Dorothy Pitman Hughes
| Dorothy Pitman Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1938 (age 78–79) Lumpkin, Georgia, USA |
| Residence | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Movement | Feminism |
Dorothy Pitman Hughes (born 1938) is a feminist, child-welfare advocate, African-American activist, public speaker, author, pioneering African-American small business owner, and mother of three daughters. She was a co-founder of Ms. Magazine in 1972. She organized the first shelter for battered women in New York City and co-founded the New York City Agency for Child Development (now the New York City Administration for Children's Services). Hughes also co-founded with Gloria Steinem and others the Women’s Action Alliance in 1971. The two women toured together speaking about gender, class and race throughout the 1970s.
Hughes owned and operated three early child-care centers helping establish the modern convention in the 1960s. She also owned an office supply business in Harlem from 1997 to 2007 and wrote about her experiences in Wake Up and Smell the Dollars! (2011) and I'm Just Saying... It Looks Like Ethnic Cleansing (The Gentrification of Harlem) (2012), advocating small business ownership to other African Americans as a form of empowerment, as well as advising how to avoid potential pitfalls specific to African Americans. The National Portrait Gallery selected for its collection a photograph of Hughes and Steinem sharing a large skirt, each with a raised fist salute to demonstrate feminist solidarity. The photograph was shot by photographer Dan Wynn for Esquire Magazine in 1971. Ms. Pitman Hughes commissioned photographer Dan Bagan to create an homage portrait of the two friends together again in a similar pose for Ms. Steinem's 80th birthday.
Oprah Winfrey honored Hughes as one of America’s "Great Moms".
Hughes is the aunt of actress Gabourey Sidibe.
Hughes has focused her activism in the Northside community of Jacksonville, Florida, growing food within the neighborhoods to combat poverty. She owns the Gateway Bookstore in Jacksonville.
Dorothy Pitman Hughes was born 1938 in Lumpkin, Georgia. Her father was beaten when she was ten years old and left for dead on the family's doorstep, the family believes it to be a crime committed by Ku Klux Klan members. Hughes decided as a child in reaction to her family's experiences she would devote her life to improving the circumstances of people through activism.
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