Mary O. Eastwood (June 1, 1930 – October 10, 2015) was a pioneering American lawyer and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

advocate. In 1955, Eastwood graduated from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

and then moved to

Washington, D.C ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Legal career

After graduating she worked on a temporary study project for the National Academy of Sciences. In 1960 she joined the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, serving as an attorney advisor and later (1969–1979) as an equal opportunity advisor. In 1961, Eastwood became the associate special counsel for investigation in the special counsel's office of the Merit System Protection Board, which investigated allegations of illegal personnel practices in the federal government. In 1965 Eastwood and

Pauli Murray Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) was an American civil rights activist who became a lawyer, gender equality advocate, Episcopal priest, and author. Drawn to the ministry, in 1977 she became one of the first women ...

published the landmark article "Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII", in the ''

George Washington Law Review ''The George Washington Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review edited and published by students at the George Washington University Law School. It was established in 1932 and publishes scholarly articles, essays, and student notes. A double issue ...

''. The article discussed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as it applied to women, and drew comparisons between discriminatory laws against women and Jim Crow laws. In subsequent years, Ruth Bader Ginsburg successfully argued this point in the case '' Reed v. Reed'' in front of the Supreme Court.

Feminism and advocacy work

In 1966, Eastwood was one of the 28 women who founded the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

at the Third National Conference of Commissions on the Status of Women in June (the successor to the

Presidential Commission on the Status of Women The President's Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) was established to advise the President of the United States on issues concerning the status of women. It was created by John F. Kennedy's signed December 14, 1961. In 1975 it became th ...

). She joined another 21 women and men who became founders at the October 1966 NOW Organizing Conference, for a total of 49 founders. Both conferences were held in Washington, D.C. The 28 women who became founders in June included Mary Eastwood. They were inspired by the failure of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; at the Third National Conference of State Commissions on the Status of Women they were prohibited from issuing a resolution that recommended the EEOC carry out its legal mandate to end sex discrimination in employment. They thus gathered in

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

’s hotel room to form a new organization. On a paper napkin Friedan scribbled the acronym "NOW". Eastwood was part of NOW's first Legal Committee, along with Catherine East, Phineas Indritz, and Caruthers Berger. NOW's picket of the

in protest of their sex-segregated Help Wanted ads was organized at Eastwood's apartment, and a photo of her picketing was in the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' the next day. Eastwood was also a board member of Human Rights for Women (HRW), which was founded in 1968 to help finance sex discrimination litigation and research projects on women's issues, and a member of Federally Employed Women (FEW), which fought to end sex discrimination in the federal government. In 1977, Eastwood became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic info ...

(WIFP). Some of Eastwood's papers are held in the

Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastwood, Mary Wisconsin lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 2015 deaths University of Wisconsin Law School alumni 1930 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women National Organization for Women people