Iris Mitgang

Iris Feldman Mitgang was a force of nature wrapped in wit and charm. An attorney, political activist, author, artist, and feminist pioneer, she served as National Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) from 1979 to 1981—one of the most crucial periods in the modern women's rights movement. During her tenure, she co-led the Coalition for Women's Rights with NOW President Ellie Smeal, achieving a stunning victory at the 1980 Democratic Convention by securing platform planks supporting the ERA and abortion funding despite fierce opposition from the Carter administration.

Born in Chicago in 1937, Iris earned three advanced degrees—from the University of Chicago, the University of Rochester (Master's in Literature), and UC Davis Law School. She combined intellectual brilliance with political savvy, practicing family law in Oakland while supporting women candidates nationwide, helping elect Barbara Boxer, supporting Geraldine Ferraro's VP nomination, and influencing US Supreme Court appointments.

But Iris's story took a tragic turn. A traffic accident left her with a permanent brain injury, requiring 24-hour care for the final twenty years of her life. Yet even from her wheelchair, she remained connected to the feminist causes she championed. In 2016, she watched "glued to the television" as Hillary Clinton became the first major party woman candidate for President—the culmination of dreams Iris had fought to make possible.

This is the HerStory of Iris Mitgang—a woman whose "wicked sense of humor," creative spirit, and fierce determination changed the Democratic Party, inspired generations of feminists, and whose legacy lives on through the National Women's Law Center's Iris Feldman Mitgang Internship and in every woman who believes in the power of political action.

Iris's political journey began in the 1950s as a volunteer for Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaigns. Working for Stevenson—the eloquent, intellectual liberal who challenged Eisenhower's conservatism—provided the perfect training ground for a young activist discovering her political voice. The Stevenson campaigns taught Iris about coalition building, grassroots organizing, and the power of progressive politics to inspire ordinary people to extraordinary action.

These early years weren't just about stuffing envelopes and making phone calls. They were about developing the political acumen that would serve Iris throughout her career: understanding how campaigns work, how coalitions form and fracture, how to persuade skeptics and energize supporters, and how to maintain idealism while navigating practical politics.

The Stevenson campaigns also awakened Iris's feminist consciousness. In an era when women volunteers did the grunt work while men made the decisions, she began to see the gender dynamics that would later fuel her leadership of the NWPC. The political awakening of the 1950s planted seeds that would bloom into the feminist leadership of the 1970s and 1980s.

The 1970s marked Iris Mitgang's emergence as a national feminist leader. Her rise through the National Women's Political Caucus ranks wasn't about personal ambition—it was about recognizing what needed to be done and stepping up to do it. The NWPC, founded in 1971 by Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan, was the premier organization focused on getting women elected and appointed to political office. By the late 1970s, Iris had become one of its most effective advocates.

What made Iris such a formidable leader? Her combination of legal training, political experience, and interpersonal skills. She could draft platform language, negotiate with party officials, build coalitions across ideological divides, and—crucially—make even opponents like and respect her. As one colleague noted, she possessed a "wicked sense of humor" that disarmed critics and built unexpected alliances.

During this period, Iris developed relationships with key feminist leaders like Ellie Smeal (NOW President), who would become her co-leader in the Coalition for Women's Rights, and countless other activists who recognized her strategic brilliance and collaborative spirit. By 1979, when she was elected NWPC National Chair, she had earned the respect of the feminist movement and the fear of those who opposed women's advancement.

Iris Mitgang was never just a political activist or just an attorney—she was a creative spirit who expressed herself through multiple art forms. Her Master's degree in Literature from the University of Rochester wasn't ornamental; it reflected a deep love of storytelling and creative expression that manifested throughout her life in children's books, paintings, and the artful way she crafted political coalitions.

In a cruel twist of fate, Iris's brilliant career was cut tragically short. While walking to her parked car on a quiet street, she was struck by a vehicle, resulting in a coma and permanent brain injury that required 24-hour care for the remaining twenty years of her life. The accident occurred in 1997, robbing the feminist movement of one of its most effective leaders at a time when her experience and wisdom were desperately needed.

Her resilience in the face of tragedy exemplified the same determination that had made her such an effective advocate. Even from a wheelchair, unable to speak or engage as she once had, Iris remained present for the cause. Watching Hillary Clinton's nomination wasn't passive entertainment—it was bearing witness to the fulfillment of a decades-long struggle that began with pioneers like Iris who fought to open doors for women in politics.

The tragedy of Iris's accident makes her story more poignant, but it doesn't diminish her legacy. If anything, her final years remind us that the work of social change is larger than any individual, that victories may come long after pioneers have fallen, and that resilience takes many forms—including the quiet strength to remain connected to causes that define our lives.