3/24/00
Here's
an Awakened Woman! -- On the Road for Equal
Justice
A few tantalizing quotes
from "Have Justice, Will Travel" by Alexis
Jetter from Ms. Magazine's February 2000
magazine. Take time to read the entire piece -
it takes you into the life of a remarkably
strong woman, Wynona Ward, a woman I'd call
"awakened" and in action for all the right
reasons.
First, a quick Bio --
"Born: July 4, 1951 Lebanon, New Hampshire;
Truck Driver, 1979-1996; B.A., Vermont College,
1995; J.D., Vermont Law School,
1998."
She studied by mail for
her law degree, writing papers on a laptop
computer in the sleeper of their 18-wheel
Diamond Reo, while her husband drove through the
night.
"Ward, a trucker turned
lawyer, is heading north to counsel a battered
woman who, after years of abuse, is seeking
legal help. But on the way, she pauses to view
the remains of the homestead where she, too,
once quaked with fear."
She is no stranger here,
having grown up with alcoholism, violence and
every type of abuse, in a home just like the
ones she visits in her mobile office, a
four-wheel-drive Dodge Ram Charger, complete
with CB radio, scanner, and cellular phone, as
well as a computer and printer--all equipped
with batteries.
"Even today, Vermont,
known for its progressive politics and pristine
environment, has a chillingly high rate of
all-in-the-family brutality. More than 70
percent of female murder victims are killed by
their husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends--over
twice the national average. For women who live
on the back roads, with unreliable cars, no
telephones, and no money to hire attorneys,
there's often nowhere to turn. Wynona Ward is
determined to change that."
"Instead of making them
come to an office with leather chairs, where
they have to wait for an appointment to say,
'Here I am, shame on me, I just got beat up,' I
come to them," says Ward…I grew up in a
poor household. They understand that. And if
they don't, I tell them."
The American Bar
Association has dubbed her a "domestic violence
road warrior," and once you read her story,
you'll understand how perfectly the term
applies.
Excerpted from original
article in Ms. Magazine, February 2000.
http://www.msmagazine.com/feb00/uppitywomen.html
" Wynona Ward: Have
Justice, Will Travel" by Alexis
Jetter
Alexis Jetter is the
coeditor of The Politics of Motherhood:
Activist Voices from Left to
Right
Via:
ABIGAILS-L@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
Contents
Back
to News from the Trenches
Next
Section/Feminist Film
Takes
