Josephine Fellows Gomon (June 29, 1892 – November 13, 1975) was a social and political activist, mayoral secretary, labor leader and schoolteacher. She is noted for her contributions to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

through city politics, civil service and activism.

Biography

Gomon was born Josephine Fellows in 1892 to Mary Walsh and Augustus W. Fellows in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She studied mathematics at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and moved to

after graduating in 1913 to teach physics and mathematics at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

(then called the College of the City of Detroit). She married R. Louis Gomon in 1916 and had five children with him: Bobby Lou, William, Howard Garner, Jeanne and R. Louis, Jr. While raising her children, Gomon worked as a teacher in Detroit's public school system and wrote a column about education for ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

''. In the 1920s Gomon became active in Detroit's birth control movement. She helped launch Planned Parenthood nationally and served as the president of the organization's Detroit chapter. After unsuccessfully running for public office in Detroit in 1929—being one of the first women to do so—Gomon began working for politician

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

in 1930 as an assistant on his mayoral campaign. After he was elected, Gomon became Murphy's executive secretary; he appointed her to the position of chairwoman on the Mayor's Unemployment Committee and she assisted him with the creation of several New Deal programs. Gomon became the director of the Detroit Housing Commission in 1933, where she supervised the construction of the city's first

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

until she was pressured to leave in 1938. She made a second bid for public office in 1935, but she was not elected. In 1941 she was recruited by

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

to the role of Director of Women Personnel at the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Willow Run Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manufacture aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator hea ...

bomber plant for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Gomon made her third and final bid for public office in 1941, and although she was unsuccessful again, she had a significant following. She later worked as an advisor for

Walter Reuther Walter Philip Reuther (; September 1, 1907 – May 9, 1970) was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. He ...

and

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. Gomon effectively retired from politics and public service after World War II. She ran a radio show called "Opinion Unlimited" on WKMH from 1945 until 1948. She then dedicated her time to

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

projects for welfare and human rights through

Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting pro ...

, the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

and the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

. In 1960 she was honored at a tribute dinner attended by 300 people, including many of Michigan's high-profile politicians, and in 1961 she was awarded an honorary degree by Wayne State University. Gomon continued her efforts in political activism until shortly before she died in 1975 at the age of 85. Her obituary in the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' described her as "a spirited Detroiter", the "City's Conscience", and "one of the most influential women in the city's history". In 1983, she was inducted into the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomon, Josephine 1892 births 1975 deaths People from Ann Arbor, Michigan Politicians from Detroit University of Michigan alumni Wayne State University faculty American Civil Liberties Union people American birth control activists American civil rights activists American women civil rights activists Housing rights activists in Detroit American trade union leaders American political activists American women civil servants Schoolteachers from Michigan 20th-century American women educators Women in Michigan politics 20th-century American educators American women academics