NOW co-founder guest speaker
In honor of Women’s History Month, which is observed nationally in March, a co-founder of the National Organization for Women will be the guest speaker at a local organization’s monthly meeting.
The League of Women Voters of Lee County, in partnership with the American Association of University Women’s Fort Myers/Lee County branch, invites the public to recognize the achievements of women past and successes of women today with a presentation by Sonia Pressman Fuentes.
Fuentes helped to establish one of the largest organizations of feminist activists in the United States.
She was the first woman attorney at the Office of the General Counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fuentes wrote several articles on women’s rights in law reviews and other publications and traveled to other countries as a specialist for the former U.S. Information Agency.
At the league’s March 1 meeting, she will talk about “The Beginning of the Second Wave of the Women’s Movement and Where We are Today.” The meeting, which runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will be held in the Helm Club dining room at The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club in Fort Myers.
“We’re just really interested in what she had to say about women’s issues,” Clara Anne Graham, president of the league, said Wednesday. “To hear how they’ve progressed over the years.”
She added that the presentation is timely as March is Women’s History Month.
“The league was founded in 1920, after women won the right to vote,” Graham said, pointing out that women were the last group in the United States to earn that privilege, preceded by black men.
The meeting and presentation are open to the public, but reservations are required.
“There’s room for 80 seats,” she said.
A full buffet breakfast is available from 9 to 9:30 a.m. at a cost of $15.
The deadline to reserve a spot is Tuesday, Feb. 25.
“Women’s issues need to be brought to the forefront,” Graham said, noting that the meeting is an opportunity for women to educate themselves on some of the issues and get informed.
“The Equal Rights Amendment was never passed. A lot of women don’t know that,” she said.
Following Fuentes’ presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session.
The author of a 1999 memoir, “Eat First – You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You, The Adventures of an Immigrant Family and Their Feminist Daughter,” Fuentes will also hold a book signing.
Graham urged women to reserve a spot for the meeting.
“Women are more than a 50 percent voting bloc,” she said. “Get out and fight and advocate.”
For reservations and information, contact (239) 278-1032 or lwvlee@yahoo.com.
To partake in the breakfast, make checks payable to the LWVLee; student rates are available.
The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club is at 4420 Flagship Drive, Fort Myers.
For information on the League of Women Voters of Lee County, visit: www.lwvlee.org.
The Fort Myers/Lee County American Association of University Women is at: fmlc-fl.aauw.net.
For more information about the National Organization for Women, see: www.now.org.