Herland Sister Resources

Born on a farm in Niagara County, New York, Belva Lockwood was the first woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court. A teacher at age 15, a widow at age 19, Belva did not study law until she was nearly 40. When her husband’s death left her with an infant to support, Belva noted that she earned only half the salary of the male teachers. Determined to continue her education, she graduated with honors from Genessee College (later to become Syracuse University) in 1857 and moved to Washington, D.C. She fought for admission to law school and was finally admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia in 1873.

When she was prohibited from practicing law before the Supreme Court, Belva lobbied Congress for five years and eventually drafted the law allowing women to do so. In 1879, Belva Lockwood became the first woman lawyer to practice before the court. An important Supreme Court case in which she participated was brought by the Cherokee people in 1906, in which they won $5 million through her efforts.

The Herland Voice went to press on July 25, 2006, Primary Day in Oklahoma. Did you vote? Please vote in the run-offs on August 22 and in the General Election on November 7. If not for yourself, vote for Belva, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojournor Truth, Alice Paul, and all those who had such faith in you and your wise woman’s vote.

Herland is still seeking submissions of original poetry for our upcoming poetry issue in November. Please keep in mind our space limitations when choosing your submission(s). You may mail your submissions to Herland, 2312 NW 39th, 73112 or email them to us at Herland@herlandsisters.org. Please tell us how you wish your name to appear in publication.

As a fundraiser, Herland is raffling off a brand-new box set of the L word, Season 2 DVDs. Raffle tickets will be sold at Herland until August 19. Then, at the last showing of the L word for this season (on August 19), we will draw a ticket and announce the winner. Tickets are $1 a piece or 6 for $5.

Mary & Louise Saturday Aug 5 Full Circle Bookstore 7-9 pm