Polly Spiegel Cowan

Pauline "Polly" Spiegel Cowan (1913–1976) was an American civil rights activist who co-founded Wednesdays in Mississippi.

Polly Spiegel Cowan
Born
Pauline Spiegel

1913
Died1976
NationalityUnited States
Known forCo-founder of Wednesdays in Mississippi
Spouse(s)Louis G. Cowan
ChildrenPaul Cowan
Geoffrey Cowan
Parent(s)Lena Straus Spiegel
Modie Spiegel
FamilyJohn Patrick Spiegel (brother)
Joseph Spiegel (grandfather)

Biography

She was born Penelope Spiegel to a German Jewish immigrant family, the youngest of four children born to Lena (née Straus) and Modie Spiegel.[1][2] Her mother was the daughter of banker Frederic W. Straus.[2] Her grandfather was Joseph Spiegel and her great-uncle was Civil War Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel.[2] She and her three brothers, Frederick W. Spiegel (1898-1975), Modie "M.J." Spiegel Jr. (1901-1990), and John P. Spiegel (1911-1991),[2] were raised in Kenilworth, Illinois.[1] Although her family was of Jewish descent, they were raised in the Christian Science faith.[1][3] She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where she had studied under Max Lerner and Robert Staughton Lynd.[1] She wrote an essay arguing for democratic socialism for her alumna magazine entitled "Pleading for Pink".[1] In 1939, she moved to New York City with her husband where they worked together as radio and television producers.[4] In 1952, her husband ran the media campaign for Adlai Stevenson and she was responsible for "Women Volunteers for Stevenson."[4] After her husband took a job at CBS, she took up social activism, first at the Citizens Committee for Children and then the National Council of Negro Women.[4] In 1964, she co-founded Wednesdays in Mississippi with Dorothy Height.[4][5][6][7]

Personal life

She married twice. Her first marriage was to a man who worked for her grandfather.[1] On August 7, 1939, she married Louis G. Cowan.[1] In 1976, Cowan died along with her husband in a house fire.[8] They had four children: Paul Cowan, Geoffrey Cowan, Holly Cowan Shulman, and Liza Cowan.[8]

References
  1. Shulman, Holly C. "Polly Spiegel Cowan, Civil Rights Activist, 1913 – 1976". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  2. Kopp, Frederic (February 18, 2014). "Modie J. Spiegel (1871–1943)". German Historical Institute – Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, volume III. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  3. Cowan, Paul (1982). An orphan in history: retrieving a Jewish legacy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
  4. Shulman, Holly Cowan. "Wednesdays in Mississippi. How Jewish Was My Mother's Civil Rights Activism?". Lilith.
  5. Wednesdays in Mississippi at the University of Houston
  6. Wednesdays in Mississippi documentary film
  7. Harwell, Debbie (August 2010). "Wednesdays in Mississippi: Uniting Women across Regional and Racial Lines, Summer 1964". The Journal of Southern History. 76 (3): 617–654.
  8. "Louis Cowan. Killed With Wife in a Fire; Created Quiz Shows". NY Times. November 19, 1976. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
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