Jacqueline Ceballos

Jacqueline Michot Ceballos (born September 8, 1925) is an American feminist and activist. Ceballos is the former president of New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women and founder of the Veteran Feminists of America organization which documents the history of second-wave feminism and pioneer feminists. Ceballos' 1971 debate on sexual politics with Norman Mailer and Germaine Greer is recorded in the 1979 film Town Bloody Hall.

Early life Ceballos was born Jacqueline Michot in Mamou, Louisiana, on September 8, 1925. The daughter of Louis Michot and Adele Domas, Ceballos was the middle child of seven children. She attended public school in Lafayette and studied music at Southwestern Louisiana Institute. After majoring in voice, Ceballos moved to New York City to pursue a career in opera.

Activism In 1967, Ceballos moved back to New York City with her four children where she attended her first National Organization for Women (NOW) meeting. The debate was recorded and released as D. A. Pennebaker's 1979 documentary film Town Bloody Hall. During the debate, Ceballos made a case that women had the right and duty "to have a voice in changing the world that is changing them." Along with dozens of other prominent feminists, Ceballos helped found the National Women's Political Caucus.

In 1970, Ceballos helped Betty Friedan organize the Women's Strike for Equality. WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media.

In 2014, Ceballos was featured in the film She's Beautiful When She's Angry.

Veteran Feminists of America In 1975 Ceballos retired from general activism to start a company. Ceballos opened a public relations firm to advertise feminist education courses and she began the New Feminist Talent speaker's bureau. After the rise of anti-feminism during the 1980s, Ceballos with Dorothy Senerchia, Barbara Seaman, and other feminist pioneers founded the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA). The founding principle of the organization was to preserve the history of second-wave feminism as well as to honor the women and men who pioneered the movement.

Personal life As of 2012, Ceballos lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where her daughter, Michele, founded a non-profit dance and education group. Her husband, Alvaro, died from Alzheimers at the age of 92 in Cucuta, Colombia.