Who Was Flo Kennedy? Learn All About the Fiery Black Feminist and Civil Rights Activist

Merging the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements, the vivacious, cause-driven activist and lawyer Florynce “Flo” Kennedy brought new meaning to intersectional feminism, embodying genuine inclusion like no one before her. Known for her incendiary wit and eccentric style, she was typically seen in her signature cowboy hats, playful peace sign earrings, and statement sunglasses as she spoke out against the discrimination and mistreatment of marginalized communities with a backbone that defied convention. Ahead of the late activist’s birthday this week, L’OFFICIEL looks back on the unsung feminist hero’s significant contributions to social justice.

As one of the first Black women to graduate from Columbia Law School in 1951, she didn’t get there without a fight. When she was initially refused admission by the university, she was assured that it was not due to her race, but to her gender. After threatening to sue, she was accepted and went on to be one of a mere eight women in her graduating class, and the only Black woman. She once wrote on the subject, “I find that the higher you aim, the better you shoot.”

Three years after graduating, Kennedy opened her own law firm, eventually representing jazz artists Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker to reclaim funds withheld by record companies. Although the attorney won her cases, she became disenchanted with practicing law, pondering the extent of its means to make an impact on society. Going on to represent civil rights leader H. Rap Brown and members of the Black Panther Party, Kennedy began to shift gears towards political activism. This transformation from corporate lawyer to political revolutionary came naturally to Kennedy, who, in her youth, once organized a boycott against a Coca-Cola bottler who refused to hire Black drivers. 

By 1966, the activist founded the Media Workshop as a means to combat racism in advertising and journalism. Implementing her legal finesse, Kennedy went as far as filing a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Church for interfering with women’s reproductive rights. Shortly after, she organized a faction of feminist lawyers to challenge whether or not New York State’s abortion laws were constitutional, causing a more progressive shift in the law the following year. Also known for coordinating less conventional demonstrations, Kennedy is credited with spearheading the “Great Harvard Pee-In of 1973” where protestors poured jars of their urine on the steps of the university’s historic Lowell Hall to call attention to its lack of female restrooms. 

In 1971, the renegade founded the Feminist Party, which would go on to back the pivotal Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm for president. Lecturing across the country with speaking partner Gloria Steinem, Kennedy was known for bringing white feminists to Black power conventions, integrating the movements of Black Power, Women’s Liberation, and gay rights, to work together as one, bringing new perspectives to a variety of intersectional issues.

A founding member of the National Organization for Women and the National Black Feminist Organization, People magazine once dubbed the political pioneer, “the biggest, loudest and, indisputably, the rudest mouth on the battleground” of progessive causes. During press conferences with Steinem, Kennedy would always call into question why reporters would relegate questions on women’s rights to Steinem, and questions regarding racial discrimination to herself, noting their divisive nature. Whenever the two were posed with the ignorant question of whether or not they were lesbians, simply because they were two women speaking out for gender equality, Kennedy would quip back, “Are you my alternative?”