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Before Ruth Bader Ginsburg persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down sex discrimination, Dorothy Kenyon drew the legal blueprint.
Justice Was Her Calling is the first full-length biography of the New York judge, lawyer, and civil liberties champion whose litigation strategies helped transform the Equal Protection Clause into a powerful tool for women’s rights. Across decades, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal and into the rise of second-wave feminism, Dorothy Kenyon stood at the forefront of reform.
A longtime ACLU national board member, the only woman appointed by the League of Nations to study women’s legal status worldwide, and a US delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Kenyon pushed equality onto the global stage long before it was widely embraced. Her career was nearly undone when Senator Joseph McCarthy named her first on his list of alleged communists, a spurious accusation that cast a lasting shadow.
Drawing on letters, speeches, and fresh archival research, Jennifer L. Brinkley restores Kenyon to her rightful status as a legal pioneer and reminds us that civil liberties endure only when defended.
"This is the first biography of Dorothy Kenyon, an important American who had a significant impact on the law, and someone I'm a bit embarrassed to say I had never heard of. But the book is more than a biography; it also provides a lens through which we can view and understand this country's political development."—Paul Collins, coauthor of Supreme Bias: Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings
"A full-length biography of Dorothy Kenyon is long overdue. Jennifer Brinkley has done a tremendous amount of work uncovering the life of a remarkable woman who deserves more attention."—Jill Elaine Hasday, author of We the Men: How Forgetting Women's Struggles for Equality Perpetuates Inequality
“This is the book I have been waiting for. Brinkley recovers the life and work of this pivotal figure who shaped gender equality law, providing a riveting account that captures the drive and passion of a woman who succeeded despite tremendous opposition."—Tracy Thomas, author of The First Woman Judge: The Life and Legacy of Florence Allen
"Decades after Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged her debt to Dorothy Kenyon, Brinkley brings Kenyon to life in this engaging and important book. It's about time Kenyon's story was told, and Brinkley tells it brilliantly."—Lori A. Ringhand, author of We the Voters: The Constitutional Choices That Shape America's Elections
“A brilliant ACLU lawyer who mentored the better-known Pauli Murray and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Kenyon helped persuade the US Supreme Court that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination by sex as well as race. This lively biography shows Kenyon’s vital contributions across many fields—and the price she paid for defying personal and political conventions."—Landon R. Y. Storrs, author of The Second Red Scare and the Unmaking of the New Deal Left