Jo Freeman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jo Freeman
Jo Freeman at a peace protest at the U.S. Congress in September 2006.
Born	(1945-08-26) August 26, 1945 (age 79) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Other names	Joreen
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Thesis	The politics of women's liberation: a case study of an emerging social movement and its relation to the policy process (1973)
Academic work
Main interests	feminism, political science, law

Jo Freeman (born August 26, 1945), also known by the name Joreen, is an American writer, lawyer, and political scientist. She is a well-known feminist, which means she works for equal rights for women.

When she was a student at the University of California, Berkeley in the 1960s, she became a dedicated activist. She joined groups that fought for civil liberties (people's basic freedoms) and the civil rights movement. This movement worked to end unfair treatment of African Americans.

Freeman helped register people to vote in Alabama and Mississippi. She was also one of the first organizers of the women's liberation movement, which fought for women's equality. She has written many famous articles and books about social movements, politics, and women's rights.

Early Life and Schooling

Jo Freeman was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1945. Her mother, Helen, served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. After Jo was born, they moved to Los Angeles, California.

Freeman was a bright student. She graduated from Granada Hills High School in 1961. She then went to UC Berkeley and earned her degree in political science in 1965. Later, she attended the University of Chicago and earned her PhD in 1973.

Because of her interest in law and public policy, she decided to become a lawyer. She went to New York University School of Law and got her law degree in 1982.

A Student Activist

While at Berkeley, Freeman was part of a student political group called SLATE. SLATE wanted to make positive changes at the university. They worked to end the ban on speakers with controversial ideas and to improve classes for students.

A big issue at the time was students' right to free speech on campus. The university limited political activities, but students wanted to support the civil rights movement. In 1964, students set up tables on campus to raise money and support for political causes, which was against the rules.

This led to the creation of the Free Speech Movement (FSM). Freeman was a leader in this group. After peaceful protests, Freeman and about 800 other students were arrested for holding a sit-in at the main administration building. This event drew a lot of attention and helped convince the university to change its rules, allowing students to be politically active on campus.

Fighting for Civil Rights

In the 1960s, the civil rights movement was very active in the San Francisco Bay Area. Freeman joined protests against businesses that refused to hire Black people. She was arrested during some of these peaceful demonstrations.

After graduating, Freeman joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a famous civil rights group led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. She worked in Alabama and Mississippi to help African Americans register to vote. This was dangerous work, and she was briefly jailed for her efforts.

An informant for a state agency took photos of her during her activism. These photos were given to a newspaper, which wrote a negative story about her. For her safety, the SCLC moved her to their main office in Atlanta. There, she even worked as an assistant to Coretta Scott King, Dr. King's wife.

A Leader in the Women's Movement

In 1967, Freeman helped organize a women's group at a national political conference in Chicago. The group tried to present a list of demands for women's rights. However, the male leaders of the conference dismissed their concerns as unimportant.

This experience inspired Freeman and other women, including Shulamith Firestone, to start the first women's liberation group in Chicago. Freeman also created a newsletter called Voice of the women's liberation movement. This newsletter helped spread the ideas of feminism across the country and gave the movement its name.

While studying at the University of Chicago, Freeman continued to fight for women's rights. She taught courses on the status of women and organized conferences to discuss issues facing women in universities and society.

Important Feminist Writings

Freeman wrote several important articles about her experiences in the women's movement. She used the name "Joreen" for these writings.

• The Tyranny of Structurelessness: In this famous essay, she argued that all groups have a power structure. She said that for a group to be fair and democratic, it needs to have clear rules and responsibilities.
• The ... Manifesto: This 1969 article was an early example of a social movement taking back a negative word. It celebrated women who did not fit into traditional roles.
• Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood: This article talked about a difficult topic within the women's movement, where women would sometimes criticize each other harshly.
• The 51 Percent Minority Group: A Statistical Essay: This work appeared in the important 1970 book Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings From The Women's Liberation Movement.

Her PhD research was published as the book The Politics of Women's Liberation in 1975. It won an award for being the best book on women in politics that year.

Career in Law and Political Science

After earning her PhD, Freeman taught at a university and worked for research groups in Washington, D.C. She then became a lawyer, opening her own law office in Brooklyn, New York. She often helped women running for political office.

Freeman has published 11 books and hundreds of articles. Most of her work focuses on feminism, social movements, and politics. Her book A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics (2000) also won a scholarly prize.

She is featured in the documentary film She's Beautiful When She's Angry, which tells the history of the women's liberation movement. Today, she continues to write about politics and posts many of her articles and photographs on her website.

Books

• The Politics of Women's Liberation: A Case Study of an Emerging Social Movement and Its Relation to the Policy Process (1975)
• Women: A Feminist Perspective, editor (five editions from 1975 to 1995)
• Social Movements of the Sixties and Seventies, editor (1983)
• Waves of Protest: Social Movements Since the Sixties, editor (1999)
• A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics (2000)
• At Berkeley in the Sixties: The Education of an Activist, 1961–1965 (2004)
• We Will Be Heard: Women's Struggles for Political Power in the United States (2008)

See also

In Spanish: Jo Freeman para niños