Peggy Dobbins
Peggy Dobbins | |
---|---|
Born | Margaret Nell Powell September 30, 1938 |
Other names | Peggy Powell Dobbins |
Occupation(s) | Sociologist, human rights activist |
Years active | 1966–present |
Peggy Dobbins (born September 30, 1938) was an American sociologist, and a civil and women's rights activist. Born and raised in Texas, she earned degrees from Wellesley College and the University of Madrid in the early 1960s. She participated in Freedom Summer in 1964 and was active in the Southern Student Organizing Committee. She began her PhD studies at Tulane University and taught one of the first women's studies courses in the country, in New Orleans in 1966. She suspended her studies when she married the following year and moved to New York City, where she was active in opposing the Vietnam War and the founding of the women's liberation movement.
Dobbins was a co-founder of
Having lost her university position, Dobbins Worked for various NGOs, like the Protect America's Children and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to support their work. She also volunteered with the Communist Party USA on various issues and continued to protest American involvement in wars. In the 1990s, she worked in a job training program for the city of Birmingham and from 1992 to 1996 served on the Housing Authority’s board.
Early life, education, and family
Margaret Nell Powell, later known as Peggy, was born on September 30, 1938, in Bell County, Texas to Paulina Otelia (née Jordan) and Sam Madison Powell Jr.[1][2][3] Her father was a physician, who after serving in the US Army in World War II, was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, before opening a private practice in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was chief of staff at Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi from 1947 to 1961 and then relocated to Birmingham, Alabama to head the Birmingham Health Foundation. Peggy and her brother, Sam III, were raised in Corpus Christi.[2] She was presented in the 1957–1958 debutante season after graduating from W. B. Ray High School. Continuing her education, Peggy enrolled as a political science major at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.[4] She graduated in 1960 from Wellesley and then completed a degree at the University of Madrid in 1961.[3][5] During her university studies, Powell became pregnant and had to give her son up for adoption.[6] The event made her realize that other women had secret pregnancies and abortions and propelled her to speak publicly about abortion as a political issue.[7]
Activism (1960–1970)
Powell moved to New Orleans enrolled in graduate studies at
In April 1967, Powell married Michael Anthony Dobbins in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a graduate of the
The Atlantic City protest divided activists and eventually led to the demise of New York Radical Women.[29] The split occurred because part of the group thought individuals participating in the Women's Liberation Movement should be able to choose whether they aligned with the right or the left. Others felt that the movement should permanently adhere with the left, but opponents countered that any permanent alignment would result in women's issues being subordinated to other causes.[30] One group that split off included Dobbins, Judy Duffett, Cynthia Funk, Naomi Jaffe, Robin Morgan, Florika Remetier, and others, who formed the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (W.I.T.C.H.).[3][29] Initially, the women of W.I.T.C.H. did not see men as oppressors of women, but instead saw systems, which consumerized and fetishized women and forced them to accept stereotypical roles in society, as their oppressors.[31] W.I.T.C.H., which could also mean Women Inspired to Tell their Collective History or other creative variations, often used art and street theater to protest against corporate capitalism, the Vietnam War, and the feminine beauty ideal.[32][33] She joined the Upper West Side Women's Center, where she led conscience-raising groups and organized a food cooperative which distributed goods on a sliding scale, and a childcare cooperative for mothers.[3]
Activism (1970–1990)
Dobbins returned to her studies at Tulane in 1972 and completed her PhD in sociology in 1974 with a thesis, Unionism, Professionalism, and Feminism among Registered Nurses. That year, she was hired as an assistant professor at the
While her first case was pending, Dobbins was arrested again in October 1981 and charged with disorderly conduct for refusing to leave the offices of The Birmingham News. She went to the newspaper office to request that they investigate a story about wiretapping. Although she voluntarily agreed to leave, police offers carried her out of the building to a police car.[36] Dobbins was found guilty of disorderly conduct and fined $200 at the hearing in December.[39] After her termination from the university, Dobbins worked for the NGO Protect America's Children and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.[36] She also joined the Communist Party USA and volunteered on civil rights, women's rights, and labor issues.[3] In 1991, Dobbins participated in protests against the Gulf War, stating that people were often too afraid to protest because they might lose their jobs.[40] By the early 1990s, she was teaching at the Job Opportunity and Basic Skills project, which aimed to assist welfare recipients in obtaining employment. She was unanimously hired by the Birmingham City Council in 1992 to serve on the Housing Authority board for a five-year term.[41] Dobbins and her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996.[3]
Selected works
Dobbins recorded her thoughts and interactions on
- Dobbins, Peggy Powell (July 1977). "Towards a Theory of the Women's Liberation Movement and Women's Wage-Labor". OCLC 4632806693.
- Dobbins, Peggy Powell (1981). From Kin to Class: Speculations on the Origins and Development of the Family, Class Society, and Female Subordination (4th ed.). Berkeley, California: Signmaker Press. ISBN 978-0-9605774-0-8.
