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The washerwomen in Atlanta, Georgia, were so low on the ladder, they hung on the bottom rung by a clothespin. They knew they deserved to climb higher. In the summer of 1881, a few of them threw out the wash-water, leveraged the little clout they had, and brought the powers-that-be in the City of Atlanta to their knees, or more accurately, their dirty drawers.  Woman African American woman washing laundry outdoors in a yard in or near Richmond County, Ga., in late 19th century. Only 15-20 years before, these Black women were enslaved by the very people who now employed them to do their wash. Though a constitutional amendment guaranteed their freedom, the white families in Atlanta still had the Black women trapped.
Don't be surprised if you haven't heard of Elizabeth Sudmeier, a spy craft pioneer who crashed through the glass ceiling of the American Central Intelligence Agency. Her CIA case files remained classified until just ten years ago, which means we also did not know about the odds she faced, the battles she fought and the determination it took for a woman to succeed in one of the manliest professions in the world. Like many women in the 1940s and 50s, Elizabeth began her career as a typist, but she went on to become the first woman American CIA secret agent. During the Cold War, on assignment in the Middle East, Elizabeth procured volumes of details about Soviet Military hardware that turned out to be invaluable to US defense. Women CIA agents were offered little respect in the 1950s, as I told you in this story First Active Duty CIA Officer to Die was a Woman. And They Lied About It. Still, Elizabeth Sudmeier performed her assignments with dedication and excellence becoming the first CIA woman to recruit and handle foreign assets. One side note, an unnamed woman of the Sioux Nation no doubt contributed to Elisabeth's success, as her nanny, she practically raised the girl throughout her early years.  Elizabeth Sudmeier prior to her service in the CIA. Picture an American woman melting into the scene outside a cafe in Baghdad, waiting for a clandestine meeting. She's spent the last six months persuading a particular man to work with her. The stakes are high for America and for the both of them. If they're caught, they will likely pay with their lives. The year is 1954 and the US and USSR maintain a tense standoff with arsenals of nuclear and conventional weapons. When the man shows up, it's only for a moment, long enough to hand this female spy an envelope. She has just stolen Soviet secrets. Elizabeth holds blueprints for the Soviet MiG-19 jet fighter. Over time, through this source, Elizabeth also gained details of the MiG-21 fighter, the SA2 missile, and dozens of volumes of technical manuals relating to Soviet military systems and equipment. This type of information proved extremely valuable to the US in understanding the capabilities of Soviet weapons. Elizabeth set up seemingly accidental encounters with her source at coffee houses, cafes or a movie theater. As they met briefly, he handed off materials that she carried to a secure location for copying. Then Elizabeth returned the documents to the informant later that night. When Elizabeth went to work in the Middle East, CIA officials didn't plan on female agents courting relationships with foreign assets and managing them. Named a "Reports Officer," she was expected to stay in her lane and do tamer work. According to one CIA review in 1960 “there is a general feeling that the preparation of reports is a tedious and incidental chore, to be avoided like the plague by any promising and ambitious young man who wants to get ahead in operations.” But she proved herself, and thus other women, could successfully run operations under the intense pressure in the world of counterintelligence. She also did so under the aggressive scrutiny of her male bosses. After her work in Baghdad securing important Soviet secrets, Elizabeth's station chief nominated her for the Intelligence Medal of Merit, which prompted controversy over whether a female who was not listed as an operations officer could win distinction for an operational act. Colleagues argued on her behalf and eventually in 1962, Elizabeth received the medal.  Elizabeth Sudmeier receiving her second medal of honor from the CIA. A CIA officer who knew Elizabeth in the 1950s recalled how she paved the way for women in the CIA: “She was a real pistol…. The fact that she accomplished so much is incredible given the general antagonism of NE officers to women functioning as ops officers." Despite of her accomplishments, superiors in the CIA did not promote Elizabeth, passing over her for eight years. An officer who knew her said, "I can tell you outright that hers was a monumental struggle as NE Division was dead set against the idea and concept of a female ops officer.” This was after she had accomplished the job! Elizabeth was born in 1912, in the small railroad town of Timber Lake, South Dakota, near the Sioux Nation. She was raised by a Sioux nanny for much of her childhood and became fluent in the Sioux language, which her father also spoke.  Elizabeth in the arms of her Sioux nanny, 1912. After high school, Elizabeth studied English Literature at The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, earning a B.A. in 1933. She returned to South Dakota and taught high school English a few years, then got a secretarial job at St. Paul, MN bank. During World War II she joined the US Army Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, where she was assigned to recruiting.  Elizabeth Sudmeier in a Women’s Army Corps recruiting advertisement, 1944. In March 1947, Elizabeth joined the CIA’s predecessor, the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), as a shorthand stenographer in the Office of Reports and Estimates. When the CIA replaced the CIG four months later, Elizabeth became one of the Agency’s charter members
