In my past columns, I outline my firm belief that black women have to cape for themselves in the workplace. I also strongly believe that there is a burden that comes along with being a token in that same workplace. So being a token black woman in a world where we aren’t cherished and or celebrated is tough, to say the least.
When I think about the 24/7 strength that we must possess, I marvel at the success of Eleanor Holmes Norton. Her kick ass approach to feminism and civil rights helped her win rights for those who still denied us access to those same liberties.
There is no way to write a brief synopsis about Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. This Yale graduate is known for making major strides including saving the District of Columbia from the city’s most turbulent financial crisis in a century. She is currently in her 13th term as a Congresswoman for the District. She’s broken barriers in her appointment by President Jimmy Carter serving as the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Please note I said the first woman, not the first black woman.
Before Congress, she sat on the board for three Fortune 500 companies, yet her greatest task is fighting for universal human and civil rights.
In college Norton worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee traveling to Mississippi for the Mississippi Freedom Summer.
Norton’s journey landed her at the American Civil Liberties Union where she was the Assistant Legal Director from 1965-1970. During this time she took on what would become a monumental case for women in the workplace.
Following the Civil Rights Act of 1965, a few years later the first known civil rights case to be brought as a class action suit was led by women. Their attorney? Eleanor Holmes Norton. Norton took on the case depicted in the new Amazon series, Good Girls Revolt. Her character is portrayed by actress Joy Bryant.
In the late 1960s, the professional workplace began to evolve as women left their traditionally domesticated roles. One industry not changing with the times was the newsroom. Women were allowed to be researchers but not writers or editors. This rang true for a group of women working at Newsweek.
Forty-six women who worked at Newsweek accused the publication of gender discrimination in hiring and promotion. These women were born into a world where their voices were often stifled and men prevailed. When they decided to sue for the right to be treated fairly and equally with their males peers, it took some convincing.
“They were going against giants in journalism. Their courage cannot be underestimated,” Norton told NPR. “And you’ve got to understand who they were: Phi Beta Kappas and other top-of-the-lot women, who were the jewels and who were so pleased to get in on the bottom rung of a big-time news magazine. They were prepared to take anything, and that’s what they got — anything, until they rose up, very politely, and insisted upon getting their just due. These were the good girls, indeed I called them the best girls.”
And she did it all while pregnant.
Norton had already broken down the barriers of being a black woman who also was an attorney. As she fought to teach a group of women who did not look like her that they had civil rights, black people were being lynched for having that same thought. Imagine being a black woman in the 1960’s early 70’s advocating for women’s rights when your first crime was being black. Imagine being a black woman lending her voice to a cause that would take years to acknowledge that black feminists even exist. Imagine being a black woman who once stood beside Coretta Scott King, fighting for the the dream.
This was her reality.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton went on to win the landmark case allowing women to play a major role in news and media. Without her fight Oprah would never have sat in that newsroom in Baltimore and Cathy Hughes would not be the media mogul that she is today. Yet despite the impact of Norton’s win, it was first for women who didn’t look like her.
If you’ve ever flown on a plane you know that before take off the flight attendant gives you instructions on what to do in case of emergency. They tell you about the mask that will drop from the overhead compartment, then they describe how you should adjust the mask to your face so that you can breathe. They ALWAYS tell you to adjust your mask first before helping others. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton had to adjust the mask of others before she could adjust hers. Yet she found strength in doing so.
Her ability to #stopaskingpermission causes us to celebrate the strength we have in us as black women. This time the fight to overcome and conquer is for us.
Watch Bryant and Norton together while promoting “Good Girls Revolt”.
