place.

More blog posts on women heroes are on the way, too, based on your input. Again, I appreciate your kind assistance.

 

[Whoa Nellie]

I can't believe no one has mentioned a woman who grew up facing racial discrimination in segregated Alabama in the 50's & 60's. She was only eight years old when a childhood friend and playmate was killed in a church bombing carried out by white supremacists. Not only an accomplished pianist, she is also a professor of political science becoming the first female, first minority, and youngest Provost in Stanford University's history. She also became the 66th United States Secretary of State. She is Dr. Condoleezza Rice.


Warmest Wishes,
Whoa Nellie

 

[scottydog]

Condoleezza Rice is a great suggestion, Whoa_Nellie. Thank you.

So many heroes, so little time....

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I agree, Condi Rice is a great choice. I guess I assumed she'd already been blogged on!

 

[scottydog]

^I'll get right on it. Plus I need to write about the women serving on the U.S. Supreme Court.