Cindy Thomson oral history interview, 2004 April 1

Cindy Thomson recounts her experiences with the National Organization for Women (NOW) and as a feminist activist in Charlotte, North Carolina. She explains how she became involved with NOW, discusses her role in the development of the Charlotte chapter, and outlines the organization's overall state and local structures. Ms. Thomson describes NOW's social and political outreach to the community, as well as positive and negative reactions that the organization received from the community. She discusses some of Charlotte NOW's biggest issues, including support of the Equal Rights Amendment; the promotion of women to administrative positions in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system; and NOW's long-running battle against the Charlotte Observer's sexist journalistic practices. Ms. Thomson also shares her views on the social and political challenges that women faced in the 1970s, and that they still faced at the time of the interview.