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Geraldine Ferraro was a politician, diplomat, attorney - and also a teacher, activist, author, and businesswoman.

The daughter of an Italian immigrant, Geraldine lost her father when she was 8, and moved with her family to the South Bronx where her mother worked in the garment industry to support them.

She was an outstanding student winning a full scholarship to college, and earning a degree in English with honors. 

Geraldine Ferraro worked as a public school teacher in Queens before entering Fordham University School of Law in 1957. She continued to teach second grade at PS 57 in Queens during the day while going to law school in Manhattan at night and was of 2 women in her graduating class of 179 to earn a Juris Doctorate in 1960. 

Ferraro raised a family and worked as a civil lawyer for 13 years - occasionally doing pro bono work for women in family court.

She joined the Queens District Attorneys Office in 1974 heading the new Special Victims Bureau that dealt with sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence. 

Before she made history as the first woman to run for office on a national ticket - Geraldine Ferraro was a rising star in the Democratic Party and a powerful voice in Congress. 

Elected in 1978 to Represent New York’s 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn and Queens, a seat once held by Joseph Pulitzer and later by Chuck Schumer.

In only her second term she served in a prestigious leadership position as Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus - under legendary Speaker Tip O’Neil. A position perviously held by Shirley Chisholm and later by James Clyburn. 

In July of 1984, former Vice President Walter Mondale made history when he asked Ferraro to join the Democratic ticket as his running mate when he became the presidential nominee to challenge incumbent President Ronald Reagan and his Vice President George HW Bush.

One hundred and ninety-seven years after the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787, a female candidate was finally nominated for national office at the Democratic Convention in San Francisco in 1984.

36 years, 6 months and 2 days later Senator Kamila Harris – also the daughter of immigrants, was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States

Let’s listen to the Honorable Geraldine Ferraro’s historic acceptance speech for the 1984 Democratic Vice Presidential nomination

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Dr. Maya Angelou was a poet, professor, memoirist, actor, singer, author, educator and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and appeared in numerous plays, movies, and television shows over a 65 year career. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees

In literary circles, Maya Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

Her books center on themes including racism, identity, and family

She was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked closely with both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. 

On January 20, 1993, Angelou became the second poet in American history -- and the first African American and woman -- to read a poem at a presidential inauguration, when she recited her original work "On the Pulse of Morning" at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton.

She was the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.

Angelou's audio recording of the poem won the 1993 Grammy Award for "Best Spoken Word" - introducing her to a whole new generation and bringing much deserved recognition for her previous works.

As evidenced by her Grammy win - Maya Angelou was as brilliant a performer as she was a writer.

In 2011 - she awarded the national’s highest civilian honor - the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

But of all her awards and accolades - one of the most memorable was her 1992 commencement address at Spelman College -an private historically black women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, 

The Spelman Messenger later wrote - 

“ Maya Angelou left an indelible mark upon the world. Her wit, wisdom, and work will continue to inspire generations of Spelman women.” 

With that - let’s listen to Grammy winning poet Maya Angelou and her iconic 1992 Spelman College Commencement Address

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Dr. Angela Davis is an activist, philosopher, academic and author.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama during World War II - she attended segregated black elementary and middle schools in the 1950s.

Davis studied philosophy at Brandis University and did her graduate work in Germany with famed philosopher Herbert Marcuse.

She would later say that: “Herbert Marcuse taught me that it was possible to be an academic, an activist, a scholar, and a revolutionary.”

After returning to the United States, Angela Davis joined the Communist Party, became involved in the Black Panther Party, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, second-wave feminism and actively protested the War in Vietnam.

In 1969 Angela Davis became an acting Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California Los Angeles.

That same year the University of California initiated a policy against hiring Communists.[

At their September 19, 1969, meeting, the Board of Regents - urged on by then-Governor Ronald Regan, fired Professor Davis from her teaching post because of her political beliefs.”

On October 8th 1969, Angela Davis gave a speech at UCLA protesting her dismissal.

“Education” she told a cheering student audience, “should not mold the mind according to a prefabricated architectural plan. It should rather liberate the mind. Because the mind has to be liberated in order to perceive the world, to see society, to understand what its advantages are, what its disadvantages are.” 

In that same speech Angela Davis drew persuasive links between the suppression of academic freedom, academic and social institutional racism, and the rise of totalitarianism in German during the 1930s. 

Later that month Angela Davis was reinstated by a California Superior Court judge and completed teaching the 1969-70 academic year. 