In October 1951 she transferred to the clandestine service, serving in the Middle East and South Asia for almost nine years. Elizabeth took mandatory retirement on May 12, 1972, at age sixty, dying 1989 at 76. Not even her family knew her covert duties and files relating to her work remained classified until February 2014. However, in 2013, nearly 25 years after he death, Elizabeth received the CIA Trailblazer Award given to “CIA officers whose leadership, achievements, and dedication to mission had a significant impact on the agency’s history and legacy.” Sources https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-women-who-helped-to-build-the-cia-11663992062 https://x.com/CIA/status/1113554329833758720 https://www.stkate.edu/newswire/news/elizabeth-sudmeier-cia-trailblazer https://www.elespanol.com/social/20190408/verdadera-viuda-negra-cia-rescata-fundadora-olvidada/388711686_0.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150905093741/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2015-featured-story-archive/elizabeth-sudmeier-story.html I was thrilled to take part in a wonderful event! Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Uurea came through Spokane, WA, on tour publicizing his newest book Good Night, Irene. Very soon after starting to read this novel, I wished that I had written it, or rather, written a nonfiction book about the Donut Dollies of World War II. These women served coffee, donuts and a slice of home to soldiers on the front lines of battle.  I could not have written this book because Luis Alberto Uurea based it on the true-life experiences of his mother, Phyllis Irene McLaughlin, who traveled across Europe with Patton's army. It's a great adventure story of women's strength, friendship and sacrifice.
The fictional account follows closely the actual service route traveled by Phyllis and her Courage wears many different faces, as shown in the varied stories I've sent you, as well as in my books. This week, one woman's story moves a step beyond, showing how courage can lead to transformation. Patty Bear grew up in the Mennonite faith which holds pacificism as a foundational belief, but the cruel truth? Violence ruled her home and family. In retrospect, she called her father a "domestic terrorist" who abused her mother for years. But when he questioned Mennonite leaders and was excommunicated, the media portrayed him as the victim, a man shunned by his wife and children. Patty went from her sheltered, rural life where her father regarded her mother as property, like another animal on his farm, to becoming a pioneering woman pilot in the United States Air Force.  (Left) Patty in second grade. (At right) Patty in pilot training alongside the supersonic T-38. That's transformation!
Patty agreed to tell her story for us this week. Patricia Bear: Soaring to Freedom Transformation is a lovely concept, but someone should warn us it won’t just change our circumstances, it will change who we are. And that will be a terrifying journey into the unknown. This should not surprise me, researching a woman from the 18th Century and discovering a strong parallel to a woman fighting the same battle today. The more I looked into this story, the more painful it became. But in the end, I found hope. This is one of my longer feature articles and I ask your patience as I wend my way through the story to reach "pag-ibig at pag-asa," Filipino for love and hope. Gabriela Silang, a young Filipina who lived in the northwestern seaboard of Luzon in the mid-1700s is most commonly portrayed wielding a bolo knife. There's little doubt Gabriela Salang was a fearless revolutionary against Spanish colonial rule, and her spirit continues to run in the blood of women today, who carry on the struggle for self-determination in the face of centuries of imperialism in the Philippines.  Monument of Gabriela Silang located in Manila's Ayala Triangle Gardens created by Jose M. Mendoza in 1971 That includes playwright and peasant organizer Amanda Echanis, arrested 13-months ago and imprisoned with her newborn baby, two of more than 600 political prisoners under the Rodrigo Duterte regime.  Below, Linda Echanis demonstrates for the release of her daughter and grandson. Courtesy Pinoy Weekly |
I'm fascinated to discover little-known history, stories of people and events that provide a new perspective on why and how things happened, new voices that haven't been heard, insight into how the past brought us here today, and how it might guide us to a better future.
I also post here about my books and feature other authors and their books on compelling and important historical topics. Occasionally, I share what makes me happy, pictures of my garden, recipes I've made, events I've attended, people I've met. I'm always happy to hear from readers in the blog comments, by email or social media. Archives
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