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Interviewees
Nordlinger, Zelda Kingoff, 1932-2008
Interviewer
Brinson, Betsy
Description
Zelda Kingoff Nordlinger (1932-2008) was active in the women’s rights movement in Virginia from about 1969 through the 1990s. She was a founding member of the Richmond chapter of the National Organization for Woman (NOW). Nordlinger was born in Greenville, South Carolina on January 29, 1932 to Joseph and Alice Heiner Kingoff. Her family moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1947. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School, Nordlinger attended Margjorie Webster Jr. College in Washington, D.C., graduated from the Sally Thompkins School of Practical Nursing and earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1984. Nordlinger is well-known for her activism on behalf of women. She and a small group of women, including Mary Holt Woolfolk Carlton, co-founded the Richmond Chapter of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) in 1969, which was granted a charter in 1973. She was a member of several organizations including the Women's Lobby of Virginia, American Civil Liberties Union, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, National Museum for Women in the Arts, Emily's List and the Virginia Foundation for Women. In addition to her work with these organizations, she served on the State Board for N.O.W. (1972-1979), as the Assistant State Coordinator for N.O.W. (1982-83) as well as N.O.W.'s Task Forces on Sex-Role Stereotyping and Rape. As part of the national "Women's Strike for Equality" day, August 26, 1970, Ms. Nordlinger along with Ms. Carlton and two other women participated in the integration of Thalhimer's Men's Soup Bar in Richmond and Miller and Rhoades. She also lobbied the Virginia General Assembly in behalf of the women's movement for N.O.W. She helped rewrite the state statutes on judiciary evidence for rape trials, which lead Delegate Ralph L. "Bill" Axselle to introduce the first rape reform law. Nordlinger made speeches throughout Richmond and Virginia and was awarded a Founding Foremother certificate by the Richmond N.O.W. chapter in 1983. In this interview, Zelda Nordlinger talks about her ancestors who emigrated to the United States from Russia and Germany; her early childhood in Greenville, South Carolina; her high school years in Richmond, Virginia; her early interest in feminism; how she worked as a model in New York City; the end of her first marriage; her second marriage and two daughters with her husband, Martin Nordlinger; her involvement in the women's movement after reading The Feminine Mystique; her establishment of the feminist group, Women's Rights of Richmond; how their group integrated the all male soup bar in Thalhimers; the organization of the local chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and its activities; letters she wrote to the editorial editor of the Richmond Times Dispatch; speaking engagements to organizations in Richmond; her colleagues in NOW; lesbian feminists in Richmond; and feminist literature.
Personal Name Subject
Nordlinger, Zelda Kingoff, 1932-2008 -- Interviews; Nordlinger, Zelda Kingoff, 1932-2008 -- Political activity
Corporate Name Subject
National Organization for Women; National Organization for Women. Richmond Chapter
Topical Subject
Women political activists -- Virginia -- Richmond -- Interviews; Women social reformers -- Virginia -- Richmond -- Interviews; Feminists -- Virginia -- Richmond -- Interviews; Women's rights -- Virginia -- Richmond; Feminism -- Virginia -- Richmond
City/Location
Richmond (Va.)
Genre
oral histories (literary genre)
Local Genre
oral history; sound recording; text
Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
Rights
This material is protected by copyright, and copyright is held by VCU. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Collection
VCU Oral History Archive
Source
Zelda Nordlinger Interview (Acc: 2016-08-177)
File Name
ohi_nordlingerzeldakingoff_part01.mp3