Eleanor Mary Josaitis (née Reed; December 17, 1931 – August 9, 2011) was an American civil rights activist and the co-founder of Focus: HOPE, an organization fighting racism and poverty. Michigan governor

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...

referred to her as a "tireless and devoted leader".

Work

Having become involved in civil rights after hearing about the violence directed towards civil rights activists in Alabama, Josaitis co-founded Focus: HOPE a year after the

1967 Detroit riot The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot and the Detroit Uprising, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between African American res ...

and served as its associate director for many years. Upon the executive director Fr William Cunningham's death in 1997, she succeeded him and later became the CEO. She also provided leadership and advocacy for the

Commodity Supplemental Food Program The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides supplementary United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food packages to the low-income elderly of at least 60 years of age. It is one of the fifteen federally-funded nutrition assis ...

and made important contributions to public awareness of hunger and malnutrition. Working with co-founder Cunningham, she helped develop Centers of Opportunity education and training programs to help primarily underrepresented minorities gain access to jobs and careers. She served on numerous board and committees, including The National Workforce Alliance Board, the Michigan Council for Labor and Economic Growth, and the Advisory Board for the Arab-American and Chaldean Council. In 2002 she was named one of the most influential women in Detroit by

Crain's Detroit Business Crain Communications Inc. is an American publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 foreign subsidiaries. History Gustavus Dedman "G.D." Crain Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain Jr.; 1885–1973), previously the ci ...

. In 2006, she turned over the day-to-day operation to a new leadership team in order to focus her efforts on fundraising. She died of

peritoneal cancer Primary peritoneal cancer or carcinoma is also known as serous surface papillary carcinoma, primary peritoneal carcinoma, extra-ovarian serous carcinoma, primary serous papillary carcinoma, and psammomacarcinoma. It was historically classified und ...

on August 9, 2011 in

Livonia, Michigan Livonia ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Livonia is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 95,535. Originally organized as ...

Legacy

Josaitis was widely known and respected throughout Metro

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

for her work in the community, and had been referred to as "Detroit's Mother Theresa" before her death.

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a List of United States senators from Michigan, United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (U ...

gave the eulogy at her funeral mass, quoting her exhortation to "Recognize the dignity and beauty of every person, and take practical action to overcome racism, poverty and injustice." 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 ...

in 1998. In her memory, the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' and Detroit Metropolitan Affairs Coalition annually present the Eleanor Josaitis Unsung Hero Award, which "recognizes an individual who may not have yet received the widespread recognition she or he deserves for long-standing efforts to further regional cooperation and understanding."

Awards

* 1999 “Distinguished Warrior” by the Detroit Urban League * Anti-Defamation League's Women of Achievement Award *

Arab American Institute The Arab American Institute (AAI) is a non-profit membership organization that advocates for the interests of Arab-Americans. Founded in 1985 by James Zogby, the brother of pollster John Zogby, the organization is based in Washington, D.C. ...

Foundation's Khalil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Award * Assumption University's Christian Culture Series Gold Medal Award *

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

's Good Scout Award * City Year Detroit Lifetime of Idealism Award * Clara Barton Ambassador Award * Detroit

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

Presidential Award * Education Award from

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, the organization adopted its current name in 2006 to reflect bot ...

* Ford Employees African-Ancestry Network's 2002 Heritage Award * Jeffery W. Barry Award for Educational Excellence and Service from Walsh College *

Marygrove College Marygrove College was a private Roman Catholic graduate college from 1905 to 2019 in Detroit, Michigan, affiliated with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. History The college grew out of a postgraduate tutorial offered to ...

's Theresa Maxis Award * National Council of Negro Women's Achiever Award * Peacemaker Award from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies * 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 February ...

Michiganian of the Year * The National Council of Women of the United States Inc.'s Woman of Conscience Award *

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

School of Business Administration Leadership Award * Wade McCree Award from the

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, the FBA prints ''The Federal Lawye ...

* Woman of the Year by

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

of Western Wayne CountyWoman of the Year Award
/ref> * Wonder Woman Award by the Women's Survival Center of Oakland County * National Caring Award from the Caring Institute in Washington D.C.

References

External links

* Lawrence Technological Universit
Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josaitis, Eleanor American civil rights activists American women civil rights activists 1931 births 2011 deaths Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from peritoneal cancer