A Rare First-Person Account of the Women's Movement
Join us in welcoming Muriel Fox, author of The Women’s Revolution (New Village Press, 2024) and cofounder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), for a behind-the-scenes look at the women’s movement she helped catalyze. Muriel will share some notable events from her seat at the table, she’ll take your questions, and she’ll sign your books in this very special appearance at HVBH.
“Fox took on many leadership roles during her decades as a feminist trailblazer, and the insights she shares represent a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complex history of a significant American movement. . . . Revealing, inspiring.”— Kirkus Reviews
This event is free to attend; however, we ask for your RSVP so we can plan accordingly. Copies of The Women’s Revolution will be available for purchase and signing.
About the Author
Feminist icon Muriel Fox cofounded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the powerful NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund (now Legal Momentum), pivotal forces in the Second Wave Feminist Movement. An organizing lieutenant to Betty Friedan and head of NOW’s communications, Fox was central in creating both national NOW and its New York Chapter.
Muriel Fox was also cofounder and president of The Women’s Forum and chair of the Veteran Feminists of America. As executive vice president of Carl Byoir & Associates, Muriel Fox became the world’s most preeminent woman in public relations.
Fox graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Barnard College in 1948. She has two children, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. At age 96, she remains an influential voice in the feminist movement.
About the Book
In her candid, compelling memoir about the Second Wave feminist movement, Muriel Fox offers remarkable, firsthand stories of 30 people whom history should not forget. As NOW's public relations director, vice president, then chair of the board, Fox served as Betty Friedan's main lieutenant and director of operations. She drafted numerous letters sent by NOW under Friedan's signature to government officials demanding faster action to reduce sex discrimination, including a letter that helped persuade President Lyndon Johnson to add gender to Affirmative Action and open opportunities for millions of women.
Fox's memoir reveals the movement’s struggles, betrayals, defeats, and victories large and small—some contradicting inaccuracies by previous writers. This is a noteworthy, comprehensive book about the laws, lawsuits, and victories that helped the modern women's movement change the world.
Advance Praise for The Women’s Revolution
“The visionary feminist leaders that Muriel Fox (herself one of them) so carefully chronicles in The Women’s Revolution set out to change the world and they did. This is an essential volume recounting the pivotal Second Wave of U.S. feminist history that enshrined women’s rights as a matter of law. As the political winds of our times seek to push us backwards and undo these hard-won victories, this book reminds us of the fierce feminist legacies on which we stand and gives us renewed purpose for the fight.” — Brittney Cooper, PhD, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies; author of Eloquent Rage
“Muriel Fox was there at the beginning of the modern wave of feminism, and her book, The Women’s Revolution, reveals how a small group of women started a worldwide transformation that continues. Anyone striving for a more equal future will be inspired by her experience.” — Gloria Steinem, feminist activist, author, founding editor of Ms. magazine
“The Women's Revolution sets the record straight on the Second Wave of feminism. It's all there—the debates, the triumphs and failures, the many larger-than-life personalities. This is history from the inside, by one who was there. I couldn't put it down.” — Katha Pollitt, author of Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights