Farewell to feminist activist Robin Morgan

y Annie Laurie Gaylor

This is a condensed version of the column that appears on Freethought Now.org.

When I heard the news that Gloria Steinem had died, my thoughts immediately turned to Robin Morgan, Steinem’s sister rabble-rouser, wondering how Robin was taking the loss.

Then I opened my New York Times only to sadly learn that Robin herself died three days later, on Sept. 5. This striking propinquity reminded me of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson poignantly dying on the same day (July 4, 1826), thinking of each other.

Both were feminist icons, firm friends and helped change the world. Robin, like Steinem, was not religious, but was much more outspoken on that subject. Like Steinem, Robin also accepted a much-deserved award from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, in Robin’s case, our “Freethought Heroine” Award at our annual 2005 convention in Orlando, Fla.

Robin’s greatest claim to fame was co-founding the tongue-in-cheek Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell, which created a firestorm by daring to picket “Miss America” in 1968. The myth that “bras were burned” began after feminist protesters on the Atlantic City boardwalk famously threw symbols of women’s subjugation — girdles, bras, hair curlers, mops, etc. — into trash bins, then unfurled a large banner reading, “Women’s Liberation,” inside the pageant hall. They made international news and they made history. No one alive and sentient at the time, including myself at age 12, ever forgot those astonishing images!

When Ms. published her 2004 essay, “Fighting Words for a Secular America,” she not only summarized the Founders’ views on state/church separation and raised the alarm about the growing political power of the religious right, but, thrillingly to us, gave a shoutout in a sidebar to FFRF itself and mentioned our website! My mother, Anne Gaylor, FFRF president emeritus, had also caught Robin on C-SPAN likewise talking up separation of state and church, and once again praising FFRF by name.

What else could we do but invite her to our convention?

What I said in introducing her back in 2005 is my epitaph for her: “Robin, we are enchanted to have found in you — a famous feminist, journalist, editor, lecturer, organizer and activist  — and a kindred non-spirit.”