| Case Studies
Overview of Case Study Program
The Center on Women and Public Policy's comprehensive research of the
existing databases of public policy cases (such as the Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of Washington's Electronic
Hallway, and others) showed that less than 1% of the thousands of existing
cases raise women's issues or even have a female protagonist. Professor
Kenney's documentation of the paucity of cases and the poor quality of
existing cases was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of
Policy Analysis and Management.
Since 2000, the Center embarked on a project to produce case studies
in women and public policy, pulling together scholars, students, activists,
and Extension educators from many different disciplinary backgrounds.
Several of the cases are used in classes at Harvard's Kennedy School of
Government and the Sociology Department at the University of Toronto,
and Mills College to name a few. The results of the project have been
presented at the University of Minnesota's Academy of Teaching conference,
the annual meeting of the Association of Policy Analysis and Management,
and at the National Council of Research on Women's annual conference.
"Case Studies on Women and Public Policy,"
Sally J. Kenney, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University
of Minnesota
Download the essay: "Case
Studies on Women and Public Policy" (pdf)
Center on
Women and Public Policy Case Studies:
"A Fair Representation: Advocating for
Women's Rights in the International Criminal Court"
Barbara A. Frey, Director of the Program for Human Rights, University
of Minnesota
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This case tracks the efforts over the past decade of women's human rights
advocates to promote broader international legal protections against serious
gender-based crimes. The case focuses on the Women's Caucus for Gender
Justice, a transnational advocacy network that successfully lobbied the
drafters of the statute creating the International Criminal Court to recognize
rape, sexual slavery, enforced pregnancy, and other gender-based violence
as specific crimes within the Court's jurisdiction. The Women's Caucus
also worked to promote equal representation of women as judges on the
Court. The case invites students to view the work of women's advocates
in the ICC drafting process in the context of recent history of the international
women's human rights movement and to consider what strategies the movement
should used to implement the legal standards gained in the ICC process,
specifically regarding the election of women judges. Students will learn
that war crimes against women historically received little attention in
international law and prohibitions against sexual violence were couched
in language about protecting "family honor." Students will also
learn about the tensions that sometimes exist between women's advocates
and the larger human rights movement when there is a situation in which
the latter are concerned that by pushing gender issues too far, women's
advocates will risk the very adoption of the ICC Statute. The decision
point for the case is the strategy discussion by the Women's Caucus for
Gender Justice regarding the procedural rules for electing women to the
new Court. Two camps had formed regarding the rules--one favoring quotas
and the other favoring open nominations by States. The students must discuss
what position they will take in the procedural discussion, keeping in
mind considerations of whether they have enough leverage to achieve their
position, whether their position will alienate the broader human rights
community and whether they will be able to effectively promote women candidates
for the Court, no matter what the rules will be.
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"Casa
de Esperanza"
Jodi Sandfort, Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs,
University of Minnesota
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This case documents the main leadership and management decisions made
in the life of a nonprofit founded to provide safe haven for Latinas experiencing
domestic violence. Through three segments (Case A, B & C), the case
chronicles the life cycle development of the organization, from organizational
founding, expansion, dependence upon government funding, and ultimately
transformation so the agency can operate "bi-culturally" - both
effectively garnering mainstream resources and creating new programs from
within Latino values. The development of this organization is cast in
relation to the evolution of the larger domestic violence movement.
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"Caucus at Your Own Risk:
Senator Sheila Kiscaden and the Minnesota Republican Caucus"
Amy Strauss, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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Shelia Kiscaden, first elected as a Republican from Rochester, Minnesota
in 1994, is socially liberal and fiscally conservative. As a result of
her moderate views, particularly her support of abortion rights, she is
not endorsed by the Republican Party during her 2000 reelection campaign.
She aligns herself under an Independent Party (IP) label, but still caucuses
with the Republicans in the Senate. She continues to caucus with them
because of the support and the resources the caucus provides, and also
because of her Republican identity. Eventually, this relationship is strained.
During partisan gridlock over the passing of a bonding bill, Kiscaden
supports the DFL bonding and tax bill. She announces her decision publicly
to her constituents, and predicts a Republican roadblock of the bill.
