Florynce kennedy: bio
Florynce Kennedy was born on February 11, 1916, the second of five daughters. Her parents always made sure to convey the belief that they did not have to become subject to authority, and that if they didn't believe in something an authority figure was telling them to do, they didn't have to do it. Kennedy held those values close to her heart throughout her whole career and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, no matter how blunt or objective she had to be. Kennedy was active in the Civil Rights Movement and in the Women's Rights Movement. With the Women's Movement, she not only wanted equality for black women; she wanted it for all women. Flo Kennedy's methods of being active in the movement were using her speeches and lectures to convey her opinion that men and women were created equal for a reason, and that's the way it should be.
How did kennedy become involved in the women's rights movement?
Florynce Kennedy graduated high school in 1934, but delayed going to college for ten years. During her 10 years off, she had many different jobs, from opening a hat shop with her sisters, operating elevators, to singing on a radio show. She then found out that a local Coca-Cola company refused to hire black truck drivers, and that was her first insight into social activism. This sparked her interest to now become involved in social activism and fighting for different groups of people's rights. She attended Columbia University in New York from 1944-1948, and graduated with honors and a Bachelor's Degree in pre-law, against encouragement to become a teacher. She then applied for the Graduate school at Columbia, but was initially denied admission. She confronted the dean, accusing him of denying her based on her race and threatening to sue for the discrimination, but the dean assured her that was not the case, but it was her gender that was the deciding factor in the dean's decision. Neither form of discrimination would sit right with Kennedy, and she was later admitted into the university. She was one of only eight women in her class, and graduated became the second African American woman to graduate from Columbia Law School in 1951. Kennedy then passed the New York Bar Exam in 1952 and became a clerk at a Manhattan Law Firm, and opened her own practice in 1954. After being in the law business and after working in the courts for a while, Kennedy began to realize the amount of racism in the courts, and decided to take a more active approach in the movement.
color me flo: my hard life and good times; by florynce kennedy
"We were taught very early in the game that we didn't have to respect the teachers, and if they threatened to hit us, we could act as if they weren't anybody we had to pay any attention to." Here, Kennedy is reflecting on values her parents taught her.
“Not only was I not earning a decent living, there began to be a serious question in my mind whether practicing law could ever be an effective means of changing society, or even of simple resistance to oppression." (On deciding not to practice law anymore)
"I'm just a loud-mouthed middle-aged colored lady with a fused spine and three feet of intestines missing and a lot of people think I'm crazy … I never stop to wonder why I'm not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me."
Other quotes from Flo Kennedy:
“People always ask if a woman can be a wife and mother and have a career at the same time. Why don’t they ask if she can be a hostess, chauffeur, cook, gardener, nurse, seamstress, social secretary, purchasing agent, baby machine, and courtesan–and a wife and a mother too?”
“My parents gave us a fantastic sense of security and worth. By the time the bigots got around to telling us that we were nobody, we already knew we were somebody.”
Gloria Steinem on Flo Kennedy:
And since then, I have found that–like so many others–I can’t talk for more than an hour or so without quoting the infinitely quotable Flo. By combining a high-style street rap and political insight, Flo has become one of the few feminists who make humor work for change, not against it. --Gloria Steinem
These quotes by and on Florynce Kennedy show how much of a personal impact she had on the movement. She was personable and said everything that was on her mind. She had a way with words that caught peoples' attention and brought people together for the same cause. Gloria Steinem exhibited her great respect for Kennedy in the quote above, especially where she said "...Flo has become one of the few feminists who make humor work for change, not against it." That is very important because it shows how risky and offensive using humor in persuasive speeches can be. Kennedy knew what to say and when to say it to make sure her points were taken seriously.
“Not only was I not earning a decent living, there began to be a serious question in my mind whether practicing law could ever be an effective means of changing society, or even of simple resistance to oppression." (On deciding not to practice law anymore)
"I'm just a loud-mouthed middle-aged colored lady with a fused spine and three feet of intestines missing and a lot of people think I'm crazy … I never stop to wonder why I'm not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me."
Other quotes from Flo Kennedy:
“People always ask if a woman can be a wife and mother and have a career at the same time. Why don’t they ask if she can be a hostess, chauffeur, cook, gardener, nurse, seamstress, social secretary, purchasing agent, baby machine, and courtesan–and a wife and a mother too?”
“My parents gave us a fantastic sense of security and worth. By the time the bigots got around to telling us that we were nobody, we already knew we were somebody.”
