Mary Lou Greenberg Receives NY NOW Award
Revolutionary Worker #1094, March 11, 2001, posted at http://rwor.org
On February 20, the National Organization for Women (NOW), New York City Chapter, held its 22nd Annual Susan B. Anthony Awards ceremony. Mary Lou Greenberg was one of five women who were presented with awards during the program which was held in the city council chambers inside city hall. Mary Lou is a founding member of Refuse & Resist! and a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Communist Party New York Branch who has been active in the struggle for reproductive rights and women's liberation for over 30 years.
NOW-New York City President Nancy Millar told the audience the purpose of the awards was to "recognize the efforts of six powerful, courageous women who have dedicated their lives to grassroots feminist action...individuals who help turn the goals of feminism into concrete plans for change... I believe the group we are honoring tonight is a phenomenal one and I think its breadth and diversity symbolizes the women's rights movement in 2001."
Mary Lou Greenberg was honored as "a founding member of Refuse & Resist! who has worked for reproductive rights since the early days of the women's liberation movement. She was among the early pioneers in organizing the defense of abortion clinics. When the tactics of the anti-abortion terrorists shifted to murder, Ms. Greenberg traveled to the scene of each assault and helped organize resistance. She traveled to Buffalo, to Birmingham, to Pensacola and was arrested during the very first civil disobedience action at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in 1989 protesting Operation Rescue. Her many writings include 'Women Are Not Incubators: The Assault On Abortion Rights--Where It's Coming From, What Has To Be Done About It.'"
Awards were also presented to: Anne Peyton Bryant, who was sexually assaulted in Central Park last summer and has been an outspoken critic of the police and mayor's response to the assaults; the late Anne Florant for her work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Bea Hanson, for her role in pioneering research, advocacy and activism on hate crimes and domestic violence; and Gaby Moreno, a NOW board member active with the group for over 20 years. New York City Council member Margarita Lopez was given an Elizabeth Cady Stanton Award for her activism on behalf of women. Over 100 people attended the award ceremony, which was followed by a reception in the City Hall rotunda.
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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