Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens

Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was a political organization of feminist women created in the early 1980s to undertake non-violent direct action tactics to raise awareness for the need of an Equal Rights Amendment.

[3] The group included a wide range of activists from eighteen year old Sue Yarber to Berenice Carroll who was in her late 40s.

[4] In 1982, the ERA was set to expire and both pro and anti-ERA groups descended upon the Capitol in Illinois to lobby state legislators.

[6] One of the most notable actions undertaken by Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was known as their Day of Rebellion for the ERA on June 3, 1982.

[7] According to the Macon Telegraph, "When asked if they were worried the sit-in might alienate ERA supporters, Mary Lee Sargent...said, 'It's too late for that...we're here to step up the confrontation.

[16][17] After the failure of the ERA campaign, Grassroots Group for Second Class Citizens continued to be politically active as they advocated for a variety of feminist causes including for abortion rights.