Dick Day, Republican Minority Leader evicts Kiscaden from her Republican
office soon after she votes for the failed DFL bonding bill. While the
DFL is working hard to get Kiscaden to caucus with them, Kiscaden still
identifies as Republican. However, the benefits of caucusing may be too
great to be ignored, and there are no other IP candidates in the Senate
with which to caucus with. Kiscaden must decide what to do, and fast.
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"Fighting for Access to Midwifery
Care and Home Birth: The Minnesota Story"
Mary M. Lay, Professor, Rhetoric, University of Minnesota
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In spite of their many differences, throughout the 1990s Naomi and Rita
were in solidarity in their struggle to change their a-legal status and
become licensed midwives. This case study tells how a group of Minnesota
traditional midwives (women who have no formal medical training) organized
to develop acceptable licensing rules and regulations, describes the coalitions
and factions which developed, and recounts the legislative battles. The
case offers opportunities to discuss the legislative and regulatory options
available to the midwives, and how they as a group and as individuals
assessed the trade-offs of licensing. It supports a discussion of coalition
building, law and regulations, and feminist engagement with the state.
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"Finding a Safe Space: Prioritizing
Safety Considerations for Trans Youth in the Portland Homeless Youth Continuum"
Sarah Taylor-Nanista, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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Finding a Safe Space: Prioritizing Safety Considerations for Trans Youth
in the Portland Homeless Youth Continuum tells the story of a youth kicked
out of her house for identifying as transgendered. The case begins with
an explanation of gender variance and transgender identity, differentiating
between "sex" and "gender." The youth arrives to Portland, Oregon just
as the County has adjusted a Civil Rights Ordinance adding discrimination
based on sexual orientation to the state's list of protected categories.
Because the homeless youth services were predominantly funded by a contract
with Multnomah County, contract implementation needed to be in alignment
with the governmental rules and procedures. The administration within
each agency created a committee to address the need to adapt to the new
county ordinance. Favor Ellis, a middle level manager within the homeless
youth continuum of services, is faced with the task of adjusting services
in a way that will make services safe for both transgender youth, non
transgender youth, and an administration resistant to change. She is forced
to consider how to make their services more accommodating to transgender
youth, while considering staff concerns with the safety of those youth
who have backgrounds of sexual assault and may fear sharing a room or
a bathroom with a youth born their opposite sex. The reader is invited
to decide how to adapt services.
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"Gag Me: Money versus Mission?" by Rebecca Burch, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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In 2001, President George W. Bush announced the reinstatement of family planning restrictions that limited the abortion-related activities of any foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) receiving U.S. aid. Bush's administrative policy disqualified an NGO from receiving U.S. family planning funding if the organization used any source of funding to perform, counsel, refer, research or lobby for abortion. The only exceptions to this policy were for circumstances including: threat to the life of the woman, rape or incest. Additionally, Bush's administrative policy allowed NGOs to treat women who suffered complications from legal or illegal abortions. From February 15, 2001 onward, before an NGO was able to receive U.S. family planning funds, it must sign a pledge of compliance with the above provisions. This case explores the dilemma one non-governmental organization faced regarding the Mexico City Policy/Global Gag Rule. The Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) and Dr. Nirmal K. Bista, its Director General, must decide whether to comply with restrictive U.S. provisions to receive family planning aid. To comply with the U.S. policy FPAN must discontinue its abortion-related activities, including its advocacy to legalize abortion as well as its partnership with the Nepalese Ministry of Health, or it stood to sacrifice funding and in turn face the possibility of reduced family planning services through decreased clinic operations and staff. Should FPAN choose to suspend part of its mission in order to accomplish the rest of its objectives?
"From a Hostile Work Environment
to a Hostile Courtroom: Heroes, Victims, and Martyrs"
Kate Troy, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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Lois Jenson was among the first women hired to work at Eveleth Taconite
Mines on Minnesota's Iron Range shortly after the U.S. Department of Labor
and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission required the company to
reserve 20 percent of jobs for women and minority men in 1974. After enduring
a sexually hostile and discriminatory work environment for nine years,
Lois filed a complaint against Eveleth Mines alleging sexual harassment
and discrimination on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
Since courts previously considered sexual harassment claims on an individual
basis, Judge Rosenbaum established a precedent in sexual harassment law
when he determined that there was sufficient evidence to certify a class
action "hostile work environment" law suit on behalf of all
women employed at the mine. The lawsuit would span ten years and proceed
through multiple phases including liability, damages, and an appeal before
the parties finally settled. The personal costs involved in the litigation
were enormous and affected plaintiffs as well as those who spent considerable
time representing them. Many of the plaintiffs still struggle with adverse
health effects as a result of the intensity and duration of the litigation.
