Nikki Beare (March 7, 1928– November 10, 2014) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

feminist, journalist, and

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

who served as president of Florida's

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 ...

(NOW) chapter. Beare began working as a journalist for ''

The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the '' Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'' before fully committing to the fledgeling feminist movement in Florida. She was hired as a lobbyist by NOW in an effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and worked to fight instances of job and insurance discrimination. Beare was invited to the

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and

Fourth World Conference on Women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...

in 1985 and 1995. She was inducted into the

Florida Women's Hall of Fame The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...

in 1994.

Early life

Muriel Nikki Brink was born on March 7, 1928, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, as the only daughter of parents Stanley and Dorothy Brink. She also had one younger brother named Stanley Jr. Her father was a basketball player and her mother worked so she was raised by housekeepers. Growing up, she attended Noble Grade School, Tappan Intermediate, and

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

. She graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1946 and married Richard A. Beare. Their daughter Sandra was born in 1947.

Career

The family moved to

Islamorada Islamorada (also sometimes Islas Morada) is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands— Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plant ...

, a village in the Florida Keys, in 1956 where she wrote for the ''

Key West Citizen The ''Key West Citizen'' is a daily newspaper published in Key West, Florida. The newspaper is the result of the amalgamations of several related publications in the early years of the 20th century, becoming the ''Key West Citizen'' on April 29, ...

'' newspaper before moving to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. In 1962, Beare published a book titled ''From turtle soup to coconuts; a gourmet guide to good eating and restaurants on the Florida Keys''. In 1968, Beare was inspired by American feminist Roxcy Bolton to help found the Florida chapter of

(NOW). While working as a Women’s Page reporter for the ''

Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the '' Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'', Beare was elected vice-president of the Florida NOW. After leaving journalism to tackle feminism, she convinced ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami. She was later named president of Florida's NOW chapter after Martha Ingle resigned. In 1970, Beare helped Gwen Cherry, Dade County’s first female black attorney, get elected to the Florida House of Representatives as well as helped Elaine Gordon get elected as a Democrat legislator from Dade County. As part of her job with NOW, Beare prepared workshops for women to educate them on how to lobby and interact with lawmakers. In 1975, NOW hired Beare as a

to help pass the Equal Rights Amendment. She also began her own feminist newspaper titled "Women's Almanac" which ran from 1975 to 1985. That same year, Beare began her own public relations company called "Nikki Beare and Associates Inc. In 1976, Beare worked with the Florida Insurance Task Force to fight against instances of discrimination based on gender. She teamed up with Gordon, now an established state legislator, to start a statewide feminist credit union. This was a response to banks refusing to loan money to young women on the basis of sex. She also worked with Gordon and Elaine Bloom, who also became a legislator, on WKAT Radio with a feminist radio show titled "Women's Powerline". In 1978, Beare served as Vice President of the Women's Business Council of Dade County and later she served on NOW's Advisory Board for the National Women's Political Caucas. In 1980, Beare earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

from

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

where she focused on Women in Nineteenth Century American Culture. As a member of NOW in the 1980s, Beare helped form a Women's International News Service, and lobbied for women's rights such as childbirth or adoption unpaid leave. In 1985 and 1995, Beare was invited to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

World Conference on Women. Starting in 1988, Beare worked as a lobbyist for the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) to fight against travel fraud. In 1992, after Hurricane Andrew, she moved to Havana, Florida where she and her daughter Sandra were charter members of the Gadsden County Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force. She also worked with Florida Attorney General

Bob Butterworth Robert A. Butterworth Jr. (born August 20, 1942) is an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Florida. Early life and career Butterworth was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and moved to Florida with his family as a child. He re ...

on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. In 1994, Beare was inducted into the

. The next year, she was elected vice president for policy planning in the Florida Women's Political Caucus. She further continued her activism work by serving as a chairwoman of the National Committee on Travel for Persons With Disabilities of ASTA. Through her work with ASTA, Beare helped introduce the Travel Agency Fair Treatment Act and lobbied to protect travel agent services from increased taxes. She also worked to end travel scamming. In 1996, Beare and Sandra opened an antique store and later a book shop. Her family also ran a Blueberry picking farm called "Beare’s Berries." However, in 2005, Beare returned to journalism and worked as the Gadsden County correspondent for the Tallahassee Democrat; a position she kept until 2011. Beare died on November 10, 2014, in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Publications

List of publications: *''From turtle soup to coconuts; a gourmet guide to good eating and restaurants on the Florida Keys.'' (1962) *''Bottle bonanza: a handbook for glass collectors'' (1965) *''Pirates, pineapples, and people: a history, tales, and legends of the upper Florida Keys'' (1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beare, Nikki 1928 births 2014 deaths American feminists American lobbyists National Organization for Women people American women journalists American women's rights activists Activists from Detroit Skidmore College alumni Cass Technical High School alumni Women's page journalists 21st-century American women