Margaret Prescod facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Prescod
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Born | |
Alma mater | Long Island University Teachers College, Columbia University |
Notable work
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Black Women: Bringing it All Back Home (1980) |
Relatives | Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (daughter) |
Margaret Prescod is an activist, author, journalist, and radio host. She helped start important groups like The Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders. She also co-founded Black Women for Wages for Housework. Prescod is part of the leadership team at the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health, which is at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health.
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Early Life and Education
Margaret Prescod was born in Barbados. She moved to the United States in 1962 when she was a teenager. Just two weeks after arriving, she joined a protest. This protest was against a medical center in Brooklyn that would not hire Black people.
Prescod went to Long Island University for her first college degree. She started another course at the Teachers College, Columbia University. However, she left to work as a teacher, helping adults improve their reading and writing skills. During this time, Prescod became very active in the Civil Rights Movement. This movement worked for equal rights for all people.
Her Work and Activism
In the early 1970s, Margaret Prescod began focusing her activism on helping mothers. At that time, she was working as a school teacher in New York City. She became involved with the United Nations. She took part in important meetings that were part of the United Nations Decade for Women.
Fighting for Wages for Housework
In 1975, Prescod launched a program called International Black Women for Wages for Housework. She started this with Wilmette Brown. In 1980, she wrote a book called Black Women: Bringing it All Back Home. This book was one of the first to look at how women, immigration, and race are connected.
In 1985, she moved to Los Angeles. There, she worked with the Utility Workers Union of America. Prescod was also involved with the Wages for Housework campaign. She spoke at the yearly meetings of both the Democratic and Republican Party. Prescod wanted people to understand that the unpaid work women do at home is very important to the economy.
Standing Up Against Violence
In 1986, Prescod started the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders. She created this group after eleven women were murdered in South Los Angeles. She wanted to make sure that the police and leaders would investigate these murders. She also worked to ensure that the victims were treated with respect.
In 2014, her efforts were shown in an HBO film. The film was called Tales of the Grim Sleeper. It was even nominated for an Academy Award.
Radio Host
Today, Margaret Prescod hosts and produces a radio show called Sojourner Truth. This show is broadcast by KPFK. Other radio stations, like WPFW in Washington D.C. and WBAI in New York City, also share it. The show is named after Sojourner Truth, who was a famous activist for freedom and women's rights.
Personal Life
Margaret Prescod's daughter is Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Chanda is a cosmologist, which means she studies the universe. She is also a science writer and an activist for equality.