Karen DeCrow ( Lipschultz; December 18, 1937 – June 6, 2014) was an American attorney, author, activist and feminist. She served as the fourth national president of the
National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1974 to 1977. She was also a strong supporter of equal rights for men in
child custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
decisions, arguing for a "rebuttable presumption" of
shared custody
Shared parenting, shared residence, joint residence, shared custody, joint physical custody, equal parenting time (EPT) is a child custody arrangement after divorce or separation, in which both parents share the responsibility of raising their ...
after divorce. She also asserted that men as well as women should be allowed the
decision not to become a parent.
Early life
Karen Lipschultz was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family, on December 18, 1937.
She was the oldest child of Samuel Meyer Lipschultz, a businessman, and Juliette Abt Lipschultz, a professional ballet dancer. She graduated from
Sullivan High School
Sullivan High School is a public high school located in Sullivan, Indiana. SHS is one of three high schools in Sullivan County (the other two being North Central High School in Farmersburg and Union High School in Dugger). Sullivan High S ...
in 1955 and received a bachelor's degree from the
Medill School of Journalism at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in 1959.
After graduating from college, she worked as a writer and editor for a number of magazines and publishing houses, including as a fashion editor at ''
Golf Digest
''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...
''. She married Alexander Kolben in 1960 but they divorced five years later. She was remarried the same year, to Roger DeCrow, a computer scientist, and the couple moved to
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
.
Career and activism
DeCrow joined the
National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1967, after she and her female coworkers at a publishing house realized they were earning less than men.
She was a co-founder of the Syracuse chapter of NOW and became president in 1968. In 1969, she ran for mayor of the city of Syracuse, becoming the first female mayoral candidate in the history of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
The same year, she and
Faith Seidenberg
Faith Seidenberg (October 21, 1923 – January 16, 2015) was an attorney and civil rights activist who was best known for having entered the male-only establishment McSorley's Old Ale House in Manhattan with fellow attorney Karen DeCrow on Augus ...
entered the all-male establishment
McSorley's Old Ale House
McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest Irish saloon in New York City. Opened in the mid-19th century at 15 East 7th Street, in today's East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, it was one of the last of the "Men ...
and were refused service. They sued for discrimination. The case decision made the front page of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on June 26, 1970.
The suit, ''Seidenberg v. McSorleys' Old Ale House'' (
S.D.N.Y.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...
1970) established that, as a public place, the ale house could not violate the
Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
of the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
.
Legal career
After entering law school, she earned her Juris Doctor from
Syracuse University College of Law in 1972, where she was the only woman in the class.
In 1972, she was a part of the ''
Ms''. magazine campaign: “We Have Had Abortions” which called for an end to "archaic laws" limiting reproductive freedom, and encouraged women to share their stories and take action.
In 1981, DeCrow was one of the lawyers for former
NYPD detective
Frank Serpico in his unsuccessful attempt to overturn a
child support
Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...
order on the grounds that the mother had
deceived him into the pregnancy by lying about taking the
contraceptive pill. DeCrow's decision to defend Serpico in this case attracted some criticism. She told the court “Autonomous women making independent decisions about their lives should not expect men to finance their choice.”
Presidency of NOW
DeCrow was elected president of NOW from 1974 to 1977, during which time she led campaigns to ensure that collegiate sports would be included under the scope of
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
, pressured
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
to recruit women as astronauts, oversaw the opening of a new NOW Action Center in
Washington, D.C.
)
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and the establishment of NOW's National Task Force on Battered Women/Household Violence, and participated in a tour of over 80 public debates with antifeminist activist
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocons ...
over the
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 ...
.
In 1978, DeCrow became an associate of the
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. DeCrow was honored by the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
in 1985.
Later life
In 2009, DeCrow was inducted into the
National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution incorporated in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York, although it did not induct its first enshrinees until 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees.
Induc ...
.
She died of
melanoma
Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
on June 6, 2014, in
Jamesville, New York
Jamesville is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet made up of the outskirts of five towns: DeWitt, New York, DeWitt, LaFayette, New York, LaFayette, Manlius (town), New York, Manlius, Pompey, New York, Pompey and Onondaga, New York, Onondaga. Jamesville ...
.
Political views
She was the author of several books, including ''The Young Woman’s Guide to Liberation'' (1971) and ''Sexist Justice—How Legal Sexism Affects You'' (1975).
DeCrow described her ultimate goal as "a world in which the gender of a baby will have little to no relevance in future pursuits and pleasures—personal, political, economic, social and professional."
Toward that end, DeCrow was a supporter of
shared parenting
Shared parenting, shared residence, joint residence, shared custody, joint physical custody, equal parenting time (EPT) is a child custody arrangement after divorce or separation, in which both parents share the responsibility of raising their ...
(joint legal and shared physical custody) of children when parents divorce. Her position on joint custody was criticized by some in the National Organization for Women: "I've become a ''persona non grata'' because I've always been in favor of joint custody," DeCrow said.
References
External links
A Conversation with Karen DeCrow about N.O.W.WNED public television series “Woman”, 1974
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decrow, Karen
1937 births
2014 deaths
American Jews
American feminists
American women lawyers
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from melanoma
People from DeWitt, New York
Presidents of the National Organization for Women
Syracuse University College of Law alumni
Activists from New York (state)
Jewish American writers
Jewish feminists
Jewish women writers
Equal Rights Amendment
Radical feminists
American women's rights activists
American opinion journalists
21st-century American women
Medill School of Journalism alumni