Queridos amigos,

Con mucha tristeza compartimos esta información sobre el fallecimiento de nuestro querido amigo Jean Hardisty.. Jean fue uno de los fundadores de Crossroads Fund y jugó un papel importante en las comunidades progresistas de Chicago y en el mundo en general.. Nosotros y muchos de los que la amaban y se inspiraron en su intelecto la extrañaremos., su compasión, su política y su gran sentido del humor. A continuación se muestra un obituario que su familia compartió con todos nosotros..

Jeanne Kracher
Director ejecutivo
Fondo de encrucijada
 

Jean Hardisty
Junio 18, 1945-Marzo 16, 2015

Politólogo y activista social., Jean Hardisty respetaba el poder del conservadurismo político con tanta firmeza como se oponía a él.. En 1981 fundó Political Research Associates (PRA), un centro de investigación, Comenzó en Chicago y actualmente tiene su sede en Boston., que estudia las tendencias de derecha y antidemocráticas, en orden, como ella dijo, "Para lograr que la gente se tome en serio lo correcto". Desde hace más de treinta y cinco años, Ofreció un análisis convincente y de gran alcance sobre su impacto en las mujeres., gente de color, inmigrantes, educadores, y la comunidad LGBTQ. “Ella entendió que la derecha era un movimiento potente con el objetivo de construir poder institucional.," dijo Chip Berlet, ex analista senior en PRA. “Ella nos ayudó a ver la derecha como un conjunto complejo de actores e instituciones y no solo como caricaturas.,”partitura de Urvashi Vaid, activista desde hace mucho tiempo en el movimiento LGBT. “Ella era una profeta,“ agregó Gloria Steinem, co- fundador de la Sra.. Revista, sobre el trabajo profético del Dr. Hardisty sobre la derecha.

¿Cómo lo haces?? alguien preguntaba invariablemente después de una de sus presentaciones.. ¿Cómo se hace este trabajo año tras año?? What do you wear to right- wing conferences? It’s a constant challenge, she admitted, but a strong commitment to individual rights and human dignity undergirded her steadfastness. And with her trademark humor, wry charm, and dead-on seriousness she added: “always dress comfortably.”

Dr. Hardisty, who died March 16 in Somerville, Massachusetts at 69, wrote about what she called “kitchen table backlash”—the anti-feminist women’s movement; the systematic construction of homophobia; the right wing roots of marriage promotion, cancer and poverty—she herself was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the early 1980’s and was acutely aware that the treatment options received were not available to the economically disenfranchised—and most recently, race and childcare in Mississippi. En 1999, her landmark book, Mobilizing Resentment: Conservative Resurgence from the John Birch Society to the Promise Keepers, was published by Beacon Press.

Described by colleagues as “fierce,” “a brilliant analyst,” “a tireless educator and organizer,” she held them to the same rigorous standards she held herself. When a distinguished sociologist consulted with Dr. Hardisty about her book on sex- education and the right wing, Dr. Hardisty noted that one particular chapter was “too jargony.” She told Jean Entine, former Executive Director of Women for Economic Justice and the Boston Women’s Fund, that one of Ms. Entine’s speeches was “too lame and too tame,” and painstakingly suggested how to change it.

Dr. Hardisty grew up in what she described as a “genteel, white, upper- middle class southern family” in Washington D.C. and later on a farm in rural Maryland. She went to boarding school, attended cotillions, loved and rode horses, and saw how racism was woven into the patterns of everyday life. Profoundly influenced by the Vietnam War and the civil rights and women’s movements, she got her Ph.D in political science from Northwestern University. She taught in academia for eight years before founding PRA. At the time of her death, she was a senior scholar at the Wellesley Centers for Research on Women at Wellesley College.

As a social activist, Dr. Hardisty had far-reaching impact. She was one of the founders of the Crossroads Fund, una fundación con sede en Chicago que brinda apoyo a grupos centrados en problemas raciales, social, y justicia economica. Formó parte de la junta directiva del Centro de Educación e Investigación Highlander., EM. Fundación para la Mujer, Centro de estudios de políticas de mujeres, Internacional de base, Centro para el cambio comunitario, y el Proyecto Comunitario de Mujeres contra el Cáncer. Además, fue consultora durante diez años de la Red de Mujeres Donantes, donde dirigió seminarios sobre la derecha política. En 2010, Community Change le otorgó un premio Lifetime Achievement Award, Cª, una organización antirracismo con sede en Boston.

Dr. Hardisty fue mentor de varias generaciones de activistas, brindando asesoramiento, estímulo, y, de vez en cuando, un empujón abierto. Al contratar a Chip Berlet para trabajar en PRA, ella le dijo, en su manera sincera, "Estás desperdiciando tus habilidades en un momento en el que realmente las necesitamos". Señor. Berlet añadido, “She changed my life.” “She was like the North Star; she would always give a true direction,” said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “She helped me see you can defend both civil rights and civil liberties and needn’t choose between the two.”

Dr. Hardisty is survived by Peggy Barrett, her spouse of sixteen years; two stepchildren Roben Kleene (Jen Liu) and Katherine Uttech (Joseph); a granddaughter Abigail Jean Uttech; her brother, John Hardisty (Merrily); niece Christine Eldreth (Myles and grandniece, Clare) and nephew Kirk Hardsity (Kelly); and a wide circle of friends.

In the weeks before her death, Dr. Hardisty, her deft humor ever intact, said she wanted to die “the way Jackie Onassis did: be with family and friends and then just go.” She managed to die just that way. She was a storyteller, a champagne drinker, and a lover of life. “We sit, we talk, we laugh,” read a card she once sent to a friend. All of us who loved her will carry on her legacy.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The Highlander Center, 1959 Highlander Way, New Market, TN 37820, 865-933-3443, highlandercenter.org or to the Boston Women’s Fund, 14 Beacon Street, Suite 805, Boston, MA 02108,617-725-0035. bostonwomensfund.org or to a justice organization of your choice that embodies Jean’s values and spirit