Judy Goldsmith
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Judy Goldsmith (born November 26, 1938) is an American
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 ...
, academic, and activist. She served as 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 ...
(NOW) from 1982 to 1985, which is the largest feminist organization in the United States; prior to this she was an English professor. Goldsmith also serves as an honorary board member of the
Veteran Feminists of America Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization for supporters and veterans of the second-wave feminist movement. Founded by Jacqueline Ceballos in 1992, Veteran Feminists of America regularly hosts reunions for secon ...
, whose headquarters are in
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.


Early childhood and education

Judith Ann Becker was born in November 26, 1938, in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...
. Her father did not provide for the family and leaving her mother and five siblings to take care of themselves. After her parents divorced, her mother worked in a factory for twenty-five years to support the family, while only having an 8th grade education. The Beckers grew up very poor and for a time lived in a re-converted chicken coop with no running water and an old wooden stove. After completing high school in 1957, Becker received a
scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
that provided the funds to attend the
University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1894, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Stevens Point grants associ ...
. Becker was originally a music major singing and playing the piano, however she was passionate about literature and language so she graduated with a bachelor's degree in English. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Judy Becker met and married Dick Goldsmith and later had a daughter named Rachel. Judy Goldsmith also received a master's degree from the
State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 a ...
.


National Organization for Women


Career

When Judy went into the job market in 1950, there were numerous ads for men and minimal for women, putting women at a significant disadvantage for employment opportunities. The ads, described by Judy, were geared towards women that read: "Needed: Attractive, Woman, Receptionist" for example. Goldsmith began her career as a college English professor at the University of Wisconsin and then became involved in NOW shortly thereafter. She and her sister became involved in NOW together in 1974, after being invited by a friend to attend. After a few months of being involved, Judy was elected president of the Manitowoc County chapter in Wisconsin, which went on to become the first statewide NOW organization. Judy played a large role in the development of the state chapter and was later elected to be president of the state chapter. Fifteen years later she became a national leader of NOW and moved to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
In 1982, while Goldsmith was head of NOW, the organization succeeded in increasing the number of women serving in state legislatures. Goldsmith advocated a more partisan direction for the formerly more inclusive NOW and adopted liberal positions on issues such as
Reaganomics Reaganomics (; a portmanteau of ''Reagan'' and ''economics'' attributed to Paul Harvey), or Reaganism, were the Neoliberalism, neoliberal economics, economic policies promoted by United States President, U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the ...
. During the same year, NOW controversially endorsed
Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
, the male Democratic
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
opponent of New Jersey's Republican feminist Congresswoman,
Millicent Fenwick Millicent Vernon Fenwick (née Hammond; February 25, 1910 – September 16, 1992) was an American fashion editor, politician, and diplomat. A four-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, she was reno ...
, due to Fenwick's support of Reagan's economic agenda despite her pro-women's rights stances. Lautenberg defeated Fenwick by a narrow margin. Goldsmith believed that much discrimination had roots in economics and survival issues. During her tenure she also worked with Coretta Scott-King on the 1983 march commemorating the 20th anniversary of the historic "
March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...
" by
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...


