Liz Carpenter: A Lifetime of Dedication
by Ashley Wilson
posted 4/30/2018
posted 4/30/2018
Liz Carpenter, a witty, outspoken believer in women’s rights, fought her whole life for what she believed in. She was an American journalist, speechwriter, political advisor, a public relations expert, and a dedicated feminist who was born September 1, 1920 in Salado, Texas as Mary Elizabeth Sutherland. She was the middle child of five children. She had three brothers and one sister. When she was seven, Carpenter’s family moved to Austin, Texas. In high school, Carpenter became editor of her high school newspaper, which led her to the University of Texas at Austin to study journalism. As a graduation gift from her parents, Carpenter took a trip to Washington in 1942 and decided she wanted stay, a decision that was the beginning of her career in journalism. She married Les Carpenter, her high school sweetheart, in 1944.[1]
Carpenter began working for the Tufty News Bureau in Washington, D.C. in 1942. In 1945, she and her husband opened the Carpenter New Bureau in the National Press Building in Washington, D.C. As a reporter, Carpenter fought to allow women to join the National Press Club, which was “an important institution in Washington for reporters.”[2] Before women were admitted to the club, women fought just to be admitted to the club luncheons. Helen Thomas, a fellow reporter, wrote: “Liz Carpenter got them to agree to let us sit in the balcony of the ballroom, in purdah, and listen to the luncheon speaker as we looked down on our press colleagues and the public relations men and the lobbyists as they ate.”[3] Women were finally admitted into the National Press Club in 1971. In her memoir, Getting Better All the Time, Carpenter later acknowledged Eleanor Roosevelt for helping give access to women in the press.[4]
Carpenter’s time reporting in Washington led to her job at the White House as administrative assistant to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson during his presidency from 1961-1963. She gained national recognition as staff director and press secretary to Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird Johnson, after Johnson became president. She was the one who wrote the 58-word speech that Johnson read in front of Air Force One after returning to Washington the night President Kennedy was assassinated. She wrote, “This is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help — and God’s.”[5] Carpenter was very loyal to the Johnson family and the Democratic Party. She was also known for her cheerful sense of humor and blunt personality, no matter what situation she was in. “Why don’t you use your head?” Mr. Johnson once shouted at her. She answered back bluntly, “I’m too busy trying to use yours!”[6]
Carpenter’s commitment to seeing more women elected to state and federal posts was the force behind Carpenter to cofound the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971. The caucus was a nonpartisan American political organization formed to identify, recruit, train, and endorse women seeking public office. The organization was determined to improve the status of women by strengthening the voice of women in government.[7] She was also co-chair of the ERAmeria, a national alliance of civic, labor, church, and women’s organizations founded to promote the Equal Rights Amendment that was founded in 1976. She also served as assistant secretary for public affairs in the Department of Education in 1980 and was later appointed by President Bill Clinton to the advisory committee of the White House Conference on Aging.[8]
After her husband’s sudden death in 1974, Carpenter moved back to Austin and bought a home that she named Grass Roots. Carpenter said that her “family roots and her love for Texas, the University of Texas and the LBJ Library brought her home.”[9] Her love for writing drove her to write several books during her life to include Ruffles and Flourishes, Start with a Laugh, and Getting Better All the Time. She also wrote countless articles, passages, and speeches. Even at the age of 70, she took on raising her brothers young children age 16, 14, and 11. She wrote one of her three books, Unplanned Parenthood: The Confessions of a Seventy-Something Surrogate Mother, in 1994 about her adventures raising them. She accepted this responsibility even though she was suffering from some serious illnesses and recovering from a mastectomy, after which she received a call from Betty Ford who comforted her by saying, “[A]ccept this challenge and use your sense of humor and call on the strength of women like me who have gone before.”[10]
Carpenter would kid that she had inherited her feminist genes from her family. Her great aunt, Louella Robertson Fulmore, advocated educational equality for women, and another great aunt, Birdie Johnson, was the first Democratic national committeewoman from Texas. Carpenter always knew she would be a working woman. “It never occurred to me not to work,” Carpenter said in a 1987 interview, adding, “I had a restless spirit that kept drawing me to new adventures.” She never hesitated, she said, “to charge hell with a bucket of water.”[11]
During her life, Carpenter was known for her sass and feistiness and her endless fight for women’s equality. Her close friend Ann Richards described her as “a lifetime of madcap adventures.”[12] Carpenter continued public speaking until her death. Today, Liz Carpenter is still honored through the annual Liz Carpenter Award for Best Book on the History of Women.[13] She is also honored by the Liz Carpenter Fountain that is in Austin, Texas.
Ashley Wilson is 18-years-old and is currently enrolled at University of North Georgia. She is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. She hopes to have her own classroom where she can encourage young students to have fun while learning. Ashley enjoys teaching and inspiring "the minds of the future." She also enjoys watching movies, new and young, with her fiancé and friends.
[1] Nemy, Enid. “Liz Carpenter, Journalist, Feminist and Johnson Aide, Dies at 89.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/us/politics/21carpenter.html.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “National Women's Political Caucus.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2007, www.britannica.com/topic/National-Womens-Political-Caucus.
[8] “Liz Carpenter.” PediaView.com, 31 Dec. 1969, pediaview.com/openpedia/Liz_Carpenter.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Thomas, Helen. “An Icon for Texas Women.” Texasobserver.org, 22 Mar. 2010, www.texasobserver.org/liz-carpenter-obit/.
[11] Nemy.
[12] Weil, Martin. “Liz Carpenter Dies; Former Aide to LBJ, Lady Bird Johnson.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Mar. 2010, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/20/AR2010032002909_3.html.
[13] Temple, Ellen. “Articles.” The Texas Women's History Project and the Liz Carpenter Award | Humanities Texas, Apr. 2011, www.humanitiestexas.org/news/articles/texas-women%E2%80%99s-history-project-and-liz-carpenter-award.
Image: Liz Carpenter (second from left). Photograph of First Lady Betty Ford Posing with Sanford Fox, Former Chief of White House Social Entertainment, and Past and Present Press and Social Secretaries to the First Lady, circa 1975. Photo by Karl H. Schumacher. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “National Women's Political Caucus.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2007, www.britannica.com/topic/National-Womens-Political-Caucus.
[8] “Liz Carpenter.” PediaView.com, 31 Dec. 1969, pediaview.com/openpedia/Liz_Carpenter.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Thomas, Helen. “An Icon for Texas Women.” Texasobserver.org, 22 Mar. 2010, www.texasobserver.org/liz-carpenter-obit/.
[11] Nemy.
[12] Weil, Martin. “Liz Carpenter Dies; Former Aide to LBJ, Lady Bird Johnson.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Mar. 2010, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/20/AR2010032002909_3.html.
[13] Temple, Ellen. “Articles.” The Texas Women's History Project and the Liz Carpenter Award | Humanities Texas, Apr. 2011, www.humanitiestexas.org/news/articles/texas-women%E2%80%99s-history-project-and-liz-carpenter-award.
Image: Liz Carpenter (second from left). Photograph of First Lady Betty Ford Posing with Sanford Fox, Former Chief of White House Social Entertainment, and Past and Present Press and Social Secretaries to the First Lady, circa 1975. Photo by Karl H. Schumacher. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
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