Mary Morten

Mary Morten, a lifelong activist in Chicago, has dedicated her voice to advocate for marginalized communities. Morten was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1996. Morten served as the first African-American president of the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women, is an author and filmmaker on African-American lesbian experiences, and has led organizations such as the Chicago Abortion Fund and Chicago Foundation for Women. Of note, Morten directed the City of Chicago's Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian issues in 1996.

Morten attributes her work as an activist to her mother, who believed in the civil rights era's Call to Action: If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Notable in Morten's activist career is her volunteer role in Geraldine Ferraro's 1984 vice-presidential campaign. During that time, Morten walked into the local chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and noted the lack of women of color present, and decided that had to change. "I walked in and never left," said Morten. Morten eventually became president of NOW and since led groups including the Women's Self-Employment Project and Chicago Abortion Fund.

In 1996, Morten became a member of A Real Read, a Chicago's African American Lesbigaytrans Performance Ensemble. This theatre company aimed to represent a community living under the dual minority status related to race and sexual orientation. A Real Read addressed issues such as: HIV and AIDS prevention, homophobia, religion, women and transgender issues. Through their poetry, prose, music, and vignettes, the group gave a voice to a community often silenced, while offering performances that reflected the universal.

In her role at the Mayor's office, Morten led the community-based coalition for the film, It’s Elementary, an educational film for use in staff development trainings for Chicago Public Schools and developed the anti-racism project, The Color Triangle, for the LGBT community. In addition, Morten helped to found the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance and is a former board member of Chicago's Center on Halsted and of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

In 2000, Mary Morten was named director of anti-violence prevention office for the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Morten coordinated CDPH's citywide violence prevention efforts and was responsible for the implementation of Prevent Violence! Chicago, the city's strategic violence prevention plan.

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