The Quixote Center is a social justice group in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

founded by Catholic priest William R. Callahan and Dolores "Dolly" Pomerleau in 1976.

History

The Quixote Center achieved prominence in its support of the ideals of the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

government of Nicaragua in the 1980s. The Center raised more than $100 million in humanitarian aid for the Nicaraguan people. Although the Center did not officially take sides during the revolution in Nicaragua, its work was described by

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

as "intensely political" and the aid it sent went largely to assist victims of the Contra War. A leader at the Center described U.S. efforts in Nicaragua as a "policy of terrorism." Some critics accused the Center of following a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

agenda and the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

investigated allegations that Quixote Center had smuggled guns, but no charges were brought and leaders of the Center described the allegations as politically motivated. The Center has actively opposed the death penalty. Former New York City Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

worked for the Center in 1988.

Support for the Equal Rights Amendment

In the 1970s and early 1980s, many activists affiliated with the Quixote Center supported the 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 ...

including Sister Maureen Fiedler.

References

External links

* {{Official website
The Quixote Center Records
at Marquette University
"Guide to the Harriette Lane Baggett Papers"
Collection of Harriette Lane Baggett's papers from her activism in Catholic feminist organizations housed in the University of Dayton's U.S. Catholic Special Collection Organizations based in Maryland Catholic lay organisations Equal Rights Amendment activists Catholic feminism Feminism in Maryland

History

Support for the Equal Rights Amendment

See also

References

External links