Mary Lee Sargent
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Mary Lee Sargent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupations | Women's Rights Activist, Professor |
| Known for | Advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment |
| Movement | Women's Liberation |
Mary Lee Sargent is a professor and feminist activist notable for her direct action political protests on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1980s.[1]
Sargent was a key member of the feminist group Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens, an organization that supported the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).[1] The group organized a Day of Rebellion in Illinois in 1982 and Sargent served as spokesperson for the group.[2] Sargent was photographed wearing chains outside the Illinois State Senate by Anne Leibowitz and the photo ran in Life Magazine.[1] When Sargent was asked by the press if she was concerned the direct action tactics might turn off some ERA supporters she replied, "It's too late for that...we're here to step up the confrontation."[3] Sargent was photographed in 1982 with Sonia Johnson who was
on a long term fast for the ERA at the Illinois state house.[4]
Support for LGBT rights
In 1979, Sargent participated in the first public march for LGBTQ rights in Washington, D.C.[1] In the 1980s, she organized the Lavendar Women's Prairie Women's Center.[5]