Dorothy Kenyon: Early Advocate for Social Justice

by Linda Harris Sittig

I have long admired Ruth Bader Ginsburg, lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, and champion of women’s rights.

But before Ruth, there was Dorothy Kenyon.

Never achieving the same fame as Ruth B. Ginsburg, Dorothy Kenyon never-the-less left an indelible mark upon our legal system.

Born in 1888 to a well-to-do family in Manhattan, New York, Dorothy spent most of her younger life as a social butterfly.

Then a trip to Mexico changed everything.

Mexico

Possessing a degree in economics from Smith College, Dorothy spent a year living in Mexico and seeing firsthand the effects of poverty on families, particularly women.

Mexico altered her life path. She returned to New York and enrolled in the New York University School of Law, graduating in 1917 and passing the New York Bar the same year.

 From 1917 to 1929, she worked tirelessly in various law firms championing cases for social injustice, focusing on women. However, hindered in advancing her career, she decided to make the bold move and open her own law firm.

In 1930 the law firm of Straus and Kenyon took on clients where equal rights under the law were in question. Dorothy never formally joined any women’s rights organizations but preferred to fight the battle on her own. She penned numerous articles for various New York City newspapers to foster an awareness of how the legal system failed American women.

In 1938 Dorothy was selected as the U.S. representative to the League of Nations for the committee study on the legal status of women internationally.

Dorothy vs. McCarthyism

She made headlines again in 1950 when Senator Joseph McCarthy put forward her name for the first person in America to be investigated for her supposed relationship with the Communist Party.

She confronted McCarthy, denying any association with Communism, and called him a liar. Although the Senate subcommittee cleared her of the charges, her career in public service was tainted.

One of her most notable cases came a few years later, in 1957 when an all-male jury in Florida convicted a woman named Gwendolyn Hoyt of murdering her husband. The defense argument was based on Mrs. Hoyt’s testimony that her husband had been beating her for years.

In 1957 in Florida, all juries were male-only. Women could volunteer to become a juror, but the process was so complicated and lengthy that it rarely occurred. Dorothy took up the challenge and represented Gwendolyn Hoyt, stipulating that Mrs. Hoyt had been denied her constitutional rights by denying her a jury of her peers. An all-male jury did not qualify as her peers.

Hoyt vs. Florida

Hoyt vs. Florida made it to the U.S. Supreme Court (which at that time in history had all-male justices) and lost. The male judges ruled that women were the center of the home and family life and should not have to be considered for jury duty.

Dorothy was furious and frustrated by the loss, but her case would inspire future lawyers championing social justice.

After Hoyt vs. Florida, Dorothy began preparing legal briefs for the NAACP and the ALCU, and she joined the forces seeking to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

Dorothy was a trailblazer, and as such, she often rebelled against societal norms. She never married, preferring to have a series of intense romantic relationships with several prominent men. Her streak of personal independence did not fit the confines of marriage.

Diagnosed with stomach cancer in her early 80s, she refused to stop working and continued participating in President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. Up to the very end, she worked as an advocate for the poor.

Her Legacy

Dorothy died five days short of her 84^th birthday. The year was 1972, and a young female lawyer had just volunteered as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, focusing on gender equality and women’s rights. She had read extensively about Dorothy Kenyon’s career.

That young lawyer was Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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Passionate about strong women’s stories from history, check out my three novels, Cut From Strong Cloth, Last Curtain Call, and Counting Crows. My non-fiction book is B-52 DOWN. All of my books can be ordered from your favorite bookstore, or found on line and available on Kindle.

Watch for my news this fall for my newest book, Opening Closed Doors, where the courage of one woman helps to end segregation in a small Virginia town.

~ Linda