Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens

Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens were especially known for their direct actions at the Illinois State House in 1982. One of the grandmothers of a founder, Mary Lee Sargent, was a suffragist. The group included a wide range of activists from eighteen year old Sue Yarber to Berenice Carroll who was in her late 40s. In 1982, the ERA was set to expire and both pro and anti-ERA groups descended upon the Capitol in Illinois to lobby state legislators. Members of the Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens were often referred to as a chain gang because they had chained themselves together inside the capitol. == Day of Rebellion for ERA ==

One of the most notable actions undertaken by Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens was known as their Day of Rebellion for the ERA on June 3, 1982. That day, 17 women chained themselves inside the Illinois State Capitol. According to the Macon Telegraph, "When asked if they were worried the sit-in might alienate ERA supporters, Mary Lee Sargent...said, 'It's too late for that...we're here to step up the confrontation." Sargent noted this action had connections to the militant actions of the women's suffrage movement. She said, "It's our willingness to put our bodies out here, to be a spectacle and to be laughed at by people...but to face people directly." A photo of the women in chains appeared in Life magazine in 1982. == Spilling animal blood ==

The group then sprayed animal blood inside the capitol to symbolize the death of the ERA. They were ordered to pay more than $2,000 in cleanup fees. Mary Lee Sargent felt the fine was unfair and said, "We are being asked to pay thousands of dollars for protesting. I would have felt fine paying the cleanup costs. But it did not cost $2,300 to clean up. == Women Hunger for Justice ==

Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens were politically active at the same time and place when another group of women fasted for the ERA in Illinois in 1982. This event was known as Women Hunger for Justice. Both groups expressed solidarity for one another in the press. Fasters included longtime women's rights activists Zoe Nicholson and Sonia Johnson. == Later years ==

After the failure of the ERA campaign, Grassroots Group for Second Class Citizens continued to be politically active as they advocated for a variety of feminist causes including for abortion rights. In 1982, the group undertook an action where they posed as "witches" while holding a mock trial of legislators. In 1984, Sargent ran for a seat on the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois-Champaign. == Members of the Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens ==

• Berenice Carroll • Anne Casey-Elder • Caroline Plank • Mary Lee Sargent • Sue Yarber == See also ==