Gloria Steinem on Flo Kennedy:
And since then, I have found that–like so many others–I can’t talk for more than an hour or so without quoting the infinitely quotable Flo. By combining a high-style street rap and political insight, Flo has become one of the few feminists who make humor work for change, not against it. --Gloria Steinem
These quotes by and on Florynce Kennedy show how much of a personal impact she had on the movement. She was personable and said everything that was on her mind. She had a way with words that caught peoples' attention and brought people together for the same cause. Gloria Steinem exhibited her great respect for Kennedy in the quote above, especially where she said "...Flo has become one of the few feminists who make humor work for change, not against it." That is very important because it shows how risky and offensive using humor in persuasive speeches can be. Kennedy knew what to say and when to say it to make sure her points were taken seriously.
Turning points and highlights in kennedy's career
In 1967, while Kennedy was at a rally in Montreal protesting the Vietnam War, Bobby Seale, the Black Panther, was denied the right to speak. "I went berserk," she wrote. "I took the platform and started yelling and hollering." After this presentation of her passion for civil rights, she received an invitation to speak in Washington, and this was the spark to her twenty-year lecturing career.
Kennedy helped found the Women’s political Caucus and the National Black Feminist Organization. Was an original member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and was a part of the Radical Women group, protesting the 1968 Miss america pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founded the national Feminist Party. They took a part in nominating Representative Shirley Chisholm, who was the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress.
One of Kennedy’s protests included protesting the small amount of female bathrooms on the Harvard University campus by leading a mass urination on the grounds.
One of the larger feminist fronts that Kennedy fought for was abortion rights. She got a group of lawyers together in 1969 to challenge the constitutionality of New York’s antiabortion laws. The laws were overturned the next year. In 1971, she wrote a book with Diane Schulder about abortion called Abortion Rap.
As Kennedy’s health declined in her later years, she was unable to lecture as much, but produced a weekly interview show on cable television. Throughout her active career, she lectured at more than 200 colleges and universities.
Kennedy helped found the Women’s political Caucus and the National Black Feminist Organization. Was an original member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and was a part of the Radical Women group, protesting the 1968 Miss america pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founded the national Feminist Party. They took a part in nominating Representative Shirley Chisholm, who was the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress.
One of Kennedy’s protests included protesting the small amount of female bathrooms on the Harvard University campus by leading a mass urination on the grounds.
One of the larger feminist fronts that Kennedy fought for was abortion rights. She got a group of lawyers together in 1969 to challenge the constitutionality of New York’s antiabortion laws. The laws were overturned the next year. In 1971, she wrote a book with Diane Schulder about abortion called Abortion Rap.
As Kennedy’s health declined in her later years, she was unable to lecture as much, but produced a weekly interview show on cable television. Throughout her active career, she lectured at more than 200 colleges and universities.
Evaluation
Through this project, I learned more about the Women's Rights Movement in depth. I didn't realize how many ways the leaders protested certain inequalities, such as Kennedy's leadership with the "mass urination." Flo Kennedy had a major impact on the Women's Rights Movement, and was a catalyst in certain laws getting passed (like the New York antiabortion laws) and with helping other people succeed within the movement, such as the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm. Kennedy had a very persuasive way of speaking, and her speeches made people want to listen to her. She wasn't afraid to speak above everybody and speak against things she didn't think were right. Her parents had a great influence on her by making it known that with the right way of conveying an opinion, Kennedy and her sisters could challenge authority, and win.
Works cited
Image #1: http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2011/images/Kennedy.gif
Image #2: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tJtgS6m2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Joyner, Marsha, "Florynce Kennedy," Civil Rights Movement Veterans, http://www.crmvet.org/mem/kennedyf.htm (December 7, 2006).
Steinem, Gloria. "Ms. Magazine | The Verbal Karate of Florynce R. Kennedy, Esq." Ms. Magazine | The Verbal Karate of Florynce R. Kennedy, Esq. Ms. Magazine, 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
"World Biography." Florynce Kennedy Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biography, Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
Image #2: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tJtgS6m2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Joyner, Marsha, "Florynce Kennedy," Civil Rights Movement Veterans, http://www.crmvet.org/mem/kennedyf.htm (December 7, 2006).
Steinem, Gloria. "Ms. Magazine | The Verbal Karate of Florynce R. Kennedy, Esq." Ms. Magazine | The Verbal Karate of Florynce R. Kennedy, Esq. Ms. Magazine, 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
"World Biography." Florynce Kennedy Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biography, Web. 24 Mar. 2013.