Lucy Komisar is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

-based

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

and

drama critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

. Komisar was editor of the ''Mississippi Free Press'' in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

from 1962 to 1963. The weekly covered the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

and related political and labor issues and was read mainly by black people in Mississippi. The newspapers and her other civil rights papers are archived at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

, Hattiesburg.

Career

Komisar was a national vice-president of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

from 1970 to 1971 and was successful, with Legislative VP Ann London Scott, in getting the US government to extend federal contractor and cable TV affirmative action rules to women. According to historian Robert O. Self, Komisar was aligned with

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

in 1970 in accusing lesbian feminists of threatening to take over NOW, particularly the New York City branch. The dispute led to the dismissal of branch staffers, which, in turn, resulted in a December 1970 press conference in which prominent straight feminists declared their support for lesbian feminists. On August 10, 1970, she braved hecklers and having a mug of beer thrown over her to be one of the first unaccompanied women ever to have a drink at McSorley's bar in New York city, an all-Male institution since 1854. Her NOW papers are in the Schlesinger archives at Harvard University. In 1977, Komisar became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic info ...

(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media. Komisar exposed the practice of Sodexo, a major provider of food to schools, colleges, hospitals, companies and other institutions, of demanding and getting

kickbacks A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickbac ...

from its suppliers. The article appeared in March 2009 in ''

In These Times ''In These Times'' is an American politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published in Chicago, Illinois. It was established as a broadsheet-format fortnightly newspaper in 1976 by James Weinstein, a lifelong socialist. ...

''. In 2010, Komisar received the Gerald Loeb Award for Medium & Small Newspapers for "Keys to the Kingdom: How State Regulators Enabled a $7 Billion Ponzi Scheme".

Books

* ''The New Feminism'' (New York: Franklin Watts, 1972; Paperback Library, 1972), primer on

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, including history, law, work, education and origins of contemporary movement. * ''Down and Out in the U.S.A. A History of Public Welfare'' (New York: Franklin Watts, 1973 and 1977; New Viewpoints, 1973 and 1977), history of the American welfare system from colonial times to the present. * ''Corazon Aquino: The Story of a Revolution'' (New York: George Braziller, 1987), political biography of Corazon Aquino, former president of the Philippines. (Zurich: Benziger Verlag, 1988; Manila: The National Bookstore, 1988)

References

External links

The Komisar Scoop
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women journalists American investigative journalists People from The Five Towns, New York Gerald Loeb Award winners for Small and Medium Newspapers Journalists from New York City 21st-century American women {{US-journalist-20thC-stub