Greater Portland NOW

National Organization for Women

Advocating for Women & Girls

Donate Join NOW

  • About
  • Issues
    • NOW Priority Issues
  • Get Involved
    • Join
    • Donate
  • News
  • Events
  • Endorsements
    • 2018 Endorsements
    • 2017 Endorsements
    • 2016 Endorsements

January 20, 2019 by NOW National

What Martin Luther King Jr. Day Means For Women

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt

WASHINGTON – January 21 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national observance to honor the memory of the civil rights advocate.  But we should also remember that Martin Luther King Jr. was an early and dedicated supporter of women’s rights.

As a preacher at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama during the 1950s, Dr. King took a bold and forthright position in favor of contraception, a stance that was far from common among Southern preachers of the day.  He supported the work of Planned Parenthood and agreed to serve on the sponsoring committee of a Planned Parenthood study on contraception. He wrote of his hopes that “the federal and state governments will begin to appropriate large sums to educate people to the need for such (contraceptive) devices.”

It was The Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor, a black women’s organization formed to stop white men from raping black women, that trained Rosa Parks and others as activists.  Dr. King acknowledged the education he got from women, including black welfare mothers who opposed the Vietnam War and influenced his historic Poor People’s Campaign.

Martin Luther King Jr. marched with women who were underpaid and overworked.  He spoke out for women who were denied equality. He organized for women who were victims of oppression. He knew that women’s rights are civil rights, and helped shape many of the movements in which we participate today. NOW honors the memory and the legacy of Dr. King on this holiday.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

About NOW National

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Get Greater Portland NOW Updates

Sign up here to receive updates from Greater Portland NOW!

Subscribe

Take Action

Attend an Event

Become a Greater Portland NOW Member

Learn More

Oregon NOW

Greater Portland NOW is the state chapter of the National Organization for Women. We work on behalf of NOW members in the Greater Portland area to achieve equality for all women and girls and to amplify the work of justice-seeking organizations.

Learn more about us.

Contact

Mailing Address
Greater Portland NOW
PO Box 951
Clackamas, OR 97015

E-Mail
greaterportlandnow@gmail.com

Social

  • Facebook

Handcrafted with by Mapped Digital. NOW Chapter Websites Reinvented.