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flo kennedy

by · Activism

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Flo Kennedy: The Flamboyant, Outrageous Brains of the Women’s Movement

"Sweetie, if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up space," said Flo Kennedy, a fierce, effective and under-appreciated activist fighting sexism and racism.

The cover of Flo Kennedy's 1976 memoir, Color Me Flo: My Hard Life and Good Times, says it all. She's wearing a brown leather vest, a matching cowboy hat, big hoop earrings, and a long sleeve black shirt that says "Bullshit" over and over and over. With a big gap-toothed grin on her face, she's holding up her middle finger, her nails sculpted and painted a dark red.

Flo (short for Florynce) Kennedy was the flamboyant, outrageous image of the Women's Movement. An Ivy-League-educated lawyer, Kennedy was sometimes called “radicalism’s rudest mouth.” But beneath the eye-grabbing outfits, the signature pink sunglasses, and the potty mouth was a fierce, brilliant scholar and political tactician who deserves as much recognition as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. Her character makes appearances in both the film The Glorias and the TV series Mrs. America, but more as a supporting role in each.

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