Florynce Kennedy
Florynce Kennedy (February 11, 1916 — December 22, 2000), was a lawyer, activist, civil rights advocate, and feminist.
Early life
Florynce Rae Kennedy was born in Kansas City. She had a seemingly casual childhood, though exposed to racism in her mostly white neighborhood. After high school, she worked many jobs including owning a hat shop and operating elevators.
Finally, in 1942, "Flo" (as she was called) began classes at Columbia University. She majored in pre-law. However, when she applied for law school in 1944, Columbia rejected her because of her race, so Flo threatened to sue the school. Finally, they admitted her.[citation needed]
Activism
Kennedy married Charles Dye in 1957. She wasn't a fan of her marriage, saying of its exclusive properties that "Why would you lock yourself in the bathroom just because you have to go three times a day?"
Some of her law clients were Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker.
Her activism is divided into two parts: feminism and civil rights. In feminism, she often traveled with writer Gloria Steinem, talking to women in a speaking tour. If a man asked the pair if they were lesbians- a stereotype of feminists at the time- Flo would famously answer, "Are you my alternative?" In 1971 she founded the Feminist Party, which nominated Shirley Chisholm for president. She also helped found the Women's Political Caucus and the National Organization for Women.
She is also known for her pro-choice activism on abortion, writing a book called Abortion Rap, and stating that "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." In 1972, Flo filed tax evasion to the IRS against the Catholic church, saying that their pro-life campaign violated the breech of church and state.
On the side of civil rights, Flo represented H. Rap Brown and the Black Panthers. In her Media Workshop in 1966, she stated that she would lead boycotts of the workshop's major advertisers if they didn't feature black people in their ads.
Flo was known for her flamboyant dress (often in cowboy hats and pink sunglasses) and attitude. Once, to protest the lack of female bathrooms at Harvard, she led a mass urination on the grounds. When asked about this, she says "I'm just a loud-mouthed middle-aged colored lady with a fused spine and three feet of intestines missing and a lot of people think I'm crazy. Maybe you do too, but I never stop to wonder why I'm not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me." In 1974, People magazine wrote that she was "The biggest, loudest and, indisputably, the rudest mouth on the battleground."
Acting
Besides her legal and activist work, she also acted in two films. In The Landlord (1970), she played Enid the Maid. In the independent political drama Born In Flames (1983), she played Zella (credited as "Flo Kennedy").
Later life and death
In 1976, she wrote an autobiography called Color Me Flo: My Hard Life and Good Times, which talked about her life and extensive career. At the end of her life, she was confined to a wheelchair. She died December 21, 2000, at the age of 84.
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