Stumptown Stories at the Rialto

“The Stormy Petrel of Portland”: the story of Dr. Marie Equi

Presented by Heather Mayer

Among the many fascinating people in Portland’s Progressive Era history, Dr. Marie Equi stands out. She was a suffragist, an advocate for labor rights, and a vocal political agitator against World War I, imperialism, and profiteering. As a medical doctor, she treated women and children in the Portland... [read more]

“The Stormy Petrel of Portland”: the story of Dr. Marie Equi

Presented by Heather Mayer

Among the many fascinating people in Portland’s Progressive Era history, Dr. Marie Equi stands out. She was a suffragist, an advocate for labor rights, and a vocal political agitator against World War I, imperialism, and profiteering. As a medical doctor, she treated women and children in the Portland working-class neighborhoods—often for free—and was one of the few Portland physicians to provide birth control and abortions. She was also openly gay—a fact that came up in her indictment by the federal government for “sedition” for her anti-war activities when the U.S. prosecutor called her an “unsexed woman.”

Heather Mayer presents the story of this remarkable woman and her influence on one of the most politically charged periods in Portland history—and on the health and well-being of our city’s early labor class residents.

Heather Mayer is a part-time instructor at Portland Community College, and is currently working on her dissertation, "Beyond the Rebel Girl: Women and the Industrial Workers of the World in the Pacific Northwest, 1905-1924."

Copy and paste a Youtube link below submit

Copy and paste a Slideshare link below submit