User:M. M. VanZandt/Mary Lee Sargent

Involvement with Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens
Sargent was a key member of the feminist group Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens, an organization that supported the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The group organized a Day of Rebellion in Illinois, which took place on June 3, 1982, and Sargent served as spokesperson for the group. Sargent was photographed wearing chains outside the Illinois State Senate by Anne Leibowitz and the photo ran in Life Magazine. When Sargent was asked by the press if she was concerned the direct action tactics might turn off some ERA supporters she replied, "It's too late for that...we're here to step up the confrontation." Sargent was photographed in 1982 with Sonia Johnson who was on a long-term fast for the ERA at the Illinois state house.