Gertrude Shelburne
Gertrude Aldredge Shelburne (1907-1993) was an activist, philanthropist, and supporter of contraceptive rights from Dallas, Texas.[1] She was a member of the women's rights movement in Texas in the 1930s and '40s.[2]
In 1933, Shelburne joined forces with "an unlikely group of Dallas socialites drawn into the fledgling movement [now] known as the Planned Parenthood Federation."[1] She and other Dallas-area women worked with Margaret Sanger to distribute contraceptives illicitly, with Sanger shipping diaphragms and condoms hidden in shirt boxes from New York for distribution to women in Texas.[3] At the time, anti-contraception laws were the norm in the United States, and sharing information about contraception was a prohibited by Comstock laws in many parts of the country. Shipping birth control across state lines was also against the law at the time.[1]
In honor of her work to expand access to birth control in the Dallas area, Shelburne was made the namesake of a Greater Texas Planned Parenthood achievement award.[4] Texans lost the right to abortion when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Texas criminalized abortion.[5] However, the right to contraceptives and emergency contraception (Plan B) still stands, with costs usually covered by health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act.[6]
Biography
Gertrude Terrell Aldredge (often referred to as Mrs. Samuel Shelburne) was born in Dallas, Texas in 1907, to George Nathan Aldredge and Lilly Rowena (Munger) Aldredge.[7] She was born into a wealthy and politically connected Dallas family, whose members included lawyers, judges, and bankers, as well as Dallas mayor Sawnie R. Aldredge (1921-23).[8] Shelburne's father George Aldredge was the director of Texaco for 30 years, and her mother, Rena Munger, also from a wealthy Dallas family, was the daughter of a cotton gin business owner and niece of Robert S. Munger, an early adopter of exclusionary neighborhood developments by way of restrictive deeds.[9]
She married Dr. Samuel Ainslie Shelburne.[10] They lived in Dallas and had three children: Samuel Ainslie Shelburne, Jr. (1934-2021), George Aldredge Shelburne (b. 1939), and Alice Shelburne Neild (b. 1941). The family spent summers at the Chautauqua Institution, an educational summer camp for families in upstate New York.[10]
References
- ^ a b c Davis, Rod (1992-05-01). "Social Activist Gertrude Shelburne". D Magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Smith, Harold L. (2011). "'All Good Things Start With the Women': The Origin of the Texas Birth Control Movement, 1933-1945". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 114 (3): 253-285. doi:10.1353/swh.2011.0016. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ "Our History". Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ "Women's Rights Icon Cecile Richards Speaks at Awards Event". People Newspapers. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ Vogt, Adrienne; Sangal, Aditi; Hammond, Elise; Wagner, Meg; Rocha, Veronica (June 24, 2022). "Texas attorney general says abortion now illegal in state and declares June 24 a holiday for his office". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Méndez, María (2022-07-05). "How to get birth control and emergency contraception in Texas". Texas Tribune.
- ^ "Gertrude Terrell Aldredge Shelburne". findagrave. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ Fitzgibbons, Ruth Miller (1982-08-01). "Dallas First Families". D Magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ "History of the House". Aldredge House. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ a b "Samuel Shelburne". Retrieved 2022-07-22.