Mary Lee Sargent is a feminist activist notable for her direct action political protests on behalf of 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 the early 1980s.

Involvement with Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens

Women Hunger for Justice activists meeting with the Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1982

Sargent was a key member of the feminist group

Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was a political organization of feminist women created in the early 1980s to undertake non-violent direct action tactics to raise awareness for the need of an Equal Rights Amendment. The group also advoc ...

, an organization that supported the ratification of the

(ERA). The group organized a Day of Rebellion in Illinois in 1982 and Sargent served as spokesperson for the group. Sargent was photographed wearing chains outside the Illinois State Senate by Anne Leibowitz and the photo ran in

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

. When Sargent was asked by the press if she was concerned the direct action tactics might turn off some ERA supporters she replied, "It's too late for that...we're here to step up the confrontation." Sargent was photographed in 1982 with

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 ...

who was on a long term fast for the ERA at the Illinois state house.

Support for LGBT rights

In 1979, Sargent participated in the first public march for LGBT rights in Washington, D.C. In the 1980s, she organized the Lavendar Women's Prairie Women's Center.

Women Rising in Resistance

Sargent was a co-founder of the organization Women Rising in Resistance. The group was created after the defeat of the ERA in Illinois in 1982.

Personal life

Sargent was born in Texas in 1940. In the 1980s she lived in Champaign-Urbanan, Illinois. Sargent was a longtime professor of Women's Studies and History at

Parkland College Parkland College is a public community college in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505 which includes parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquoi ...

in Illinois. In 1984 she ran for a seat on the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois. In the early 1990s she spent a great deal of time in New Harmony, Indiana and was known for her love of prairie plants. Local residents referred to her as "Prairie Mary."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargent, Mary Lee Living people Equal Rights Amendment activists Feminists Year of birth missing (living people) Women's rights activists LGBT rights activists Militant feminism