Evelyn Jones Rich has devoted a lifetime as advocate and activist in the fight for right and justice against those who would deny equal opportunity based on race, religion, gender, national origin, and sexual preference. Born into a working class family in Philadelphia, Evie joined Students for Democratic Action (SDA) at Bryn Mawr College and has embraced the principles of liberalism/progressivism ever since. Active in student government, Evie also joined the National Student Association (NSA), the Young Adult Council (YAC) and the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) in fighting segregation and discrimination in the early 1950s. Representing the U.S. at international youth conferences, Evie met young men and women from colonized nations in Africa and Asia, many of whom went on to play leading roles in newly independent nations or to become leaders of liberation movements in South Africa during the 1960s. Introduced to the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) by her future husband, Marvin, Evie used the power of non-violent direct action to improve her activist and advocacy skills. They have guided her through a career as educator, foundation executive, and advocate for senior citizens. There have been many causes along the way. They include taking teachers to Africa to develop realistic curricula for U.S. elementary and secondary schools, lobbying the NY State legislature for adequate school funding with the Educational Priorities Panel, testifying before local and state legislatures on a host of issues from redistricting to health care, aging concerns to helping elect progressive candidates to political office with Americans for Democratic Action. She has been a public school teacher and principal as well as (Associate) Dean, Hunter College, CUNY, and an historian of African history. In retirement she served as Executive Director of The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation . She is a co-founder and director of Labor Arts and a life long trouble maker and activist in the fight for civil rights, effective education, and for the rights of senior citizens. Evie continues doing all this today while caring for her husband and insisting that she’s retired, not tired.

click here