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Pauline "Polly" Spiegel Cowan (1913–1976) was an American civil rights activist who co-founded Wednesdays in Mississippi.
Pauline Spiegel Cowan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pauline Spiegel 1913 |
| Died | 1976 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Co-founding Wednesdays in Mississippi |
| Spouse | Louis G. Cowan |
| Children | Paul Cowan Geoffrey Cowan |
| Parent(s) | Lena Straus Spiegel Modie Spiegel |
| Family | John Patrick Spiegel (brother) Joseph Spiegel (grandfather) |
She was born Penelope Spiegel to a German Jewish immigrant family, the youngest of four children born to Lena (née Straus) and Modie Spiegel.[1][2] Her mother was the daughter of banker Frederic W. Straus.[2] Her grandfather was Joseph Spiegel and her great-uncle was Civil War Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel.[2] She and her three brothers, Frederick W. Spiegel (1898–1975), Modie "M.J." Spiegel Jr. (1901–1990), and John P. Spiegel (1911–1991),[2] were raised in Kenilworth, Illinois.[1] Although her family was of Jewish descent, they were raised in the Christian Science faith.[1][3] She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where she had studied under Max Lerner and Robert Staughton Lynd.[1] She wrote an essay arguing for democratic socialism for her alumna magazine entitled "Pleading for Pink".[1] In 1939, she moved to New York City with her husband where they worked together as radio and television producers.[4] In 1952, her husband ran the media campaign for Adlai Stevenson and she was responsible for "Women Volunteers for Stevenson".[4] After her husband took a job at CBS, she took up social activism, first at the Citizens Committee for Children and then the National Council of Negro Women.[4] In 1964, she co-founded Wednesdays in Mississippi with Dorothy Height. She was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. [4][5][6][7]
She married twice. Her first marriage was to a man who worked for her grandfather.[1] On August 7, 1939, she married Louis G. Cowan.[1] In 1976, Cowan died along with her husband in a house fire in New York City.[8] They had four children: Paul Cowan, Geoffrey Cowan, Holly Cowan Shulman, and Liza Cowan.[8]
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