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"DVIP:
Unconditional Shelter?"
Sally J. Kenney, Professor amd Director, Center on Women and Public Policy,
Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Center on Women and Public Policy
case studies
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This case examines the difficult choices facing a domestic violence shelter
in crisis. Beth George had been on the run from her estranged husband
with her two boys for three years. When the shelter hired her rather than
another former resident (her roommate at the shelter) for a staff position,
the roommate called her ex-husband and told him where they were. Police
arrested Beth, sent the children back to their father in Arkansas, and
began an investigation of whether shelter staff had knowingly harbored
a fugitive. The shelter had just begun a fundraising campaign for a new
building, but all financial contributions immediately stopped, throwing
the organization into financial crisis. The executive director and staff
were under enormous pressure and faced possible criminal sentences. The
board had to try to minimize the damage to its reputation in the media,
figure out how to keep the organization from failing financially, decide
whether to continue to employ Beth George and the executive director who
were under criminal investigation, and fend off attacks from fathers'
rights activists.
The case explores the difficult management issues facing an organization
and individuals in crisis. It also examines how class, sexual orientation,
race, and feminist ideology structure services to battered women. It also
provides a window into the difficult job of front-line workers skating
on the edge of the law as the law begins to recognize and protect victims
of intimate violence. It invites readers to consider how one should decide
what and whom to believe. Finally, it considers the significance of grassroots
feminist mobilizing to support feminist organizations.
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“How Best to Serve: Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota Defining its Place in the Pro-choice Landscape”
Nicole Courneya, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
In early 2002, as part of a comprehensive organizational restructuring effort, Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota (PPM/SD), determined that it was necessary to extend the reach of PPM/SD’s Public Affairs activities. PPM/SD faced an anti-choice legislative landscape at the state level and current efforts were not as effective as the Board hoped. Should PPM/SD create a Segmented Political Action Fund that would allow them to endorse candidates for state office? Would this further complicate an already convoluted management structure? How would it impact the overall mission of the organization? This case raises issues of the mission and direction of an organization undergoing change in an increasingly hostile political climate. In addition, this case asks the reader to reflect on what the broader mission of this organization, which is essentially three organizations in one, might be and how re-vamping and enhancing advocacy might help or hinder its other core activities.
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"Institutionalized
Violence: When Does Care Giving Become Submission to Violence? Work Related
Risks for Health Care Providers"
Pat McGovern, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dave Cossi, J.D., Adjunct Assistant
Professor, and Mary Findorff, R.N., M.P.H., Research Coordinator; Division
of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University
of Minnesota
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For more than four months, Kate, Ann and Teresa, employees of Bates House,
an Adult Foster Care Home, endured sexually aggressive and violent acts
perpetrated by Ronnie, one of their residents. After multiple requests
to management for assistance in preventing or redirecting Ronnie's behavior,
they eventually quit their jobs and filed a claim of sexual harassment
against Care Homes, the management corporation for Bates House. Care Homes
claimed it took appropriate and timely action to eliminate or lessen Ronnie's
behavior. Furthermore, it argued that the law of sexual harassment did
not apply to persons with mental disabilities who lived at their facilities.
This case study allows for discussion of sexual harassment as an occupational
health and safety issue and supports exploration of employer liability
for harassment committed by developmentally disabled adults in care. It
highlights how one employer treated low-paid yet deeply dedicated women
care workers while supporting a discussion of how managers should respond.
An Epilogue and Case Teaching Notes provide the legal resolution of the
case and resources for information regarding sexual harassment law and
work-related violence.
