ALICE BARNES (Born 1907-)
Category: Builder of coalitions and understanding between diverse communities.

Alice Barnes has demonstrated how one person’s commitment to social justice can affect many Americans. For decades her energetic and unstinting efforts have affected change through her work with the United Farmworkers’ Union, the American Indian Movement, and the Feminist Movement, among others. Her efforts have earned her the praise and admiration of such notable figures as Gloria Steinem, Governor Jerry Brown, Cesar Chavez, and Dennis Banks. In the words of Cesar Chavez, “…She is just always there, in good times and bad, giving of herself to farmworkers and the farmworkers’ cause. She is a beautiful example, for all generations, of what it means to share life with others.”

After 25 years as an elementary school teacher, Barnes spent the bulk of 30 years as a full-time activist for social justice. She is noted particularly for her involvement with the United Farmworkers Union. She helped wherever there was a need, organizing boycotts, walking in picket lines, furnishing meals for strikers and their supporters, and gathering signatures for petitions. In 1980 she courageously helped form a food cooperative for farm laborers in San Diego’s North County, despite hostile opposition. Her work in the American Indian Movement included marching in “The Longest Walk”(1977), which protested proposed legislation that would abrogate treaties with Native Americans. At least once during the march she spontaneously organized food and housing for 300 of the marchers. She was 70 years old.

Throughout the years, Barnes has joined actions in support of the ERA, spoken out against nuclear power, and helped form the San Diego chapter of the Gray Panthers. Among her many honors: Unity Plaque presented by the United Domestic Workers, Nia Cultural Organization, and the Campaign for Economic Democracy; a poem for her 70th birthday written by Dennis Banks; and a special organizer’s pin from the UFW.

Alice Barnes once said, “I believe in putting my money, my efforts, and my time where my mouth is. When I sense something is wrong, I want to go out and do something about it. I love being where the action is; it’s my reason for living. I’d much rather be out fighting than sitting at home.”

GLORIA JOHNSON (Born 1937-)
Category: Leadership in structural change that improved women’s lives and status.

Gloria Johnson, political activist and retired social worker, has labored for decades on local, state, and national levels to improve the status of women and gays. Her courageous leadership and founder roles as an out lesbian include the National Organization for Women and numerous democratic, and lesbian and gay organizations.

Gloria became involved in the civil rights and peace movements in the 1960s and then the women’s movement (1970s), particularly the drive to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Throughout these years, Gloria held leadership roles in organizations that served as major forces for change for women, gays and lesbians. In 1976, she co-chaired the local “No on 6” campaign which would have kept gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools. As President of the San Diego County Chapter of NOW (1982-1983 and1985-1988), she represented San Diego County on the state board for several years. She was one of the founders of the chapter’s Lesbian Rights Task Force in the late ‘70s and served as director of NOW’s national Lesbian Rights Conference in San Diego in 1988.

Gloria was recently elected to the national board of directors for the National Stonewall Democratic Federation and was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention for 1980, 1996, and 2000. More recently: For the last four years, she has served as Vice Chair of the Lesbian and Gay Caucus for the California Democratic Party. She is currently the Political Relations Director of the San Diego Democratic Club and Co-Director of Political Action for the San Diego County Democratic Party. Gloria has also recently received the distinction of being appointed to the Governor’s Committee on Women’s Issues. Aside from her extensive leadership positions, Gloria has been a volunteer in a multitude of campaigns for local Democratic candidates. She is currently on Donna Frye’s campaign staff.

Throughout all these years of activism,Gloria was a social worker for the County of San Diego for 30 years. In the last decade, she was an AIDS case workers. Although she retired from that work in 2000, her political service continues to branch in new avenues.

LILIA GARCIA MORENO de LOPEZ (Born 1929-)
Category: significantly Improved the lives of women.

Lilia Garcia Moreno de Lopez’s lifelong dedication to improving the lives of women, children, the elderly, and the Latino community has made her one of San Diego’s most respected activists. During more than thirty years of grassroots organizing, she has contributed greatly to social justice and community empowerment in San Diego.

Lopez was educated at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and worked in public relations and journalism in Mexico for fifteen years. After moving to Barrio Logan in the early 1960s, she soon recognized injustices suffered by Latinos and other ethnic groups living in the United States. Because many Latinas lacked basic job skills and access to educational resources, Lopez and others founded the first Latina advocacy group, Organizacion Femenil (1970). As Lilia’s vision for Latina economic independence grew, she went on to create the first ESL/occupational training program for women in San Diego. This program produced numerous qualified and well-prepared women in the areas of clerical, secretarial, and medical receptionist professions.

