Categories: Articles, Pat Stevenson,
One became one of the most recognizable faces of the women’s movement. The other, although far less celebrated nationally, spent her life building organizations, businesses and community programs from the ground up.
Together, Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes shared more than 50 years of friendship, activism and a commitment to equality that crossed the boundaries of race, class and gender.Now they are both gone.
Gloria Steinem passed away on September 2, 2026, at the age of 92. She will be truly missed by many. For me, however, the story of Gloria Steinem will always be connected to my longtime friend and mentor Dorothy Pitman Hughes.
I first met Gloria personally when she arrange a New York memorial honoring Dorothy following Dorothy’s death on December 1, 2022.
I had known Dorothy for nearly 30 years. She was one of my first mentors after I began publishing the Harlem Community News in 1992. I knew her as a businesswoman, community activist and outspoken advocate who was never afraid to challenge injustice.
Long before I knew her, however, Dorothy and Gloria had already made history together.
Perhaps nothing symbolizes their relationship better than the famous 1971 photograph of the two women standing side by side with their fists raised.
Gloria, a white journalist and feminist; Dorothy, a Black community organizer and civil rights activist. Their raised fists communicated something powerful without words: the struggles against racism and sexism could not be separated.
More than four decades later, in 2013, the two women reenacted that powerful pose. The photographs accompanying this article capture them in 1971 and again in 2013—older, wiser and still standing together with their fists in the air.
Looking at those two photographs side by side tells a remarkable story. The faces changed. The hair changed. America changed. But their commitment to equality remained.
Their partnership began after Steinem met Dorothy through her community activism in New York. Their conversations developed into a friendship and eventually a public partnership that would span decades.
Together they co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance in 1971, a national organization dedicated to promoting equality and nonsexist, multiracial education. Throughout the 1970s, the two traveled and spoke together about feminism, racism, class, economic inequality and the realities facing women and families.
Yet history has not always remembered the two women equally.
Dorothy Pitman Hughes was born in Lumpkin, Georgia, in 1938. After moving to New York, she worked several jobs, including as a salesperson and nightclub singer. She came from a musical family that included her sister, Alice “Tan” Ridley, mother of actress Gabourey Sidibe, known for her roles in “Precious” and “Empire.”
Dorothy became a powerful advocate for children, women and families. She helped pioneer childcare programs and was active in efforts to provide protection and assistance for battered women. Her activism was not something she practiced only behind a podium. Dorothy believed in building institutions that could solve problems in people’s everyday lives.
She was also an entrepreneur.
In Harlem, many of us knew Dorothy as the owner of Harlem Office Supply. At a time when Black women faced enormous barriers to business ownership, Dorothy demonstrated that entrepreneurship could be another form of community empowerment.
I personally witnessed that side of Dorothy. As a new publisher building the Harlem Community News, I benefited from her experience, encouragement and mentorship.
Eventually Dorothy closed Harlem Office Supply and relocated to Florida, where she continued her activism. She opened the Gateway Bookstore in Jacksonville and became involved in efforts to address hunger and strengthen neighborhoods through community gardens and other initiatives.
Through it all, Gloria remained part of her life.
When President Barack Obama awarded Gloria Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, Dorothy and members of her family joined in celebrating her longtime friend. Gloria, in turn, continued supporting Dorothy’s work and helping to ensure that her contributions would not be forgotten.
That recognition is important because Dorothy’s life raises a question we should continue asking: Who gets remembered by history, and who gets left in the background?
Gloria Steinem became an international figure. She co-founded Ms. magazine, wrote books and articles, appeared on countless stages and television programs and became one of the most recognizable representatives of the modern American women’s movement.
Dorothy never achieved that level of celebrity.
But celebrity and significance are not the same thing.
Dorothy’s contributions grew directly from communities—childcare centers, small businesses, neighborhood organizations, families and movements for economic empowerment. Her life demonstrated that some of America’s most consequential activists are not necessarily the people whose names appear most often in history books.
Fortunately, Dorothy’s contributions received greater recognition during the later years of her life. She was portrayed by Janelle Monáe in the 2020 film “The Glorias.” In 2021, historian Laura L. Lovett published “With Her Fist Raised: Dorothy Pitman Hughes and the Transformative Power of Black Community Activism,” documenting Dorothy’s extraordinary life and work.
After Dorothy died, Gloria helped make certain her longtime friend was appropriately remembered. A memorial service was held in New York, bringing together people who understood the importance of Dorothy’s contributions.
Today, I look at those two photographs of Dorothy and Gloria with a different feeling.
In 1971, they were two young women challenging America to change. In 2013, they stood together again. Their faces showed the passage of more than 40 years, but their fists were still raised.
That is what makes these photographs so powerful.
Their friendship survived decades of political battles, social change, personal challenges and an evolving women’s movement. It demonstrated what can happen when women from different racial and economic backgrounds recognize that their struggles are interconnected.
Dorothy died in 2022. Now Gloria has followed her longtime friend and partner in the movement.
As America remembers the internationally known Gloria Steinem, we should also say the name Dorothy Pitman Hughes.
One woman became famous around the world. The other spent much of her life working closer to the ground, building and strengthening the communities she wanted to change.
Together, they raised their fists.
Together, they helped raise our consciousness.
And more than 50 years after that unforgettable photograph was taken, their fists—and the message behind them—remain raised.
