Happy Birthday, Martha
Honor Martha’s 99th birthday on January 29 by reaching out to fellow members of the Griffiths Leadership Society. Whether it’s your mentee, mentor or someone you met at the last conference, take a moment to reconnect with Griffiths.
Below is an excerpt of the comments shared by Arts & Science Dean Michael O’Brien at a previous conference.
“The person for whom your society is named played a significant role in shaping American society, and just as important to you, she and her husband, Hicks, played a significant role in helping to shape the future of the Unviersity of Missouri by establishing the Hicks and Martha Griffiths Chair in Political Science.
Martha had a lot of firsts, including being the first woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. What she is remembered for, however, were her efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. She set that goal for herself, saying, ‘This amendment, if passed, would be like a beacon which should awaken nine sleeping Rip Van Winkels to the fact that the 20th century is passing into history.’ In 1972, she was able to get 354 ERA votes in the House and 84 in the Senate, but ratification fell three states shy of the 38 needed.
Often unheralded was what Martha Griffiths did before she became involved in the ERA. To me, her finest hour was getting a ban on sex discrimination added to the Civil Rights Act. Martha was a fierce combatant when it came to women’s rights.”
-Dean Michael O’Brien, MU College of Arts & Science