Genevieve Hughes

Genevieve Hughes Houghton ("HOW-ton"; 1932–2012) was known as one of three female participants in the original 13-person CORE Freedom Rides.

Biography Hughes grew up in the upper-middle-class suburban community of Chevy Chase, Maryland. She studied at Cornell University and, upon her graduation, moved to New York City to work as a stock analyst. In the late 1950s she became involved in the New York chapter of CORE, and she organized a boycott of dime stores that worked with chain restaurants that resisted the sit-in movements in the South. Hughes started to become ostracized from her colleagues on Wall Street, and she decided to work full time to end racism.

In fall of 1960 she took the position as CORE's field secretary and, in doing so, she was the first woman to serve on CORE's Field Staff. John Lewis spoke of her, "as graceful and gentle as her name" but, "not at all afraid to speak up when she had strong feelings about something."

After her experience as a Freedom Rider she married John Houghton. The marriage ended in divorce. She continued to be active in movements for social justice, environmental protection, and world peace. In 1972 she was a co-founder and first director of the Women's Center in Carbondale, Illinois, one of the first shelters for women victims of domestic violence in the United States.