Laura X facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura X
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Laura X at home, February 28, 2022
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| Born |
Laura Rand Orthwein, Jr.
1940 (age 84–85) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
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| Other names | Laura Shaw Murra (legal name) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Organization | Women's History Research Center National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date ... |
| Known for | Activism against date and marital ... |
| Movement | Feminist |
Laura X (born Laura Rand Orthwein, Jr., in 1940) is a dedicated activist for women's rights. She legally changed her name to Laura Shaw Murra in 1962. Later, on September 17, 1969, she chose the name Laura X. This new name showed her strong belief that women should not be seen as property. It also highlighted how women's history was often forgotten. She felt that, like Malcolm X, she did not want to use a name that felt like it belonged to an "owner."
Early Life and Education
Laura X first studied at Vassar College for three years. After that, she moved to New York City. There, she became a teacher for the Head Start Program. This program helps young children from low-income families get ready for school. She trained for this role at the University of Puerto Rico.
While in New York, she also became a Picket Captain for CORE. CORE stands for the Congress of Racial Equality. This group worked for civil rights. She also took classes at New York University (NYU). She continued her studies at Bank Street College of Education.
Laura X was very interested in social justice. She worked with the American Committee on Africa. This group welcomed delegates from new independent countries. Many of these countries were in Africa. She also protested against Chase Manhattan Bank. This was because of their investments in South Africa.
In 1963, she moved to Berkeley, California. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (UC-Berkeley) in 1971. While there, she took part in the Free Speech Movement. This movement fought for students' rights to speak freely on campus. She also joined many other social justice movements. She documented 21 different movements until 2020.
Founding the Women's History Research Center
Laura X is the founder of the Women's History Research Center. She also served as its director. This center was in Berkeley, California. It was the very first historical archive connected to the women's liberation movement. Laura X started the center in 1968.
In 1969, she organized a march in Berkeley, California. This march was on International Women’s Day. Before this, International Women's Day was mostly forgotten in the United States. The march helped lead to the creation of the Women’s History Research Center. This center became a main place for records of the women’s movement from 1968 to 1974.
Laura X also felt it was unfair for women to have only one day a year. She called for a full month to celebrate women's history. This idea led to Women's History Month. The Women’s History Research Center collected almost one million documents. These documents were put on microfilm. This made them available to many libraries.
The National Women’s History Alliance continued their work. They successfully asked Congress to declare March as Women’s History Month. By 1970, the Women's History Research Center was well-known. It helped spread early feminist writings by putting them on microfilm.
The Women's History Research Center eventually closed. Its collections are now kept at the Schlesinger Library. This library is part of Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Other institutions also hold parts of the collection. Microfilm copies have been sent to about 450 libraries. These libraries are in fourteen different countries.
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
In 1977, Laura X became involved with the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP). WIFP is a non-profit publishing group in America. This organization works to help women communicate more. It also helps connect the public with media created by women.