- Dobbins, Peggy; Dobbins, Mike (September 1997). "Sprawl Things Considered: Controlling Growth". American City & County (112). Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Primedia Business Magazines & Media: 18–.
References
Citations
- ^ Birth records 1938.
- ^ a b Waco Tribune-Herald 1988, p. 8E.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Love 2006, p. 120.
- ^ Dodson 1957, p. 8E.
- ^ The Boston Globe 1960, p. 80.
- ^ Brownmiller 1999, p. 5.
- ^ a b Brown 2019, p. 10.
- ^ a b c Corpus Christi Times 1967, p. 9.
- ^ a b Greene 1994, p. 202.
- ^ McAdam 1988, pp. 4, 182.
- ^ a b Evans 1979, p. 183.
- ^ Zinsser 1993, p. 165.
- ^ Kahn 2006, p. 388.
- ^ Evans 1979, p. 183, 199.
- ^ a b c Hargrove 1980, p. 6.
- ^ Morgan 2001, p. 284.
- ^ Echols 1989, p. 57.
- ^ Echols 1989, pp. 113, 320.
- ^ Echols 1989, p. 113.
- ^ a b Echols 1989, p. 93.
- ^ Brownmiller 1999, p. 36.
- ^ Brownmiller 1999, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Evans 1979, p. 214.
- ^ Echols 1989, p. 94.
- ^ Echols 1989, pp. 94–95.
- ^ a b Brownmiller 1999, p. 40.
- ^ Love 2006, p. 3.
- ^ Echols 1989, p. 321.
- ^ a b Echols 1989, p. 96.
- ^ Echols 1989, p. 80.
- ^ Echols 1989, p. 97.
- ^ Brownmiller 1999, p. 49.
- ^ Tiede 1969, p. 6B.
- ^ a b c d The Anniston Star 1980, p. 2B.
- ^ a b c Birmingham Post-Herald 1981a, p. A8.
- ^ a b c Kemp 1981, p. D10.
- ^ Birmingham Post-Herald 1982a, p. C1.
- ^ Birmingham Post-Herald 1982b, p. C1.
- ^ Birmingham Post-Herald 1981b, p. C2.
- ^ Singleton III 1991, p. C3.
- ^ Chapman 1992, p. B1.
- ^ Starratt & Boyle 2017.
- ^ Hudnut 1998, p. 166.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-1-78873-584-1.
- ISBN 978-0-385-31486-2.
- Chapman, Michaelle (September 23, 1992). "Mrs. Dobbins Appointed". Newspapers.com.
- Dodson, Anne (November 24, 1957). "Going About: Debutantes of Order de Pineda Are Announced". Newspapers.com.
- Echols, Alice (1989). Daring To Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967–1975. Minneapolis, Minnesota: ISBN 978-0-8166-1786-9.
- ISBN 978-0-394-41911-4.
- "Dr. Sam M. Powell Jr". Newspapers.com.
- Greene, Christina (1994). "'We'll Take Our Stand': Race, Class, and Gender in the Southern Student Organizing Committee, 1964–1969". In Bernhard, Virginia; Brandon, Betty; ISBN 978-0-8262-0958-0.
- Hargrove, Thomas (December 16, 1980). "Mask Called 'Political Cartoon'". Newspapers.com.
- Hudnut, William H. (1998). Cities on the Rebound: A Vision for Urban America. Washington, D.C: ULI—The Urban Land Institute. ISBN 978-0-87420-863-4.
- "Judge Rules in Mask Case". Newspapers.com.
- "Jury Deadlocks in Trial". Newspapers.com.
- Kahn, Ada P. (2006). "Women's Studies". The Encyclopedia of Stress and Stress-Related Diseases (2nd ed.). New York, New York: ISBN 978-0-8160-5937-9.
- Kemp, Kathy (October 28, 1981). "Woman Arrested for Refusing to Leave News". Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-0-252-03189-2.
- "Mask Wearer Found Guilty on 2 Counts". Newspapers.com.
- McAdam, Doug (1988). Freedom Summer. New York, New York: ISBN 978-0-19-504367-9.
- "Miss Powell and Michael Dobbins Exchange Vows". Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-0-393-05015-8.
- Singleton III, William C. (February 26, 1991). "Cameras Become Cue for Protest against Gulf War". Newspapers.com.
- Starratt, Laura; Boyle, Allie (October 2017). "Peggy Powell Dobbins Papers". Emory Libraries. Atlanta, Georgia: Emory University. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- "Texas Birth Records, Bell County, Texas: Margaret Nell Powell". FamilySearch. Austin, Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. September 30, 1938. Retrieved April 14, 2024.(subscription required)
- Tiede, Tom (January 9, 1969). "Putting a Pox on Femininity". Newspapers.com.
- "Wellesley College Presents Degrees to 365 Tomorrow". Newspapers.com.
- "Woman Convicted of Disorderly Conduct in News Incident". Newspapers.com.
- "Woman Must Pay $400 for Assault, Wearing Mask". Newspapers.com.
- Zinsser, Judith P. (1993). History & Feminism: A Glass Half Full. New York, New York: ISBN 978-0-8057-9751-0.