Women of Color and Allies Summit

Speakers

Mandy Carter

Mandy Carter is one of the nation's leading African American lesbian activists. An extraordinary political activist, Carter has organized the grassroots in almost every major region of this country over the last 28 years. She joined the Human Rights Campaign staff in 1992 as Public Policy Advocate with a particular focus on the religious and radical right's attacks on gays and lesbians through exploitation of the black community. While in Washington, D.C., Carter was active in the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbians. In 1995 she moved to North Carolina and founded North Carolina Mobilization '96, a political campaign organizing North Carolina's lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender and allies communities to help defeat Jesse Helms. Presently the National Field Director and board member of the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum, Carter serves as liaison to the Human Rights Campaign.

Linda Chavez-Thompson

Linda Chavez-Thompson was elected Executive Vice-President of the AFL-CIO on October 25, 1995. She was re-elected on September 30, 1997 to a four year term. Since her election, Chavez-Thompson has become active in many national organizations as part of the AFL-CIO's program to work with other community groups. She serves on several boards and committees: the AFL-CIO's Board of Trustees, United Way's Board of Governors, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Executive Committee of the Council of Competitiveness, Board of Trustees of the Labor Heritage Foundation, Selection Committee of the Labor's International Hall of Fame, Executive Committee of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and on the Board of the Institute for Women's Policy Research. She was also appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on The President's Initiative on Race. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C. in November 1995, Chavez-Thompson resided in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Johnetta B. Cole
As former President of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and the first African American woman to head this historically Black College for women, Dr. Johnetta Cole has helped to lead Spelman into the ranks of American's outstanding colleges to become the nation's top Black College. Dr. Cole, a leading educator, anthropologist and advocate for people of color and women everywhere, was named one of America's most outstanding African Americans in the 20th anniversary issues of both Essence magazine and Black Enterprise magazine. Dr. Cole is the author of the highly acclaimed book Conversations: Straight Talk with American's Sister President. She is featured in the book and exhibit "I Dream A World," Portrait of Black Women Who Changed America. In May of 1995, Dr. Cole received an honorary degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Dr. Cole is currently serving as diversity adviser to Wall Street brokerage firm Smith Barney.

Dolores C. Huerta
Dolores C. Huerta is the co-founder and Secretary Treasurer of the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO (UFW). Huerta is one of the best known women in the American civil rights and labor movement. Huerta has played many key roles in the UFW, including negotiating the first collective bargaining agreement for farm workers, heading the UFW's national grape boycott and directing the UFW's political and lobbying efforts. She is currently participating in the UFW's industry-wide strawberry organizing campaign in California. Huerta's goal has always been to secure fair wages and decent living and working conditions for the most exploited workers in our society. She also works to help elect women to public office and assure that elected officials are responsive to the needs and rights of disadvantaged people. Huerta sits on the board of directors of the Feminist Majority, the California Labor Federation and is one of the vice presidents of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Patricia Ireland
It was Patricia Ireland's job as a stewardess for Pan American that launched her career as a feminist political leader. It was an era when women were fired for getting pregnant and faced advertising campaigns that proclaimed: "We really move our tails for you." When Ireland's husband needed expensive dental work, she discovered that Pan Am would not cover him under her employee health plan — although it did cover wives of her male coworkers. Ireland fought Pam Am, and with the help of the local NOW Chapter and a then-new affirmative action law, won equal benefits. Empowered, she enrolled in law school and finally left the airline degree in hand. Ireland became active in NOW as pro-bono counsel and political strategist on many fronts, including the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1991, she became NOW President, organizing activists of the nation's largest feminist organization to defend women's access to abortion, elect women to political office, work more closely with other social justice and civil rights groups and champion global feminist issues.

Marian Kramer
A long-time activist for civil rights, Marian Kramer has made a commitment to the advocacy of economic justice for poor women and their children. She has been a dedicated activist in the welfare rights movement since 1966. Kramer is involved in the movement as both founder and president of the National Welfare Rights Union. In 1989 Kramer helped to form the National Up and Out of Poverty NOW Coalition and now serves as its co-president. She has organized lower-income and welfare recipients to challenge public asistance policies and was an outspoken crusader against the 1996 welfare repeal bill. Kramer was one of the founders of an early workers' rights organization called the League of Revolutionary for Black Workers. She also served as a full-time organizer for the Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE) in Louisiana during the 1960's as well as for the West Central Organization in Detroit, Michigan.

Angela E. Oh
Angela E. Oh is a California attorney who developed a state and federal criminal defense practice that includes the representation of juvenile offenders. Oh has been a leader in the organized bar and civic organizations in the Los Angeles area. Following the 1992 riots of L.A., Oh was appointed to serve as Social Counsel to the Assembly Special Committee in the Los Angeles Crisis. Oh currently serves on the Advisory Board to the President's Initiative on Race. She served as a member of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer's Federal Judicial Nominations Committee for the Central District of California. Her community and professional involvements include serving as Commissioner to the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission, President of the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California, Board member of the California Women's Law Center and Lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Loretta J. Ross
Loretta J. Ross is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights Education (CHRE) in Atlanta, Georgia. CHRE is a training and resource center for grassroots activists on using human rights to address social injustices in the United States. Ross is an expert on human rights, women's issues, diversity issues, and hate groups and bias crimes. She is a political commentator for Pacifica News Service, and has appeared as political commentator on Good Morning America, The Donahue Show, The Charlie Rose Show, CNN and BET. Ross was one of the first African American women to direct a rape crisis center in the 1970s. Ross is presently writing a book on reproductive rights entitled Black Abortion and scheduled for release this year.

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