It was a dark and stormy night – yes, it really was!
Halloween night, 1971, and the gymnasium at the Jewish Community Center was packed with an expectant crowd awaiting the feisty and fiery congresswoman who wore all those hats, Bella Abzug. Her topic was the Vietnam War. She spoke about public dissatisfaction with the decisions that elected officials were making. As one founding mother remembers Bella’s words, “you can’t keep beating on the door and trying to get the people who are in power to change their minds and to change the way they’re doing things. You have to have a seat at the table you have to be there, and women have to be there.” Speaking to the women in the audience “We’re starting a new organization in Washington DC- the National Women’s Political Caucus –maybe you should have a chapter here in Saint Louis.” She threw out the call, “there is going to be a yellow legal pad at the front of the room. Come up after this meeting and sign up to start your own chapter.” Among those that signed that legal pad were ten women that became the founding mothers of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Two of them were pregnant at the time, one of them had lost her husband and had two small children and was attending college. They all came from a place of intense desire to make change. Meeting several weeks later, the Saint Louis chapter of the caucus was born. Susan Block was elected president. Sally Barker and Vivian Eveloff were on the strategy committee,
The first task was finding a woman candidate to represent them in Jefferson City who would introduce the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) in the legislature. Barker remembers cold calling suggested candidate Sue Shear. “Have you ever thought about running for office?” she boldly asked. Shear replied, “Well that’s very interesting.” Sue Shear went on to be the right choice, a charming person and indefatigable worker. Stephanie Tranen would accompany Shear as she made numerous ‘coffee time’ visits in living rooms in the district to meet people and to raise funds. An army of women roamed the district knocking on doors and working outside polling places. Shear won the election and the National Women’s Political Caucus of Saint Louis had their first big win. They were on the map as a force in politics. Shear would introduce a resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and go on to be the longest serving state representative in Missouri. Marcia Mellitz was there at the organizational meetings of the caucus and was involved in the Shear campaign. She went on to create a database of women qualified to serve on important commissions, to put more women at decision making tables. Ora Lee Malone, Mary Teresa Maledon, and Myrna Fichtenbaum were there at the beginning of the caucus and its success.
The road was not easy. Sexism in 1970’s was blatant, especially where women were breaking into new roles in professions and into politics. Women would often be called girls. Betty Van Uum would become a lobbyist for the ERA in Jefferson City and remembers the fight. The ERA passed easily in the house reaching roadblocks in the Senate. Their Senate ally scrambled to get more votes to pass the ERA. Betty was asked to do something unbelievably sexist, which is revealed in the podcast. She declined. The measure lost by one vote. Missouri has yet to ratify the ERA. Two years later, Van Uum would go on to become the first woman elected to the St. Louis County Council. Susan Block would break another barrier, becoming the first woman elected to magistrate judge. Fifty years later these women remain friends and many of them are still active in the caucus and in their professions.
The National Women’s Political Caucus – Saint Louis is justly proud of these Founding Mothers. Ignited by the spark that was Bella Abzug, they have broken barriers and laid the foundation for women’s representation at decision-making tables. The next step is getting to fifty percent women in all elected offices: governors, council members, representatives, and senators. May the future leaders of the caucus see that goal achieved. Let’s get more women seated at the tables of power.