Aileen Hernandez
Aileen Hernandez (née Clarke; May 23, 1926 – February 13, 2017) was an African-American union organizer, civil rights activist, and women's rights activist. She served as the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) between 1970 and 1971, and was the first woman to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Aileen Hernandez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Aileen Blanche Clarke May 23, 1926 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 2017 (aged 90) Tustin, California, U.S. |
| Education | Howard University (BA) New York University California State University, Los Angeles (MA) |
| Occupation(s) | Woman's rights activist union organizer president of the National Organization for Women (1970–1971) |
Born in 1926, Hernandez attended Howard University, where her interest in civil rights was cemented in an incident where she was told that she had to hail a "black" taxi. After graduating with honors, she became a labor union organizer before helping found NOW. As its second president, she helped organize the Women's Strike for Equality and testified in front of a congressional subcommittee on the Equal Rights Amendment, but she left the organization out of frustration with what she saw as its racial inequities. Hernandez would go on to co-found several organizations that focused on African-American women, along with teaching at several universities in California. She died in 2017 at the age of 90.