Gloria Martin; Writer and Co-Founder of Feminist Group

Gloria Martin, 79, feminist writer who co-founded the organization Radical Women in 1967. An active socialist, the mother of eight had remained active in Radical Women, which considered mainstream feminists classist and elitist. The group with her leadership had advocated free child-care centers, free abortion on demand, abolition of the death penalty and legalization of drugs and prostitution. A native of St. Louis, she dropped out of high school to help support her family. As a young woman, she worked in the Young Communist League to help end segregation in St. Louis. Based in Seattle for the last 45 years, she was active in the Congress of Racial Equality and the NAACP while working as a janitor and chicken plucker. She detailed some of her campaigns, including those for legalized abortion and against police brutality, in her 1978 book, “Socialist Feminism: The First Decade 1966-76.” On Nov. 22 in Seattle of cancer.