When Gloria Steinem died September 2 at the age of 92, USC journalism professor Mary Murphy said she was initially sad about the loss, but that her sadness turned to joy just knowing that Steinem had lived.
“Gloria Steinem lit the way,” said Murphy, who met Steinem at the beginning of her career. “So I knew that once she walked into the newsroom, what lay ahead was the beginning of equal pay for women and the ability for women to cover real news.”
Steinem was a journalist and advocate who spent her life fighting against inequality and inspiring others to do the same, according to Steinem’s personal website. She broke into the national discussion for her investigative journalism going undercover at a night club owned by Hugh Hefner, the founder and former editor-in-chief of Playboy Magazine.
In 1971, she helped found the National Women’s Caucus to promote the involvement of more women in politics. Months later, she launched Ms. Magazine, the first magazine written “to make feminist voices audible,” according to its website.
Much of her political activism focused around reproductive rights. A few weeks before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Steinem told NPR that she did not think her life’s work was done in vain, even if the legislation was to be overturned.
Steinem told NPR she equated change to a tree.
“Too often we think trees grow from the top, from Congress.” Steinem said in the article. “Trees grow from the bottom.”
Throughout her life, Steinem emphasized the importance of the work done by everyday people and in communities.
“There were many women activists, but [Steinem] brought it to the conclusion that we all had to do it together,” said Murphy, who serves as the faculty lead for USC’s Women’s Leadership Society.“It was not a single woman, a single leader, an egotistical leader. It was women together. I think that is what made a difference with her.”
Rini Sampath, former USC student body president who had the chance to meet Steinem in 2016 when she visited USC, echoed the sentiment.
“She was able to lead in a way where she brought other individuals to the table, which I always admired,” Sampath said. “And she didn’t just make it about herself.”
Sampath became the first female president at USC in over a decade. When she presented Steinem with a USC T-shirt, Sampath told Steinem, “We are here in part because of you.”
Sampath said she’s carried that moment with her throughout her career and run for mayor of Washington, D.C.
“Now 10 or something years later, many of us are just hoping to do right by [Steinem]and continue to live by her very very powerful memory,” Sampath said.
Edited by Adilene Gomez and Miranda Huang.