Wayne County NOW honors feminists

Elizabeth Thompson representing the Michigan Women's Commission presents a
state proclamation for Women's Equality Day to Jacquie Steingold, of Wayne County NOW.

On August 26, Wayne County's chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) honored four women with "Feminist of the Year" awards, during a celebration held at a private residence in Detroit.

Emcee Jacquie Steingold, a longtime NOW member and chapter co-president, kicked off the evening by sharing the history of Women's Equality Day, which marks the day U.S. women were granted the right to vote by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. It was a victory 72 years in the making, she said.

"The women being honored today, as the suffragists, are wonderful models of political leadership, activism and organizing," she said. While women still have a long way to go – with recent losses in the levels of representation in elected offices and a persistent gender wage gap – "we can be proud of the solid base upon which to build for the future."

Honored feminists included:

Congressman John Conyers, on behalf of Rose Mary Robinson

Rose Mary Robinson,  Susan B. Anthony Award for political activism on behalf of women
Robinson has been an activist for many years and was one of the first women to serve on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners. She is now a member of the Detroit Charter Commission. Because the Commission was meeting Aug. 26, Robinson was unable to attend, and Congressman John Conyers accepted the award on her behalf.

Kimberly Beebe

Kimberly Beebe, Betty Friedan Award for service to NOW
As president of the Oakland County NOW chapter, Beebe has set records for fundraising and attendance at events. A former construction manager, Beebe said even though her projects came in on time and she met and exceeded profit targets, "That wasn't quite enough." She now sells a line of women's clothing made by a woman-owned company, Carol Anderson by invitation (CAbi).

Gloria House

Gloria House, Harriet Tubman award for service to the community
Once jailed for two weeks for her work in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, House is now a professor at University of Michigan-Dearborn and published poet who read three of her works at the event. House was especially honored to receive an award named for Tubman, an African-American abolitionist who, in the mid-19th century, helped slaves escape the south through the Underground Railroad.

Gilda Jacobs

Gilda Jacobs, Loretta Moore award for consciousness raising on behalf of women
After she was term-limited from the Michigan State Senate in 2010, Jacobs took over leadership of the Michigan League for Human Services, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that Michigan’s low-income residents achieve economic security. Jacobs said while the organization has in the past advocated to do more for people in need, "we have been concerned about trying to hang on to what we've got. Things could not be worse for women and children in this state."

Mary Luevanos

G. Asenath Andrews

Special recognition was also given to Latina artist and activist Mary Luevanos and G. Asenath Andrews, principal of Catherine Ferguson Academy, a Detroit school for pregnant teens.

In addition to the awards presentation, Elizabeth Thompson, representing the Michigan Women's Commission, delivered a framed copy of Gov. Rick Snyder's resolution proclaiming Aug. 26 Women's Equality Day in Michigan.