AADL Talks To: Jan BenDor and Catherine McClary, Women's Rights Activists

Tue, 10/01/2024 - 1:42pm

Women’s rights activists Jan BenDor and Catherine McClary have been working together for over 50 years. Among their many pioneering contributions to regional and national causes are the Women’s Crisis Center, domestic violence reform, and legislation to combat job, housing, and sexual discrimination. Jan, a member of the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, is the founder of the Rape Crisis Center movement in Michigan and has pioneered programs for law enforcement training in the treatment of domestic violence and sexual assault. Catherine, retiring Washtenaw County Treasurer, was the youngest person elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and has been recognized nationally for her work fighting home foreclosures and championing the rights of women and people of color. Jan and Catherine talk about their pioneering roles in the rape awareness movement, including their writing and distribution of the influential “Freedom From Rape” publication and their involvement in the passage of Michigan’s landmark 1974 Criminal Sexual Conduct Act, which would become a national model. They also talk about their work to establish the first publicly funded domestic violence shelter in the country and offer their perspective on the continuing challenges women face in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs decision.

LGBTQ+ Washtenaw Oral History Project - Maggie Hostetler

Thu, 08/01/2024 - 10:00am

Maggie Hostetler was born in 1944 in Bay City, Michigan, where she grew up with four siblings. As a young adult, she worked for her parents’ newspaper, the Fremont Times-Indicator. She moved to Ann Arbor in the late 1960s to complete her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Michigan, and she went on to become a social worker and a technical writer. She recalls that being an activist for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1970s was primarily about coming out to friends and family and creating community. She was a founding member of A Woman's Bookstore and a contributor to The Leaping Lesbian magazine. She and her partner Lorri Sipes have been together for 43 years, and married for 10 years. They enjoy many shared activities including gardening, golfing, and hosting dinner parties.

View historical materials.