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"Jane Swift: Motherhood in
the Massachusetts Governor's Office"
Steffany Stern, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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In 2001, Jane Swift became the first woman in history to serve as governor
of Massachusetts, and the first governor in the history of the United
States to give birth while in office. This case explores the ways in which
these two factors, among other facets of Swift's time in office, contributed
to public perception of her abilities and the outcome of her term. The
case places Swift's narrative in the political context of Massachusetts
and the history of women in electoral politics, and discusses the treatment
of working mothers by the media. The case also focuses on the scrutiny
of Swift's personal and public life, and the controversies that developed
during her public service. The format of the case is not decision-forcing;
it is a retrospective examination of events.
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"The Power and Pain of
Partnerships: The Minnesota Bulgaria Connection"
Cheryl Thomas, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Center on Women and
Public Policy
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In May, 2003, a delegation from the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
prepared to leave for Bulgaria to help partners there pass the first ever
order for protection law in Eastern Europe. But when Women’s Human
Rights Program Director, Cheryl Thomas read the final version of the law,
her heart sank. Should they lend support to a law that made victims of
domestic violence subject to prosecution for making false claims? Could
a law be passed that did not have such troubling provisions? If they pulled
out now, would they be betraying their long-time Bulgarian feminist partners?
This case discusses the dynamics of an international partnership between
two women’s human rights advocacy organizations in the context of
their common goal and their work to end violence against women. Students
will learn about the international women’s human rights movement
in the 1990s and in particular about the effort to lobby the United Nations
to name violence against women a human rights violation. The case highlights
the development of NGO partnerships across borders to combat violence
against women and focuses on legal reform efforts in Central and Eastern
Europe and in particular, Bulgaria. The case gives an inside look into
the relationship between advocates in two women's human rights programs
in Minnesota and Bulgaria as they work toward their common goal.
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"The Power to Choose"
Sara M. Evans, Professor, History, University of Minnesota
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The 1992 elections represented unprecedented opportunities for the feminist
Political Action Committee (PAC), EMILY's List. In the aftermath of Senate
Judiciary Committee hearings concerning allegations of sexual harassment
against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, a record number of women
candidates ran for political office at every level. Emily's List, which
provides money for pro-choice, Democratic women candidates, saw its membership
and resources soar. It was on the verge of becoming the most powerful
PAC in the Democratic Party. At this very moment of success, Emily's List
faced a dilemma. In New York, two heroes of feminist politics, Elizabeth
Holtzman and Geraldine Ferraro, announced that they would be candidates
in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. This case study provides details
of the difficult decision Emily's List had to make. Should it endorse
and support one feminist over another one? Would endorsing one feminist
over another be a betrayal of feminist ideals? What should the process
and criteria for its decision be? This case supports a discussion of the
tradeoffs of feminist engagement with mainstream, electoral politics,
conflicts within feminism, and how feminist non-profit institutions operate
to promote social change.
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"Radical Feminism in Political Action:
The Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance"
Emily Warren, MPP Humphrey School of Public Affairs:
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In the city of Minneapolis, in the early 1980s, a series of events occurred
that would throw this progressive city into the national spotlight. The
mayor of Minneapolis, Don Fraser, had to decide whether or not to veto
a proposed ordinance that contained a novel approach to the problem of
pornography. Frustrated by the increasing number of adult entertainment
businesses in Minneapolis, local feminists and community activists decided
to fight back. Members of the community felt that the increased visibility
of pornography in Minneapolis was a threat to women and caused neighborhood
devaluation and decay. They enlisted the help of radical feminists Catharine
MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin, who were living in Minneapolis while teaching
at the University of Minnesota. MacKinnon and Dworkin wrote a controversial
ordinance for the city that defined pornography as sex discrimination
in violation of a woman's civil rights. The ordinance included a broad
new definition of pornography that some thought impinged upon the constitutional
right to free expression. This case study looks at the contents of the
ordinance, and the events in Minneapolis that led to the ordinance's creation.
It also examines the relationship between First Amendment rights and the
rights of women to be safe from sexual violence.
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"Rising Up and Plowing
Down: How Can Two Women Make the Land and Arena for Justice"
Dianna Hunter, Coordinator of Women's and Gender Issues, University of
Wisconsin-Superior
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In 1940, 31 million Americans lived on farms. By 1991, the number of
farm residents had declined to 5 million, half of whom no longer actually
worked their land. Throughout American history there has been a persistent
image of this farmer as a white man; however, this case study of the long-standing
current farm crisis suggests an alternative story. When the farm crisis
deepened throughout the 1980s, it was two women - Lou Anne Kling and Anne
Kanten - who challenged the gender norms of farm life and the local and
national political establishments in order to address the social, political
and economic needs of their communities. This case allows for discussions
of Kanten's and Kling's challenges to gender norms, the political economy
of agriculture, the benefits and risks of political alliances, and the
utility and costs of activists working from within a state agency.
