Mary Jo Duncanson oral history interview [sound recording], 2004 April 3.

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Mary Jo Duncanson oral history interview [sound recording], 2004 April 3.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/288956189

Duncanson begins by discussing her childhood in postwar Michigan and how, at a young age, she became interested in politics. She discusses her early political activities with the Democratic Party in Michigan, and what led her to Atlanta in 1971. She explains that by 1975 she had turned her attention to the Equal Rights Amendment, attending the meetings of the Atlanta chapter of NOW, and going on to serve as chapter treasurer for two years. Duncanson describes the Atlanta chapter of NOW as a somewhat transient organization ยก one in which women were looking for an avenue to connect with other women with similar interests. She believes that the Atlanta chapter never achieved its potential as a significant political actor. As the treasurer of Atlanta NOW, Duncanson also served as a liaison to ERA Georgia and eventually was appointed as one of the co-chairs of the ERA Georgia network. The ERA Georgia network included women from NOW, the League of Women Voters, and business/professional women. From this point, Duncanson, along with other women, were able to attract women from around the state and in the final stages of the fight for the ERA in the Georgia legislature, Duncanson recalls they had approximately 70 county-wide leaders. She considers the state-wide organizing effort as one of the most personally rewarding moments of her work with the ERA. Duncanson discusses leadership issues and some of the problems that created tension among the different women's organizations. The particular issues that attracted Duncanson to the women's movement included reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, women's property rights and marriage rights.

2 sound cassettes.transcript 36 leaves ; 28 cm.

Georgia State University

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SNAC Resource ID: 7266414

Georgia State University

Related Entities

There are 3 Entities related to this resource.

Paulk, Janet, 1932-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jt1jgb (person)

Janet Paulk's loyalty to feminism and women's rights is exemplified through her community involvement. She is a former treasurer and executive committee member of ERA GA., Inc. as well as a member of other women-centered political and social organizations. Retired from Emory University, Paulk currently resides in Decatur, Georgia, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, and since 1997, is a volunteer interviewer for the Georgia Women's Movement Oral History Project for...

Duncanson, Mary Jo, 1947-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6610xp5 (person)

Mary Jo Duncanson was born 1947 in Spring Grove, Minnesota. The third of five children, she spent her childhood in the Midwestern cities of Rochester, Minnesota, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and Detroit, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1969. She married A. Burton Bradley in 1974 and became the step-mother of his five daughters. She and her husband later had a son. From 1969 until 1974, Mary Jo Duncanson worked in federally fu...

ERA Georgia, Inc.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60s3dbb (corporateBody)

ERA Georgia, Inc. was formed in Atlanta (Ga.) in 1973 for the purpose of securing ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by the Georgia General Assembly. It began under the name Georgia Coalition for the ERA and became Georgia Council for the ERA before incorporating in 1978 as ERA Georgia, Inc. From the description of ERA Georgia records, 1973-1982. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 123429906 ...