Civil rights activist
Mary Downey Powers (September 10, 1922 – June 25, 2016) was a Chicago-area civil rights activist. Her work included advocating for police accountability and gay and lesbian rights. Powers is a 1992 inductee into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.[1]
Biography
Powers grew up in East Lansing and Flint, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a sociology degree. After marrying William Powers, with whom she had three children, they settled in Winnetka, Illinois, later living in Wilmette, Illinois. She died at the age of 93 on June 25, 2016, at Evanston Hospital.[1]
Career
Powers was a founder of a police watchdog group called Citizens Alert.[1][2] The group was vital in having cameras installed in police interrogation rooms and for reparations for the victims of Commander Jon Burge.[3]
She worked to bring Martin Luther King Jr. to Winnetka’s Village Green for a speech in 1965.[1]
She became Vice President of the Alliance to End Repression in 1969.[2]
Powers worked for Western Electric from 1946 until 1950. Her work with the LGBT community began there having met employees fearing they could lose their jobs if their sexuality was made known.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d O’Donnell, Maureen (June 28, 2016). "Mary D. Powers, dead at 93, called for police accountability". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ a b c "Mary D. Powers". Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Nova Safo (22 April 2015). "Police departments grapple with body camera cost". Marketplace. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
External links
- Michael Miner (June 27, 2016). "Police watchdog Mary Powers dies". Chicago Reader.
1990–1999 |
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| 1991 | - Ortez Alderson
- Jon-Henri Damski
- James W. Flint
- Gay Chicago
- Renee C. Hanover
- Howard Brown Health Center
- Judith S. Johns
- Carol A. Johnson
- William B. Kelley
- Marie J. Kuda
- Chuck Renslow
- Adrienne J. Smith
- Max C. Smith
- Richard B. Turner
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| 1992 | |
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| 1993 | |
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| 1994 | - Robert J. Adams
- Tracy Baim
- George S. Buse
- James A. Bussen
- Lori Cannon
- John Chester
- Chicago House and Social Service Agency
- Samuel F. Davis Jr.
- Adrienne J. Goodman
- Earnest E. Hite Jr.
- Bruce Koff
- Ellis B. Levin
- Lionheart Gay Theatre Company
- Open Hand Chicago
- Gregory A. Sprague
- Elizabeth E. Tocci
- Steven F. Wakefield
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| 1995 | |
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| 1996 | |
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| 1997 | - Toni Armstrong Jr.
- Miguel Ayala
- Roger Chaffin
- James C. Darby
- Dignity Chicago
- Ida Greathouse
- John Hammell
- Rick Karlin
- Corinne J. Kawecki
- Larry McKeon
- David G. Ostrow
- Mary Ann Smith
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| 1998 | |
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| 1999 | |
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2000–2009 |
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| 2000 | |
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| 2001 | |
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| 2002 | - Affinity Community Services
- Evette Cardona
- C. C. Carter
- Jim Gates (Chicago businessman)
- Louis I. Lang
- Mattachine Midwest
- NAMES Project Chicago Chapter
- Charles Edward Nelson II
- Mona Noriega
- Christina Smith
- Lauren Sugerman
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| 2003 | - Angel Abcede
- About Face Theatre
- AIDS Legal Council of Chicago
- Buddies' Restaurant and Bar
- Tania Callaway
- Armand R. Cerbone
- Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays
- R. Sue Connolly
- Bon Foster
- The Graham Family
- Tonda L. Hughes
- Patricia M. Logue
- John Pennycuff
- Laurence E. Spang
- Sheron Denise Webb
- Albert N. Williams
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| 2004 | |
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| 2009 | |
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2010–2019 |
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| 2010 | |
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| 2011 | - Paul Adams
- Greg Cameron
- Antonia Flores
- Grant Lynn Ford
- Robert Garofalo
- Good Shepherd Parish Metropolitan Community Church
- Ted Grady
- Marcia Hill
- Tony Jackson
- Jenner & Block LLP
- Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles
- The Night Ministry
- Brett Shingledecker
- Jon Simmons
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| 2012 | - Lois L. Bates
- Chi-Town Squares
- Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus
- St. Sukie de la Croix
- Sanford E. Gaylord
- William W. Greaves
- Keith R. Green
- Mark Ishaug
- David Orr
- Proud to Run, Chicago
- Bill Pry
- Chuck Rodocker
- Heather C. Sawyer
- Laura S. Washington
- Honey West
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| 2013 | |
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| 2014 | |
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| 2015 | - Jean Albright
- Fred Eychaner
- Emmanuel Garcia
- Stanley Jencyzk
- Lesbian and Gay Police Association
- Gay Officers Action League
- Phoenix Matthews
- Gail Morse
- Michael O'Connor
- Jan Schakowsky
- Barbara Smith
- Camilla B. Taylor
- Lauren Verdich
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| 2016 | |
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