Judith Gumpert Lightfoot Cormack oral history interview, August 11 and 18, 1998

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: Cormack, J_19980811

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Tristan Slade: Cormack discusses with vivid clarity what it was like growing up in a socially progressive, middle-class, multi-ethnic New York neighborhood and how that early experience resonated with her throughout her life. She also describes her experiences traveling in Australia as an "independent, young, American woman from New York City," who was faced with blatant sex discrimination. Cormack moved to Atlanta in 1968 and she describes her involvement with the local Jewish community. She also recounts her first contact with the Women's Movement at a suburban shopping center where members of the local chapter of NOW had set up a table and were distributing literature and sign-up sheets. Cormack then describes her work for NOW and the problems within its membership at both state and national levels. She also discusses social causes that were of importance to her, including reproductive rights for women, inequality within the legal system, and the challenges involved in fighting a conservative Georgia legislature.

Dates

Creation: August 11 and 18, 1998

Creator

Cormack, Judith Lightfoot, 1937-2006 (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research. Please contact Special Collections and Archives about accessing this oral history.

Biographical Note

Judith Gumpert Lightfoot Cormack was born in 1937, in New York, New York. After she married, she and her husband (Arthur) moved to Australia, where she worked for IBM from 1964 to 1968. In 1968, Cormack returned to the United States and settled in Atlanta, Georgia where she continued working in the computer industry. Her involvement in the Women's Movement began in 1969 when she joined the newly-formed Atlanta branch of National Organization for Women (NOW). Through her activities with NOW, Cormack became a significant figure in the Women's Movement both in Georgia and nationally. She was a founding member of the Georgia Women's Political Caucus (1971), a member of the 1972 Georgia Commission on the Status of Women, and served as a member, southern regional director, and chair of the board during NOW's split in the 1970s. In 1978 Cormack returned to Australia where she has lived for over twenty years.