Emily Weisberg Sunstein (April 28, 1924 – April 21, 2007) was an American campaigner, political activist and biographer.

Biography

Born Emily Weisberg in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and graduated from high school there. She married stockbroker Leon Sunstein, Jr. in 1943 a year before earning a bachelor's degree in Art History in 1944 from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. The couple then moved to Elkins Park before raising three children in Wyncote. Before beginning her writing career, Sunstein was active in civic affairs. A charter member of

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 p ...

(founded in 1947), she later became the first woman to serve as head of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

chapter of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...

.http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obituaries/20070425_Emily_W__Sunstein__82__Phila__political_advocate_and_author.html She sat on the State Commission for Human Relations from 1970 to 1974, was the head of the state Conference on Women's Economics Issues and the head of the Philadelphia YWCA in 1975. She and her husband built a sprawling modern cedar home overlooking Fairmount Park in the mid-1970s. Her first book, A different face: The life of

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

(Harper & Row Co., 1975) was published in 1975. In 1989, her second book,

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

: Romance and Reality (Little, Brown and Co., 1989) was published to critical acclaim. She won the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

Prize for Independent Scholars in 1989. She moved away from politics and started to enjoy other passions such as writing, collecting art, entertaining and horticulture. She remained active in Jewish causes until she became ill in the mid-1990s.

Writings

*''Mary Shelley : Romance and Reality'' - 1991 - 514 pages *''A Different Face: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft''. New York: Harper and Row, 1975. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunstein, Emily W 1924 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American Jews Activists from Philadelphia Vassar College alumni 20th-century American biographers American women biographers 20th-century American women Mary Wollstonecraft scholars 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women