In Memoriam: Juanita Millender-McDonald

April 23, 2007

The National Organization for Women lost a true friend with the passing of Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.). First elected to Congress in 1996, Millender-McDonald was a champion for equality and justice. Elected repeatedly with the support of NOW PAC, she was determined to focus her colleagues' attention on women's needs.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called Millender-McDonald "a trailblazer." She inspired many through her impressive list of firsts; Millender-McDonald was the first African American woman to:

• serve on the Carson, Calif., City Council;
• chair two powerful California State Assembly committees (Insurance and Revenue & Taxation);
• give the national Democratic response to President Bush's weekly radio address;
• chair the important U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on House Administration.

Millender-MacDonald is responsible for significant legislation benefiting women, including legislation to secure $2 million to reduce the appalling backlog of complaints at the EEOC, and to increase diabetes research for women and people of color. NOW cheered on Millender-McDonald as she led a "sit-in" in former Senator Jesse Helms' office. The protest culminated in the confirmation of former senator (and National NOW Advisory Board Committee co-chair) Carol Moseley Braun, as ambassador to New Zealand.

As Democratic chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues in the 108th Congress, Millender-McDonald coordinated a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss global women's rights. She was outspoken about the genocide in Darfur and worked with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on issues of human trafficking and international women's rights.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Millender-McDonald's family. In these precarious days for women's rights, her bold leadership will be sorely missed.