Veteran Feminists of America facts for kids
Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) is a special group for people who supported and were part of the second-wave feminist movement. This was a big movement in the past that worked for women's rights and equality. Jacqueline Ceballos started VFA in 1992. The group often holds get-togethers for second-wave feminists and events to celebrate important feminist leaders.
One of VFA's main projects is called the Pioneer Histories Project. This project collects the personal stories of women who were part of the second-wave women's movement, one story at a time. You can find interviews with many feminist activists on the VFA website. The Sy Syms Foundation helps support this important project.
Contents
What VFA Wants to Do
The main goal of Veteran Feminists of America is to celebrate, record, and save the history of what women achieved in the feminist movement. They also want to teach people how important the changes brought about by the women's movement were. By saving this history, they hope to inspire future generations to keep working for equality.
How VFA Started
The Veteran Feminists of America was created to remember and record the stories of the many pioneers who began the feminist movement in the 1960s. This movement is often called second-wave feminism.
At first, VFA meetings were just a chance for people to meet, share memories, and then have an awards dinner. These dinners were recorded on video so they could be remembered forever. These videos are now kept safely at places like the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University.
Soon after their first meeting in 1992, Jacqueline Ceballos teamed up with Dorothy Senerchia and Mary Jean Tully to officially create the organization. Muriel Fox joined shortly after and has been in charge of the group since 1994.
The group first thought about calling themselves "Veterans of Feminist Wars." But they decided against it because the short name (acronym) could be mixed up with another group called the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
For its first ten years, VFA mostly honored people and groups for their work. This included starting national and local organizations, helping people learn about feminist issues, and talking to lawmakers to get new laws for women's rights. Over time, VFA's events spread to new areas across the country.
In 1998, VFA Board member Barbara Love, with help from other VFA members, started putting together a list of feminists. This list was published in 2006 as a book called Feminists Who Changed America: 1963-1975. The book has 2,220 life stories of second-wave feminists who did important work. It's also available on a searchable CD. This book, along with the videos from two decades of events, helps bring the history of feminism's second wave to life. It helps make sure that the achievements of the women's movement are not forgotten.
VFA now works with the New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Their new Center for Women's History will be a place to show old items and stories that tell the history of modern feminism.
Important People at VFA
Here are some of the key people who help lead VFA:
- Officers
- Eleanor Pam, President
- Muriel Fox, Chair of the Board
Special Roles
- Heather Booth, Liaison/Outreach (This person helps connect VFA with other groups and people.)
Board of Directors
- Virginia Carter
- Roxanne Barton Conlin
- Carol Jenkins
- Barbara Love
- Linda Stein
Board Advisor
Founder
- Jacqui Ceballos
VFA Events and Celebrations
VFA holds many events to celebrate and remember the work of second-wave feminists. These events often honor important leaders and mark special anniversaries.
For example, on February 4, 2021, VFA held an online meeting (webinar) to honor Betty Friedan. This was on the 100th anniversary of her birth. Betty Friedan was a founder of NOW, another important women's rights group.
Some past events have included:
- May 26, 1993 – VFA's first big event, honoring Catherine East in New York City.
- December 1993 – Honoring Flo Kennedy, a famous lawyer and activist.
- May 1994 – Honoring Congresswoman Martha Griffiths and other leaders like Betty Friedan.
- December 13, 1995 – An event honoring Gloria Steinem, a very well-known feminist writer and activist.
- November 21 and 22, 1996 – Celebrating NOW's 30th birthday and honoring the people who started NOW.
- December 13, 1997 – Celebrating the women's liberation movement with speakers like Heather Booth and Susan Brownmiller.
- November 7, 1998 – Honoring Kate Millett, a famous writer and feminist thinker.
- October 18, 2000 – Celebrating 30 years since the Women's Strike for Equality, with participants like Karen DeCrow and Kate Millett.
- April 26, 2002 – An event called "Salute to Feminist Authors," honoring writers like Erica Jong and Marilyn French.
- November 8, 2002 – A conference to celebrate and look at the effects of 30 years of Title IX. Title IX is a law that stops discrimination based on sex in education.
- June 9, 2008 – "Salute to Feminist Lawyers," honoring important legal figures like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- October 21, 2014 – An award was given to Muriel Fox for her long work for women's issues. Other famous people like Gloria Steinem, Rosie O'Donnell, and Marlo Thomas also received awards.
- June 10, 2017 – A "Feminist Reunion" where people like Kate Millett and Gloria Steinem attended. They had an "open mic" session where people could share their thoughts.
- November 9, 2017 – A special service to remember Kate Millett, with speakers like Gloria Steinem and Yoko Ono.
See also
- List of feminists
- List of women's rights activists
- List of women's rights organizations