Along with these much-needed resources for Latinas, Lilia Lopez played key leadership roles in her community. She was the first Secretary for the Chicano Federation Board of Directors in 1969; and she represented San Diego Latinos by lobbying for youth programs in Washington D.C. and at the 1980 International Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Lopez has also collaborated with San Diego State University researchers in numerous groundbreaking cross-cultural studies to identify the health needs of elderly San Diego Latinos and other aging ethnic groups (sponsored by U.S. Department of Health). Lopez has been an active member of such diverse organizations as the San Diego County Alcoholism Advisory Board, San Diego Community College District Center City Adult Citizen Council, Model Cities Advisory Board, Logan Heights Health Clinic, and Latino Foster Parents Association. As if this were not enough, Lopez also raised four children and has fostered seven children since 1995.

To many Lilia Garcia Moreno de Lopez is known as a true Madrina, a role model with enormous strength and vision.

NANCY REEVES (Born 1913-)
Category: Trailblazer in law and in the movement for women’s equality.

Nancy Reeves’ pioneering work as attorney, feminist, author, and international lecturer has been influential for over 80 years. Through her extensive publications and lectures, she has brought to universities and the general public a global awareness of gender stereotypes, connecting women’s status to world events. She has published groundbreaking books and articles, most notably Womankind: Beyond the Stereotypes, for which she received first prize in literature from the California Bar Association in 1972. Her writings have been used in legal textbooks and in college level women’s studies courses. She has lectured widely and has made guest television appearances.

Reeves became one of the first women to receive a law degree from the New York University School of Law in the 1930s. During the Depression she built her own legal practice that dealt primarily with women’s issues. Soon afterwards she wrote Womankind: Beyond the Stereotypes, one of the first interdisciplinary texts for college level women’s studies. The book also contributed to the creation of Women’s Studies as a legitimate academic discipline. Its first chapter was included in L. Kanowitz, Sex Roles in Law and Society, the first legal textbook in the field, and Womankind's outline was in the APA Sourcebook on the Teaching of Psychology. Ms. Reeves has published articles in national publications and worldwide. Some of these include a women’s issues column for Svenska Dagbladet (Stockholm, Sweden, 1950-1952), “Women of the New Cuba” in Monthly Review (November 1960), “Women in Wonderland” in Women Speaking (London, April 1966), “The New Vision of Reality” in Cultures (UNESCO, Paris), and “What Decline in Education?” in L.A. Times (October 11). The latter publication led to Ms. Reeves' appointment on the California Board of Education. In San Diego, Reeves has contributed to several publications, including Op-Ed items in the Union-Tribune, a monthly column in Women’s Times during the 1990s, opinion pieces in the SDSU Daily Aztec and many others. Reeves has been broadcast nationwide on PBS (1975) and has made guest appearances on major TV discussion programs since 1963.

Through her work, Reeves has asked the world to analyze women’s roles and examine barriers to women's equality. She has carved a legitimate place for feminism within academia and worldwide. Generations of feminists and women in all walks of life are indebted to Nancy Reeves for carving a well-worn path toward equality.

HONORARY CIRCLE MEMBERS:

Donna Alm, Dede Alpert, Doris Alvarez, Sherrill Amador, Dorothy Annette, Toni Atkins, Vicki Butcher, Nona Cannon, Constance Carroll, Marjorie Caserio, Marsha Chandler, Carolyn Chase, Li-rong Lilly Cheng, Virginia Christman, Judy Copeland, Joanne Cornwell, Midge Costanza, Crystal Crawford, Alemi Daba, Sharon Davis, Susan Davis, Denise Moreno Ducheny, Bonnie Dumanis, Jane Dumas, Judith A. Forman, Donna Frye, Libia S. Gil, Sheila Hardin, Betty Harding, Alice Bourke Hayes, Frances D. Hellman, Anne Hoiberg, Shirley Horton, Dianne Jacob, Christine Kehoe, Lucy Killea, Starla Lewis, Sandra McBrayer, Judith McConnell, Gracia Molina de Pick, Shirley Murphy, Maria Nieto-Senour, Margaret Penrose-Iwanaga, Mary Salas, Rosalia Salinas, Lynn Schenk, Ardyth Shaw, Pam Slater, Faustina Solis, Stephanie Sontag, Ellie Stein, Judy Sundayo, Judy Walsh-Jackson, Shirley N. Weber, Susan Weber, Wilma Wooten,Charlene Zettel.