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"Sculpting the Rock
of Women's Rights: The Role of Women's Organizations In Promoting the
National Plan of Action to Integrate Women in Development in Morocco"
Iman Ghazalla, Fellow, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University
of Minnesota
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In March of 1999, through the cooperative work of several governmental
sectors, nongovernmental organizations, women's activists, experts on
women's issues, and the World Bank, Morocco launched its National Plan
of Action to integrate women into the development process. Women activists
worked together across political and class differences to advocate for
the plan. This plan tackled issues of women's education, employment, and
health. It also proposed reforms pertaining to family law, which is derived
from Islamic law. Tensions arose between feminists keen on adopting international
standards on women's rights and Islamist women determined to preserve
traditional values. Each side mobilized thousands of supporters for or
against the plan. This case study provides a rich description of the Moroccan
political environment and actors, tracing the emergence of a strong feminist
movement. It supports a discussion of how feminists should seek to organize
across difference and how to promote change once significant opposition
has been mobilized and once progressive change has been framed as a Western
imposition that overrides indigenous cultural values. It also supports
discussion of divorce reform and whether human rights are universal.
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"Thank you for being
ready: Minnesota's First Supreme Court Justice, Rosalie Wahl"
Sally J. Kenney, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs,
University of Minnesota
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How can feminists organize to retain the first woman on the Minnesota
Supreme Court when faced with serious and unprecedented electoral changes
by three opponents? What electoral assets might Justice Wahl bring to
the campaign? In early January 1977, in a formal address to the Democratic
Farmer Labor Party (DFL) Feminist Caucus, Governor Rudy Perpich (DFL)
promised to fill the next vacancy on the Minnesota Supreme Court with
a woman. When President Carter appointed Minnesota Supreme Court Justice
Harry MacLaughlin to the federal bench shortly thereafter, Minneapolis
Star reporter Gwen Jones, who had been present at the meeting, reminded
front-page readers of Perpich's promise. This case recounts how a small
band of feminist activists persuaded Governor Perpich that it was time
for a woman on the bench - that an all-male supreme court was no longer
acceptable. It describes how they convinced Perpich to choose Rosalie
Wahl from among other women, making her the first woman to serve and the
Court's 72nd justice. But almost immediately after Justice Wahl took her
seat, three men filed to challenge her in the upcoming judicial election.
Would Wahl be thrown out of office like the first woman Chief Justice
of the California Supreme Court, Rose Bird? How would Wahl's supporters
generate widespread electoral support to ensure that Wahl would hold her
seat in the election in just eighteen months? This case study describes
the role of women in Minnesota electoral politics during the height of
second wave feminism. It invites readers to consider how we select our
judges and why it matters whether women, as well as men, serve.
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"To Strike or Not to
Strike: The University of Minnesota Clerical Workers' Decision"
Kristen Houlton
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In the fall of 2003, the workers of AFSCME Local 3801 and Local 3800
had to decide whether to go on strike against their employer, the University
of Minnesota. The case reviews Minnesota labor law and the history of
AFSCME at the U of M. Because of a pattern of devaluing clerical workers
at the U of M, these workers have historically been the least-paid and
their collective bargaining agreements the weakest of all the University
unions. Leadership of AFSCME 3800, a union whose membership is 94% female,
attributes this devaluation to institutionalized sexism. The common perception
is that the male-dominated Teamsters union at the University has consistently
received better contract offers from the administration. During the period
of the breakdown in negotiations, not only the administration's negotiators
but also the other unions at the U met the prospect of an AFSCME strike
with disbelief by. No one believed that the "secretaries" would
strike, since it would be "mean."
