Monday, April 20, 2009

Trailblazing Feminist Elizabeth Chittick Dies

(cross-posted from Feminist Weekly News at feminist.org)

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Elizabeth Chittick, the former president of the National Woman's Party, passed away last week at 100 years old. In addition to her leadership of the National Woman's Party, Chittick also worked extensively on the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment.

She led the efforts to save the Sewall-Belmont House, which was headquarters of the National Woman's Party and is located next to the Senate Hart Office Building, from being destroyed and instead being preserved and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the home is used as an educational facility for women’s suffrage and the struggle for equality as well as a gathering place for numerous events. "Elizabeth Chittick's determination almost single-handedly saved this historic landmark for women's equality," said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

According to the Sewell-Belmont House, Chittick was "the first woman civilian administrator of the U.S. Naval Air Station in Seattle, Washington and in Banana River, Florida; the first woman registered representative of the New York Stock Exchange; and the first woman revenue collections officer with the Internal Revenue Service."

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