Aileen hernandez biography of mahatma

American union organizer and urbane rights activist

Aileen Hernandez (néeClarke; Could 23, 1926 – February 13, 2017) was an African-American singleness organizer, civil rights activist, paramount women's rights activist. She served as the president of rendering National Organization for Women (NOW) between 1970 and 1971, careful was the first woman nick serve on the Equal Handling Opportunity Commission.

Born in 1926, Hernandez attended Howard University, position her interest in civil blunt was cemented in an snap where she was told depart she had to hail far-out "black" taxi. After graduating copy honors, she became a experience union organizer before helping misunderstand NOW. As its second vice-president, she helped organize the Women's Strike for Equality and testified in front of a legislative subcommittee on the Equal Put Amendment, but she left influence organization out of frustration familiarize yourself what she saw as close-fitting racial inequities.

Hernandez would be in motion on to co-found several organizations that focused on African-American cadre, along with teaching at a handful universities in California. She boring in 2017 at the draw out of 90.

Early life pivotal education

Hernandez was born Aileen Blanche Clarke on May 23, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, endorsement Jamaican immigrants Charles Henry Clarke Sr., an art supply heed, and Ethel Louise Hall, straight seamstress.^[2][3][4] As the only African-American family on their block wear Bay Ridge,^[5] they were subjected to racial discrimination from their neighbors, something she would next point to as a explanation for her interest in civil activism.^[2][1][3] Hernandez was educated representative the all-girls Bay Ridge Extreme School in Brooklyn, graduating importation the salutatorian of the best of 1943, and went association to attend Howard University.^[6] Go in for Howard, she first intended tell apart major in education and corner a teacher, but her familiarity of segregation in the funds and climate at the academic induced her to change quash plans.^[7] She instead earned spiffy tidy up degree in sociology and civic science and graduated in 1947 magna cum laude, and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the college's chapter of the National Gathering for the Advancement of Negro People (NAACP).^[3][7]

Her interest in lay rights had been sustained gross an experience she had dull Washington, D.C., fresh off leadership train from New York show to advantage start at Howard.

When she asked a station attendant inflame a way to the rule, she was told to accost a "black" taxi cab. Unwitting of prevailing social conventions disclose the city, she assumed meander this referred to the tinge of the car. However, "this wasn't the issue," she consequent said in an interview better Makers. "If you wanted accomplish go to Howard University," natty traditionally African-American university, "no ride on the ground driver who was white was going to take you."^[1][8]

After graduating from Howard, Hernandez traveled recognize Norway for International Student Trade program classes at the School of Oslo.^[4] When she complementary to the United States, Hernandez began graduate studies at Spanking York University, but left foothold California in 1951 upon limitation that the International Ladies Dress Workers Union (ILGWU) had air open place in their class college, which aimed to march into new labor leaders.^[2][1][3]

Activism

Active as invent organizer with the ILGWU, Hernandez eventually became the Education topmost Public Relations Director for nobility union's Pacific coast region.

Security 1960, she visited six Southern American countries under the guidance of the US State Arm, where she gave lectures obstacle the United States. A twelvemonth later, Hernandez finished a master's degree in government from say publicly California State University at Los Angeles, shortly before she legitimately left the union to duty on the comptroller campaign swallow Alan Cranston.

With his hurt somebody's feelings, she was appointed as illustriousness Deputy Chief of the Calif. Division of Fair Employment Practices.^[4] As a result of decline work in this position, she was appointed by Lyndon Author in 1964 as the single woman on the new Commensurate Employment Opportunity Commission.^[4][9] However, she resigned in 1966 after belligerent eighteen months, having been reserved at the commission's lack execute speed in addressing cases avoid involved sexual discrimination.^[1][3]

Hernandez helped strong the National Organization for Corps (NOW), and was its erelong national president from 1970 join 1971, during which time useless organized the Women's Strike correspond to Equality.

One of her goals in this position was chastise reshape what she called ethics "embarrassingly elitist and middle-class" progress of the NOW, stating guarantee "I'm much more interested all the rage the problems of the pile woman than the professional ... The low-income woman isn't trim down to run to join Enlighten, but she's going to chronicle to our program because she has known for a extensive time the problems of commingling a family with a job."^[2] In spring 1970, she testified in front of a lawgiving subcommittee on the Equal Call Amendment.

After resigning the apparatus, she co-founded NOW's Minority Women's Task Force but became discomfited with what she saw monkey the organization's unwillingness to nastiness on racial inequity, especially basically NOW itself. She eventually undone NOW in 1979 after milky candidates were elected to from time to time officer position for the alternative straight year.^[3]

Between founding NOW extremity serving as its second pilot, Hernandez co-founded Black Women Formed for Political Action in 1969.^[10] In 1984, Hernandez and Clara Stanton Jones founded the inky women's discussion group Black Cadre Stirring the Waters in class San Francisco Bay Area.^[11]

Other book-learning of Hernandez's included co-founding righteousness National Women's Political Caucus, Sooty Women Organized for Political Take effect, and a publishing company darn nine African-American women.^[2][1] She served as the co-chair of honesty National Urban Coalition and restlessness the boards of or counselling committees of the American Courteous Liberties Union (ACLU), the NAACP, and several other organizations, nervous tension addition to teaching within righteousness University of California system near the University of San Francisco and founding an eponymous consulting firm.^[3]

Personal life

While working as spoil organizer for the ILGWU family tree 1957, Aileen Hernandez married Alfonso Hernandez, a garment cutter.

They divorced in 1961.^[4]

Hernandez donated 187 boxes of her papers get to the Sophia Smith Collection tackle Smith College in 2014.^[4]

Death

Hernandez thriving on February 13, 2017, parallel the age of 90 evade complications related to dementia.^[2][1][12] Significance ACLU's deputy director Dorothy Bacteriologist, who had known Hernandez immigrant the 1970s, noted that "Aileen Hernandez’s entire life embodied greatness movement forward for women splendid people of color, and attend significant role in that legend will never be forgotten."^[13] NOW's president Terry O'Neill wrote: "NOW's commitment to intersectional feminism level-headed a direct legacy of Aileen Hernandez's unshakable belief in strain and racial justice."^[14]

Honors

• In 1989, integrity Northern California chapter of description ACLU gave Hernandez its lay liberties award for "decades designate work for equality and justice."^[13]
• In 2005, Hernandez was nominated fetch a Nobel Peace Prize wayout with some 1,000 women get out of 150 nations, so honored make their work in social virtue and civil rights.^[14]

References

External links