Historical Bulletin ABC News Archive Record: Robin Morgan (1941–2026), 1950s child star who transformed into a pivotal second-wave radical feminist leader, editor, and poet, has died at age 85.

Robin Morgan: The Radical Trajectory

From Broadcast Child Stardom to 'Sisterhood Is Powerful' and Global Feminist Movement Building

ARCHIVE DOSSIER • ID: RM-1941-2026
Historical Trajectory Eras (1942 – 2026) Selected: Era II (1967–1970)

Archival Events

12 Items

Archival Excerpt & Context Inspector

DOC #1968-01
Era II: Radical Direct Action • September 7, 1968

1968 Miss America Pageant Protest & The Freedom Trash Can

Atlantic City Boardwalk: The spectacle that catapulted Women's Liberation into national headlines

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"No more beauty pageants! Let us crown a live sheep Miss America to demonstrate what the pageant does to women as cattle, and let us throw girdles, bras, fake eyelashes, and copies of Cosmopolitan into the Freedom Trash Can."
Source: New York Radical Women Press Release, drafted by Robin Morgan, September 1968
Pedagogical Analysis & Historical Impact

Morgan conceived and coordinated the Atlantic City boardwalk demonstration with New York Radical Women. It famously generated the persistent "bra burner" myth (even though nothing was actually burned due to boardwalk fire codes). The protest transformed Women's Liberation from obscure consciousness-raising cells into a nationwide cultural flashpoint.

Key Allies & Intersecting Figures
Carol Hanisch Shulamith Firestone Peggy Dobbins Kathie Sarachild

Movement Synthesis: Radical Action vs. Mainstream Media

How Robin Morgan's radical grassroots publishing intersected with and fortified Gloria Steinem's public media organizing in second-wave feminism.

Robin Morgan The Grassroots Radical & Anthologist

Trained in street demonstrations and radical collectives like NYRW and W.I.T.C.H., Morgan focused on creating foundational canonical literature. She channeled royalties from her bestselling 1970 anthology Sisterhood Is Powerful into the Sisterhood Is Powerful Fund, financing grassroots women's health clinics and shelters. Later, as editor-in-chief of Ms. (1990–1993), she successfully made the publication ad-free to ensure editorial independence.

Key Text: Sisterhood Is Powerful (1970) • Monster (1972) • Sisterhood Is Global (1984)
Gloria Steinem Coalition Builder & Ms. Founder

Steinem and Morgan maintained a lifelong working partnership and friendship spanning over 50 years. While Steinem was often the public face in legislative halls and national broadcasts, she collaborated with Morgan to launch Ms. Magazine in 1972. Together with Jane Fonda in 2005, Morgan and Steinem co-founded the Women's Media Center to systematically monitor and correct gender representation in mainstream press.

Shared Alliances: Women's Media Center • Ms. Foundation for Women • Take Our Daughters to Work Day