Virginia Montes was the first Latina national officer of the National Organization for Women, a Civil Rights activist, Feminist, and led NOW’s defense of Lani Guinier in 1993. Montes was originally born in Guanaja, Honduras before her family moved to Tampa, Florida when she was 10. She studied at the University of Florida and while there became active in the Gainesville Women for Equal Rights (GWER) organization. After graduation, Montes began work at the Florida Department of Children and Families as a social worker. She eventually moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she worked as the director of Legislative Research for the Southern Regional Council in 1980. While working for the Council, Montes proved to be an invaluable asset for the research teams there. She assisted in assisted in projects related to developing legislative caucuses for black legislators, assisted in efforts to expand the Voting Rights Act of 1982, and committed 13 years of work with NOW. In 1993 she led the defense of President Bill Clinton’s nomination of Lani Guinier as head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division. Guinier was attacked by conservative lawmakers for her previous writings on African American voting and empowerment. Guinier was eventually passed over, but Monte’s defense of her showcased another moment in her history of advocating for civil rights. During Montes’s time with NOW, she developed leadership training for multiple civil rights organizations like NOW, the ALU, the NAACP, and the Women’s Political Caucus. Montes spend her entire career fighting for civil rights in the south, and led an inspirational career.

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