The 2024 LWVSC Fierce Feminist Award was presented this year to Linda Salzer by the 2023 award recipient, Patricia Nugent. The presentation was part of the ”Continuing Susan’s Fight for Equality” event and visit to Susan B. Anthony’s childhood home in Battenville, Washington County, NY, on Women’s Equality Day, August 26, 2024.

Presentation by Patricia Nugent (8/26/24)

Last year, at our League’s Famous Person Fundraiser, Barb Thomas presented an unofficial award that she made up! As she described the recipient, including the term Fierce Feminist, I sat curiously listening, thinking, “Gee, I’d like to know the person she’s describing.” I didn’t realize it was me! She gave me an ERA pin that she’d had for close to 50 years. It means so much to me because I admire Barb so much. She was our original Fierce Feminist!

The award was intended to be a one-off, but I appealed to the LWV board to make it an annual recognition: The Fierce Feminist Award so now it will be presented every year – on Women’s (In)equality Day, August 26. (I told Barb I wouldn’t say Inequality Day today to ruin the celebration but a Fierce Feminist just HAS to!)

The rules are that 1) the past recipient chooses the next recipient 2) the prize is something they themselves own that represents their feminist journey.

It was no easy task to choose this year’s Fierce Feminist. I’ve had the privilege of working with 12 people on the Alice Brigade and every one of them qualifies. But I remembered Linda’s words to me when she first joined the Alice Brigade: “This is no time to be timid!” It became a rallying cry and has guided many decisions we made in this campaign to help women realize they are oppressed. One presentation she did for us was titled, “Bitches and Witches,” tracing the history of demeaning terms for women. (e.g. “Son of a bitch”). Linda continues to challenge me to call out conditions and what must be done.

She has co-chaired our Communication Team with Kim Harvish and pushed the envelope on our message. Our Women’s Rights Awareness Campaign Facebook page has 125 followers from all over the country and abroad. It prompted a foreign correspondent to call our League for an interview about a reproductive rights ruling in Alabama.

Linda has blogged about reproductive rights as well as other inequities for the LWV’s website. She has risen to every delegated challenge, although probably wishes she hadn’t at times. If she doesn’t know how to approach a task, she independently researches it. I threw some complex projects her way, and she figured them out in a timely way – even if it meant resorting to AI! Like converting a dense legal essay into a Q&A interview. Like recruiting people to leaflet for the ERA outside a theater at 9:30 for four weekend nights!

She lives here in Washington County and has extended the League’s reach here through organizing candidate events and ERA tabling. Linda is in her 25th year as an engineer as encouraged by her dad – her grandmother had switched careers from nursing to construction manager supervising all-male crews! And the feminist strain in her family continues as she takes her daughter with her on crusades. Linda has taken her daughter to marches in Washington. But perhaps the bravest thing she’s ever done is join Toastmasters to get over her fear of public speaking. She was terrified but did it anyway. It took her ten years to attend a meeting, but won awards once she did. Her story is one of slowly finding her voice and helping others find theirs.

Like so many of us here, Linda Salzer is a Fierce Feminist and I’m proud to share this honor with her. And may I remind you, in her words, “This is no time to be timid.” Congratulations, Linda!

Answering Remarks by Linda Salzer (8/26/24)

Thank you, Pat, for your nomination and kind words. I am truly honored to be recognized as a Fierce Feminist by you and the League of Women Voters. When I first heard the news, I wondered, “Did Pat have the right person?” But here I am, deeply flattered and grateful for this award.

Some of us are born fierce, but many, including myself, have had to learn it. We started by faking it, and over time, that fierceness became an integral part of who we are. I suspect many of you have had a similar journey.

We are living through a challenging time in history, one that tests our resolve like never before. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and afraid. But now is not the time to be passive. The best way to combat fear is through action.

When we join forces, we discover that we don’t have to carry the weight of the world alone. Let’s lift up those around us and invite them to join in our efforts. Being fierce means standing up when no one else will, harnessing our anger to fuel our determination, and walking the difficult path even when it’s tough.

Time is short, and we must use our voices and speak up.

Every day, we have the opportunity to be fierce.

In the words of Kyra O’Connor:

“A fierce woman is fierce in belief, in joy, in compassion, in commitment, in intelligence, in wit, and in community. She’s capable not only of finding her own way but of creating a path for others; she doesn’t just break down doors, she tears down walls.”

Of course, tearing down walls isn’t only a women’s job. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” A fierce feminist knows that equal rights and opportunities must be extended to all genders. We rise together or not at all.

Let’s all be fierce together. Thank you.