Virginia Elenor Montes (1943 – October 6, 1994) was a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

who was the first Latina to become a national officer 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 ...

Biography

Ginny Montes was born in 1943 in

Guanaja Guanaja is one of the Bay Islands Department, Bay Islands of Honduras and is in the Caribbean. It is about off the north coast of Honduras, and from the island of Roatan. One of the cays off Guanaja, also called Guanaja or Bonacca or Low Cay ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. Her family moved to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, when she was ten years old. She graduated from Jefferson High School in Tampa, and attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, receiving a B.A. with a major in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

in 1968. Montes became active with the Gainesville Women for Equal Rights (GWER) while still a student. She eventually was elected president of GWER. After graduation, she worked as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

for what is now the Florida Department of Children and Families. In 1975, she moved to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, to pursue a master's degree in

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Montes moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, in 1980 to work for the

Southern Regional Council The Southern Regional Council (SRC) is a reform-oriented organization created in 1944 to avoid racial violence and promote racial equality in the Southern United States. Voter registration and political-awareness campaigns are used toward this ...

(SRC) as director of legislative research. She also served as director of Project 1990 and director of SRC Voting Rights Programs. Over a 14-year period she assisted SRC in developing legislative analysis on issues relating to civil rights, poverty, children and housing. She also helped

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legislator A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nat ...

s in the southern states as they organized

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caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

es and was involved in efforts supporting the extension of the federal

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...

in 1982. During the mid-1980s she served as director of the Georgia Housing Coalition, but later returned to the SRC. Montes was associated with the National Organization for Women (NOW) for thirteen years. She served two terms as the president of the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

state NOW, two terms on the national NOW board of directors, and as government liaison officer and chief

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for the national organization. She led NOW's defense of

Lani Guinier Carol Lani Guinier ( ; April 19, 1950 – January 7, 2022) was an American educator, legal scholar, and civil rights theorist. She was the Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and the first woman of color appointed to a tenured ...

when she was nominated by President Clinton to head the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

's civil rights division. In 1991, Montes was elected as national secretary of NOW, serving until 1993. She was the first Latina to hold a national office in the organization. She also served as treasurer of NOW's

Political Action Committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

until 1993. Montes also served on the national board of directors of the

Center for Community Change Community Change, formerly the Center for Community Change (CCC), is a progressive community organizing group active in the United States. It was founded in 1968 in response to civil rights concerns of the 1960s and to honor Robert F. Kennedy. T ...

, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, the Advisory Council of

Morehouse School of Medicine Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is an independent and private historically-Black medical school in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally a part of Morehouse College, the school became independent in 1981. History MSM was established at the sugges ...

, and as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in 1978, '80, '84 and '88. She was named to Who's Who Among Hispanic Americans and Who's Who in American Politics. Montes died of a stroke in her home in Atlanta on October 6, 1994.

Personal life

Montes was married to Donald Albury from 1966 until 1979, and had one daughter, born in 1971.

References

*
HON. DON EDWARDS in the House of Representatives TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1994
- retrieved January 23, 2006

- retrieved January 23, 2006 * ttp://www.now.org/nnt/01-95/ginny.html In Memory, in National NOW Times, January, 1995- retrieved January 23, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Montes, Ginny 1943 births 1994 deaths American feminists Honduran emigrants to the United States University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni Florida State University alumni National Organization for Women people People from Tampa, Florida