It is almost ironic that in the month of March, Women’s History Month, we lost some outstanding women. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, whom President Bill Clinton called “a national treasure,” died at the age of 84. And Lynn Yeakel, the visionary founder of Women 100, also passed away.
Madeleine Albright, first female secretary of state, and a powerhouse of intellect although only five-feet tall in stature. I always liked standing next to her at political events, because we were the same height.
Secretary Albright had a wicked sense of humor, in addition to her brilliant and analytic mind. She had wonderful put-downs for autocratic leaders, even during a press conference. And she had that fabulous collection of pins. She even wrote an illustrated book about her collection. Many women officials, like Nancy Pelosi, follow Dr. Albright’s lead and wear large and memorable pins on their jackets.
Secretary Albright was a great friend to then First Lady Hillary Clinton. And she campaigned vigorously for Hillary Clinton for president. When the Washington Post revealed to the world that Secretary Albright’s family had been Jewish before the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, it surprised her as well as most of the world. But her father feared the Nazis so much that he had the family converted to Catholicism when they arrived in London after fleeing for their lives.
Three of her grandparents perished during the Holocaust in concentration camps. She may not have learned this until later in her life, but she always fought against dictators. Dr. Albright served President Clinton as Ambassador to the United Nations before being named Secretary of State.
She was able to pass the torch on to Senator Hillary Clinton, who became Secretary of State after Dr. Albright. MSNBC and CNN always relished having Dr. Albright as a commentator on current events, as she never minced words. She always spoke out against dictatorships and inhumanity. Because she was personally familiar with leaders across the world, she always had something insightful to offer the audience whenever she spoke.
Lynn Hardy Yeakel was the visionary who created Women 100, the international celebration of the centennial anniversary of women’s receiving the right to vote in America. Lynn came very close to winning the U.S. Senate seat from Arlen Specter. Then she forged a career at Drexel University, pushing for women in many ways. Vision 100 became a national organization with many famous women, and even a few men, taking the helm to lead the charge. Ms. Yeakel wanted women to become equal with men in many ways – payment for professional services, for example. In addition to the right to vote!
When she decided to run for the U.S. Senate against the incumbent, Senator Arlen Specter, she put her entire soul into that race. I was a volunteer on her campaign, and I often spoke on her behalf when she found she could not be in two places at once.
Women 100 morphed into Vision 2020, and created the Seat at the Table exhibition in the Kimmel Center, illustrating the history of women’s gaining the right to vote with the 19th Amendment. The exhibit was free and open to the public during all of Women’s History Month, as well as being available virtually.
There were lectures and special events throughout the year of celebration of achieving equality in voting for all women. Leadership nationally will continue to work toward Lynn Yeakel’s goal of gender equity.
I hope that Drexel and the Women’s Institute there, which has Lynn Yeakel’s fingerprints all over it, will schedule many events which Lynn had envisioned as part of the framework for Women 100.
And Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has proven to be a special successor to both of these women, whose passing has left us bereft. But when Brown Jackson becomes Justice of the Supreme Court later this year, we will have a new role model to inspire us.
Bonnie Squires writes weekly for Main Line Media News News and can be reached at www.bonniesquires.com. She hosts the “Bonnie’s Beat” TV show at MLTV- MAIN LINE NETWORK
