Gloria Steineman An American journalist, lecturer, and polit
Gloria Steinem died at her home in New York City. Her foundation announced that she died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.
She died on September 2, 2026, at age 92,
Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1934 ) was an American journalist, lecturer, and political activist who became a nationally recognized leader and spokeswoman for the second-wave feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
She became a prominent voice in second-wave feminism, using journalism, organizing, and political advocacy to challenge sexism and inequality. Her work helped bring issues such as reproductive freedom, workplace discrimination, and violence against women into the national conversation.
She co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971 alongside figures such as Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan, working to recruit and support women seeking elected office.
Her address at the Women's March on Washington (2017): Speaking as an honorary co-chair to hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, she emphasized sustained local activism, grassroots coalition-building, and cross-movement solidarity.
From a powerful Black women’s perspective, her legacy is best understood alongside Black women activists and organizers who insisted that gender justice could not be separated from racial justice. Steinem worked in coalition with Black feminists and civil rights activists, helping build broader movements for women's political and social equality.
Her story reminds us that liberation movements are strongest when Black women’s leadership, labor, and intellectual contributions are recognized rather than erased or relegated to the background.
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Rest in peace Gloria!
INVESTIGATIVE Journalism
She first gained widespread attention in 1963 with her undercover investigative report on exploitative working conditions at the New York Playboy Club, published as "A Bunny's Tale."
In 1972, she co-founded Ms., the first national feminist magazine in the United States, which brought topics such as domestic violence, reproductive freedom, and wage disparity into the mainstream discourse.
She traveled and spoke extensively alongside Black feminist leaders, most notably Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Florynce Kennedy, emphasizing the link between racism and sexism.
I Broke Down the Voting Rights Act in 4 Minutes
allentown's former hr director is suing THE city
Turek fired Karen Ocasio when returing to work after BURNING her father
By Lindsay Weber
UPDATED: October 27, 2025, at 6:13 PM ET
Allentown’s former director of human resources, who claims he was forced to quit in 2023 after less than two months on the job, is suing the city in federal court, alleging illegal retaliation and age and religious discrimination.
Allentown hired Nadeem Eli Shahzad in June 2023; before that, Shahzad had served as HR director for other government agencies, including Delaware County and Nassau County, New York. Before Shahzad’s hire, Allentown’s human resources director position had been vacant for more than a year.
Shahzad claims that in August 2023, he was fired from the position “without just cause,” though an Allentown spokesperson disputed that characterization. Shahzad alleges that Mayor Matt Tuerk had called him into a meeting with a city lawyer present and gave him a choice: resign or be terminated and escorted out of the building. Shahzad said he chose to resign.
City spokesperson Genesis Ortega has said Shahzad voluntarily resigned and that the city did not fire him. Reached for comment on the lawsuit, Ortega said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
In a civil lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Shahzad’s lawyer, Marc Weinstein, claims that the city illegally retaliated and discriminated against him.
Weinstein alleges that Tuerk asked Shahzad to fire an employee whom Tuerk deemed a “troublemaker.”
Although the employee is not named in the lawsuit, Shahzad has previously publicly identified her as Karen Ocasio, a former human resources generalist who also claims the city discriminated against her. The city fired Ocasio in November 2024, around four months after Shahzad alleges he was forced out of his job.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Shahzad reviewed Ocasio’s work performance and found no issues, so he refused to fire her. On Aug. 19, 2024,
Tuerk told Shahzad to either sign a letter of resignation or be fired on the spot, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also claims that Tuerk called Shahzad, 79, a “Muslim old man” on at least three occasions.
After Shahzad left his position, he filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission dismissed his case on Aug. 22, noting that investigators did not find sufficient evidence to support the claim, but that Shahzad had the right to sue in federal court.
Shahzad’s resignation came a month after the NAACP's Allentown branch raised concerns about alleged racism in City Hall through a public letter. The letter claimed that Tuerk and city staff ignored racist incidents and listed multiple grievances against city leadership. Shahzad stated at the time that there was “a lot of truth” to the letter’s allegations.
Tuerk has said the city does “not tolerate discrimination of any form in Allentown,” and has thoroughly investigated all official complaints. An outside investigation, approved by City Council and conducted by law firm Duane Morris, found “instances of isolated discriminatory conduct” and a “grossly mismanaged” human resources department, but no “system issue of racial or unlawful discrimination in the city government.” Lawyers declined to release any details of their findings publicly. In his lawsuit, Shahzad requests a jury trial, back pay, and promotions from the date of his dismissal until the jury's verdict, along with compensatory damages for mental suffering.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
City of Allentown is being sued again
The lawsuit claims Mayor Matt Tuerk told Shahzad to fire an employee he called a “troublemaker.” Shahzad refused, and Tuerk later dismissed the worker, Karen Ocasio, in November 2024 after she returned from bereavement leave.