This case explores the dilemma confronting AFSCME members in the face
of a potential strike. Three broad categories of workers resisted the
strike: non-voting "fair share" clerical workers who felt alienated
from the union, members who felt the University was offering the best
deal it could, and those who could not afford to strike without strike
support funds. The case explores each of these perspectives to give the
reader the background information needed to understand the reluctance
to strike. The case also includes the perspectives of several AFSCME leaders
who advocated striking and were called upon to communicate this to the
membership.
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"The Value of Women's
Words and Women's Work"
Kathy Magnuson, Business Manager, Minnesota Women's Press
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Minnesota Women's Press, a women owned and operated, for-profit publishing
company and retail store, was struggling for economic survival when it
was forced to examine its core mission. To secure an additional loan necessary
for the MWP's survival, the bank required the company to forgo a plan
to share profits with the staff that had been promised to employees. The
women wrestled with the apparent tensions between their commitment to
feminist values and their commitment to the long term existence of a business
positively impacting women in the general public. This case allows for
discussion of what it means to be a feminist business and how creative
and innovative feminist institutions can survive economically.
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"Waving
Goodbye to the Dinosaurs? Women, Electoral Politics, and Peace in Northern
Ireland"
Sally J. Kenney, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University
of Minnesota
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In 1998, Senator George Mitchell was leading Peace Talks with the top
ten political parties from a 1996 election (minus those who refused to
participate) in Northern Ireland. Jane Wilde and Bronagh Hinds led the
team for the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, a non-sectarian party
hastily assembled seven weeks before the election out of frustration that
women, once again, would be left out as men negotiated the future of Northern
Ireland. As the deadline for agreement neared, Wilde and Hinds feared
that the civil servants negotiating for the British Government and the
other parties had sidelined the issues that brought their party into existence:
a desire for an election system that ensured women's representation, a
Civic Forum (made up of members of non-governmental organizations [NGOs],
community groups, business, and trade unions as a parallel body to an
elected assembly), and a commitment to inclusion, equality and human rights.
At the eleventh hour, the women won concessions on the Civic Forum and
for wording on domestic violence but appeared to have lost the issue of
electoral reform. The case asks participants to explore the Northern Ireland
Women's Coalition's bottom line and core identity. If the ethos of their
party was inclusion, supporting the peace process, respectfully listening,
and compromising, could they refuse to sign? But if they failed to secure
electoral reform, their raison d'être, could they legitimate an agreement
by signing it? Were they not in effect signing their own death warrant
as a party?
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"Welfare
of Feminism: Struggle in the Midst of Reform"
Bethany Snyder, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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During the 1990s, Congress passed three versions of legislation aimed
at reforming the nation’s welfare program. This legislation, known
as the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act” (PRWORA), would dramatically change welfare and affect millions
of poor women and children in the United States. With President Bill Clinton’s
strong support, this law would target the program Aid to Families with
Dependant Children (AFDC), replacing it with Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF), which would impose time limits, strict work requirements,
illegitimacy tests, marriage promotion programs and family caps.
Welfare rights organizations and civil rights groups were organizing and
looked to the feminist community for support. Patricia Ireland, President
of the National Organization for Women (NOW), understood the importance
of weighing in on such a critical issue and the resources NOW, with its
stable funding base, large membership, and political connections, could
bring the welfare debate. However, after a failed attempt by a fellow
feminist organization to solicit support from NOW members, it became evident
that not all of NOW’s members felt similarly. Ireland, faced with
an unsupportive membership but personally committed to organizing on behalf
of all women, struggles with how to proceed.
Providing a historical framework of welfare programs, feminist organizing
efforts around welfare issues, NOW’s historical role with welfare
activism, and the significance of the political context of the time, the
reader must weigh all the factors influencing Ireland’s decision
and decide how best to proceed.
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"Working the Web During Hard
Times: Cracking the Door Open for Young African American Women 1920-1930"
Debra J. Stone, Extension Educator, Hennepin County, University of Minnesota
Extension Service
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Bertha Johnson was a young African American woman with aspirations to
be a teacher. She was eighteen, working two jobs and struggling to support
her family. Exhausted, she had used up the meager scholarship she received
from her church, and could see no way to continue with the education she
needed to become a teacher. This case study tells the story of how African
American women of the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House lifted as they
climbed, making strategic alliances with the white community to support
the education of young African American women. These teachers were then
qualified when Minneapolis finally integrated its public schools.
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