Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was a political organization of feminist women created in the early 1980s to undertake non-violent

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

tactics to raise awareness for the need of an

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

. The group also advocated for

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest on t ...

and lasted throughout the 1980s.

Actions at the Illinois State House

Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens were especially known for their direct actions at the Illinois State House in 1982. One of the grandmothers of a founder, Mary Lee Sargent, was a

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. Sargent co-founded this group while teaching at Parkland Community College in Illinois. In 1982, the ERA was set to expire and both pro and anti-ERA groups descended upon the Capitol in Illinois to lobby state legislators. Members of the Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens were often referred to as a

chain gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

because they had chained themselves together inside the capitol.

Day of Rebellion for ERA

One of the most notable actions undertaken by Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was known as their Day of Rebellion for the ERA on June 3, 1982. That day, 17 women chained themselves inside the

Illinois State Capitol The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the legislative and executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current building is the sixth to serve as the capitol building since Illinois was admi ...

. According to the ''Macon Telegraph'', "When asked if they were worried the

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

might alienate ERA supporters, Mary Lee Sargent...said, 'It's too late for that...we're here to step up the confrontation." Sargent noted this action had connections to the militant actions of the

women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

. She said, "It's our willingness to put our bodies out here, to be a spectacle and to be laughed at by people...but to face people directly." The Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens refused to leave the Capitol and members spent four nights in jail. The group then sprayed animal blood inside the capitol to symbolize the death of the ERA. They were ordered to pay more than $2,000 in cleanup fees. A photo of the women in chains appeared in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine in 1982.

Fast for the ERA

Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens were politically active at the same time and place when another group of women

fasted Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

for the ERA in Illinois in 1982. Both groups expressed solidarity for one another in the press. Fasters included longtime women's rights activists

Zoe Nicholson Zoe Nicholson is a feminist activist, author and a longtime member of the National Organization for Women. Openly lesbian, she is known for her role in the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment. Professional life and education Nicholson earne ...

and

Sonia Johnson Sonia Ann Johnson, (''née'' Harris; born February 27, 1936) is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of the Chur ...

Later years

After the failure of the ERA campaign, Grassroots Group for Second Class Citizens continued to be politically active as they advocated for a variety of feminist causes including for abortion rights. In 1982, the group undertook an action where they posed as "witches" while holding a mock trial of legislators. In 1984, Sargent ran for a seat on the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois-Champaign. The group finally disbanded in 1993.

Members of the Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens

Berenice Carroll Berenice Anita Carroll (née Jacobs; December 14, 1932 – May 10, 2018) was an American political scientist and activist specialized in peace and conflict studies, feminist theory, and women's studies. Carroll led the creation of the women's stu ...

* Kari Alice Lynn * Loretta Manning * Page Mellish * Joyce Meyer * Caroline Plank * Mary Lee Sargent * Alice Weber * Sue Yarber

References