Smeal v Goldsmith

Eleanor Smeal Eleanor Marie Smeal ( Cutri; born July 30, 1939) is an American women's rights activist. She is the president and a cofounder of the Feminist Majority Foundation (founded in 1987) and has served as president of the National Organization for Wome ...
was Judy Goldsmith's predecessor as NOW president as well as her mentor. Smeal supported Goldsmith during the 1982 election, partly because Smeal was not eligible for reelection herself. Smeal unofficially backed Goldsmith's entire
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
, the goal being to endorse and hopefully continue Smeal's policies. An article from 1982 in the Washington Post credits Goldsmith's win "as an affirmation of the policies that built NOW into the nation's foremost voice on women's rights, despite the group's inability last year (1981) to win ratification of the
Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...
" under Smeal's lead. Two others from Goldsmith's slate, Alice Chapman and Mary Jean Collins, were elected both with Smeal's unofficial backing. However, the other positions within the organization were not all filled by the slate that Goldsmith headed, which therefore made it unclear how the voting delegates felt about Smeal's past leadership, as the executive vice president was won by an independent, attorney Barbara Timmer, who pledged a wider, more activist approach than Smeal's, and the secretary position was won by Kathy Webb, who was also an independent. As Goldsmith's presidency continued, the original support she had from Smeal appeared to slip away, as rumors and speculations surfaced that Smeal was going to run for the presidency again. When Smeal announced she was running in the 1985 election, she said that it was due to her belief that Goldsmith was too moderate and did not focus on the issues that were important to herself. Goldsmith often met with politicians, and felt that progress could only be made when women were elected into political positions. On the issues of abortion and equal rights, Goldsmith said, "It is on our agenda but it is not the most propitious time to bring it up. We are not interested in exercises in futility. We must change the political landscape and get more women elected before we try again". Smeal, however, said that there "was a wish that NOW become more outspoken, assertive and publicly active on a number of issues," and that she favored a national program for direct action now. "This can't wait for another 10 years," she said. "We can't decide that we want it and then do nothing". Goldsmith said, in defense of her methods, that "Loud may be good, but it is not only the level of decibels that is heard". Their methods were seen as very different and is what led to the intense battle for the presidency. For example, the two leaders approached anti-abortion terrorism in different ways. Goldsmith sent a telegram to President Reagan, demanding an investigation, and then later called on President Reagan, when she received no response, by telling reporters how she felt during a White House pickett. Smeal, however, led the first March for Women's Lives in 1986, which drew over 150,000 people to Washington and Los Angeles in support of women's reproductive rights. Goldsmith believed in accomplishing NOW's goals through politics while Smeal felt rallies, demonstrations, and protests were the better method, illustrated when Smeal said "It's time to go back on the streets, go on the campuses and show we're the majority" in 1985. The 1985 election was heated and intense but Smeal won over Goldsmith. Goldsmith was the incumbent seeking her second term, and NOW presidents had traditionally served two consecutive two-year terms. Members of NOW's 35-member national board and its state coordinators supported Goldsmith by a 2 to 1 margin, and she appeared to have more supporters at the convention's
plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...
s. It was reported by the SunSentinal in the 1985 article ''Smeal Wins Battle For Top NOW Post'', "the factors contributing to Mrs. Smeal's victory were personality differences between the two candidates, a faulty sample ballot, the last-minute decision by a NOW officer to endorse Mrs. Smeal, a legal vote-brokering system, and a surprisingly vitriolic final campaign speech by Mrs. Goldsmith". Before the election Goldsmith, was believed to be leading, yet Smeal defeated Goldsmith by the margin of 839 to 703. Goldsmith's final campaign speech may have been what cost her votes, many said, in which she "uncharacteristically attacked her opponent in hard-hitting language, had lost her some votes. She accused Mrs. Smeal of, among other things, 'duplicity, character assassination and a ward-boss political mentality". It was also reported in ''Smeal Wins Battle For Top NOW Post,'' that Goldsmith seemed to be trying at the last minute to reverse her image as a president who preferred coalition-building to one who might be comfortable with her opponent's combative style. Overall the 1985 election between Goldsmith and not only her predecessor, but her mentor as well proved to be "one of the most heated presidential elections in the
hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...
19-year history of the National Organization for Women".


Retirement and legacy

After her tenure as President of NOW she served in various leadership positions, including
Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...
of the University of Wisconsin–Fond du Lac, retiring in 2002, though she remains active. Today, the University awards the "Judy Goldsmith Young Woman Leadership Award" in her honor. While using her musical background, Judy now plays piano at a nursing home in Fond du Lac and ballroom dances as frequently as possible.


References


External links


Judy Goldsmith - What I Learned from NOW

National Organization for Women, Official websiteVFA Pioneers History Project: Judy Goldsmith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Judy Living people Presidents of the National Organization for Women American feminists American women's rights activists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty People from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 1938 births