September Social Justice Activists Birthdays

Margaret Sanger
September 14, 1879-September 6, 1966

​Margaret Sanger created Planned Parenthood. Originally known as the “American Birth Control League,” Sanger is the pinnacle example of the work that needs to be protected in this turbulent period in the American political landscape. Sanger was a leading activist for educating people in the proper use of contraceptives and worked hard to end the common practices of “back alley” abortions. While this is a hot button topic of today ending this practice lead to a drastic reduction of unnecessary deaths from unwanted pregnancy. Sanger also opened an African-American clinic in Harlem. It was her work that allowed for contraceptives of all kinds to become legal within the USA.

Jane Addams
September 6, 1860 to May 21, 1935

The founder of the famous “Hull House” in Chicago, Jane Addams is well known for her philanthropic endeavors for the betterment of women and children. Hull House itself was supposed to be a sanctuary for women and their children, as the mothers worked to get on their own two feet. On top of that Addams was also a well respect activist for peace and was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (1931). To this day Addams is seen as a pioneering figure for aiding the poor and for demanding better hygiene programs, in order to curve the spread of disease among the very poor who she spent her life trying to help.

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat (Marquis de Condorcet)
September 17, 1743 to March 28, 1794

​A philosopher and mathematician Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat was a respected Frenchman of the Enlightenment Era, who spent much of his time advocating for the rights of all people despite race, gender, or social standing. Ideas he may as well have died for since during the period of the French Revolution he was arrested and found dead in his cell under “mysterious circumstances.” To this day the works of de Caritat hold relevance to the current events of our time, much of which, includes race relations and the need for the divide between rich and poor to be balanced if not wholly eliminated.