By Jennifer McConnellContributor
Feminists packed into the Casa Real room located in Aztec CenterFriday to honor four local women activists and to pay tribute to thememory of Helen Hawkins.
A few men were sprinkled among the crowd of about 50. Among themen was Hawkins’ husband, William Hawkins Jr. — one of the event’sfounders. Hawkins has also established a scholarship fund that eachsemester will award $5,000 to one incoming women’s studies mastersstudent.
“It will attract more people to the program,” said VictoriaChavez, a first-year women’s studies graduate student.
Two years ago Mr. Hawkins collaborated with the department ofwomen’s studies and later spawned the Helen Hawkins Feminist ActivistAwards and Lecture.
This event was just another way for Mr. Hawkins to remain activeand honor his deceased wife.
One of the main themes was visibility of women.
The evening began with guest lecturer Marie Wilson, president ofthe Ms. Foundation. In her 45-minute speech, she went into depthabout the many areas in which women are invisible in today’ssocieties. She said women are invisible in politics, research andfunding.
“I’m so glad to be a part of this celebration,” Wilson said.”Where are the women? Here are the women.”
One of the ways she said women can come out of the shadows is bypartaking in the Whitehouse Project — a growing movement for womento obtain higher positions with more authority.
The first woman honored was Irma Castro, San Diego City Schoolsstudent advocacy program manager, for developing an innovativementorship program for Latinas called Las Madrinas (The Godmothers).The program puts fifth grade girls in touch with a mentor.
“I have lived for a long time with an anger and a rage about howLatinos and people of color are taken advantage of in this country,”Castro said. “How they’re not seen, how they’re needs are not met,how we’re not important and how we’re thrown to the side.”
Castro said Latinas have been found to have close-knitrelationships with their female relatives and she wanted to establishthat sort of close relationship in an educational environment.
The second woman honored was Lauriann Stanley, a teacher at HooverHigh School, who in ’92 founded the Young Women’s Studies Club.
“More than 100 years ago (woman activist) Elizabeth Katy Stantonsaid ‘begin with the girls today and in 20 years we can revolutionizethe nation,’ Stanley said. “It was this philosophy which led me tothe public school system.”
Stanley said she also agrees with Castro’s philosophy that mentorsare vital because at an early age women are told to be quite. Bothwant to reunite women with their voices.
The final honorees were Barbara Macdonald and Cynthia Rich. Theselovers were pioneers in women and lesbian movements against ageism intheir book Look Me in The Eye. Rich accepted the award. Macdonaldpassed away last June 15th.
“I am supposed to gracefully accept that you find me uglier anduglier with each passing year,” Rich said while accepting the award.”I suppose I should not be offended when you speak with disgust aboutmy life lines, my thinning hair, or my hanging breast.”
All awards recipients said they were very proud to be honored by awoman of such distinction as Ms. Hawkins.
In 1970, Ms. Hawkins was co-founder and first president of the SanDiego Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Her husband wasa co-founder.
In 1982, she was awarded the highest award bestowed by NOW’s SanDiego chapter — the Susan B. Anthony Award. According to members ofthe women’s studies department, this award is given to women whosecourage and compassion and work for women’s rights exemplifies thespirit of Anthony, known for her instrumental role in making it legalfor women to vote.
English senior Haejung Kwon said she felt very empoweredsurrounded by all the successful feminists in Casa Real. She did notrealize how much women’s issues are hidden.
“But what can be addressed can be changed,” Kwon said.
According to the Whitehouse Project, 76 percent of Americans nowsay they are prepared to elect a women for president.
Milestones in Women’sHistory:
Just a little more than 25 years ago, married women were notissued credit cards under their own names, women could not get bankloans without male co-signers and women working full time earned 59cents to every dollar earned by men. Check out more of these historicfacts:
1872 — Victoria Woodhull is the first woman to run for U.S. president. – 1872 — Susan B. Anthony is arrested after casting an “illegal” vote in the presidential election. 1920 — Women get the right to vote. 1955 — Rosa Parks is recognized as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” when she refuses to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala. 1968 — Shirley Chisholm of New York is the first black woman elected to the House of Representatives 1964- The Civil Rights Act passes, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, religion and national origin. 1970 — San Diego State University establishes the first women’s studies department in the nation. 1981 — Sandra Day O’ Conner becomes the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. 1983 — Sally Ride is the first American woman astronaut when she went on the Challenger into space.
Alice Paul, who helped shape the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923,said “I always feel the movement is sort of a mosaic. Each of us putsin one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.”Have you cast your stone into the pond yet?