With that - let’s listen to Angela Davis talk about academic freedom, institutional racism and the dangers of totalitarianism.

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This week, in honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to pay tribute to one of the most consequential leaders in American History. Eleanor Roosevelt was the niece of the 26th President of the United States and the wife of the 32nd – but make no mistake, she was a political thinker, an international activist and a World Leader in her own right.

Of her many achievements and successes, perhaps none was more personally satisfying and poignant than her work - after FDR’s death - at the United Nations -- in particular, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Adopted at the Third Session of the U.N. General Assembly held in Paris, to this day it is one of the most meaningful and important accomplishments in the 75-year history of that World Assembly. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as Ken Burns noted in his award-winning series, The Roosevelts, was history's first attempt at laying out the principles under which all nations should behave toward their own citizens and toward each other.

And it was largely the work of one delegate from the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt.

It was no easy task leading the international drafting committee at the dawn of the Cold War. But the former First Lady, as always, was shrewd, persuasive, and relentless.

As tough as she was tactful, she drove her fellow delegates so hard that one felt compelled to remind her that they "had human rights too."

"If they wanted shorter days, Theodore Roosevelt's favorite niece answered, "they should make shorter speeches."

At 3 a.m. on the morning of December 10th, 1948, the General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without a single dissenting vote.

And after the historic vote, the entire General Assembly did something it had never done before and has never done since. It rose to give a standing ovation to a single delegate, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Please listen to Eleanor Roosevelt 1948 speech on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio.

Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. 

You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.

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As Black History Month ends and Women’s History Month begins, we wanted to honor a pioneer in the struggle for equal rights for both movements.

Shirley Anita Chisholm was a politician, educator, activist, community organizer and author.

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, as a child during the Great Depression - while her parents struggled to make ends meet - young Shirley and her two sisters were sent to Barbados to live with their Grandmother. Long before the Civil Rights movement in the United States, young

Shirley watched as her community advocated for their rights as she witnessed the Barbados workers' and anti-colonial independence movements. Chisholm would later say about her time on Barbados with her Grandmother: “Granny gave me strength, dignity, and love. I learned from an early age that I was somebody. I didn't need the Black Revolution to tell me that."

In 1964, after nearly two decades as an educator and community activist, Chisholm ran for and was elected to the New York State Assembly.

Even within the New York Democratic Party, Shirley Chisholm had faced resistance to candidacy based on her sex - so she took her

campaign directly to women, using her role as Brooklyn branch president of Key Women of America to mobilize female voters.

Four years later - in 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, representing New York's 12th congressional district for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. 

Her 1968 congressional campaign slogan was "Unbought and Unbossed" - which later became the title of her memoir and a documentary film on her amazing life. 

On January 25, 1972, in a Baptist church in her district in Brooklyn - Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

In her presidential announcement - she called for a "bloodless revolution" at the forthcoming Democratic nominating convention and described herself as representative of the people offering a new articulation of American identity: 

"I am not the candidate of Black America, although I am Black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman and equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people and my presence before you, symbolizes a new era in American political history."

Let’s listen to Civil Rights and Women’s Rights Pioneer Shirley Chisholm announce her candidacy for President of the United States. 

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When the 9/11 Commission was formed in the wake of the Al Qaeda attacks on the US, the current was united in grief and anger but politically polarized and it was very difficult to find a path forward that would be credible and an effective driver of reform. But the divisions of the early 2000s were nothing compared to what we have today and the problem is compounded by the active culpability one political party has in both of the issues that demand investigation. So, how do we get to accountability today? We discuss this question with former 9/11 Commissioner, former Indiana congressman Tim Roemer as well as Ryan Goodman of NYU Law School and "Just Security" and Dr. Kavita Patel of the Brookings Institution and former senior Obama White House staffer. Join us.

Each week, we’re bringing you a new episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Deep State Radio.

Deep State Radio, hosted by David Rothkopf, produces new episodes 2-3 times per week and brings together top experts, policymakers, and journalists from the national security, foreign policy, and political communities. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you become a member of the DSR Network, you’ll receive benefits such as ad-free listening via private feed, discounts to virtual events and Deep State Radio Swag, and access to the member-only Slack community. This is one of the most closely followed podcasts among the people influencing the most important decisions in Washington and worldwide today. 

You can learn more by visiting thedsrnetwork.com. Listeners to Words Matter will receive 25% off of the regular membership price. Use code wordsmatter at checkout.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter.

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