Celebrating the legacy of the
First National Women’s Conference
Join the relay to carry the torch! Please join our preservation project for the official photographs. “Thank you for holding this precious gift so long.” - Melba Tolliver
Now that Diana is about to bow out, there needs to be a succession plan for the framed exhibit, the vintage prints, the correspondence over the last 50 years with delegates, commissioners, workers, torchbearers, her copyright filing, notes from day to day of the conference from many participants and “marching orders” from Bella - the works!
The project involves finding a permanent home for the exhibit, reprinting The Spirit of Houston with Gloria Steinem’s additional essay from 1978, ( now available on Amazon ) on higher-quality paper and Women on the Move and finding a host for the exhibit to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Conference.
Your purchase of prints from the selection below will be a great help for all these efforts to preserve the legacy. If you want to make a tax-deductible contribution, the NY Foundation for the Arts is Diana’s fiscal sponsor.Thank you.
Please email us to add your name to one of the honorary titles below:
Please do not scrape this page for AI/LLM and please do not adopt our ideas and intellectual property as your own. Thank you.
First Ladies / Honorary Co-Chairs
Delegates / Your vote counts!
Torch Bearers / The ones who lead the way.
Alternates / Your support matters!
Women on the Move / The ones who make it happen.
Visitors / Your vision is valued!
For our first participants, access to limited edition vintage prints…
Darkroom vintage 11×14” prints in return for a donation and joining the relay! These are not reprints.
A very few available in 16×20 or larger….
(Anyone can buy a print for full price, but first members to join the team will receive one as a thank you 50% off.)
Delegate with Robert’s Rules
Availability/Donation: 1 / $250 (8×10 on 11×14”)
“I will happily write an endorsement for your web page on the stamp campaign. Those there now are quite impressive, especially the Schlesinger library….” - Kathryn Kish Sklar. Feb. 7, 2007
"Thank you, Diana! Your photos were fantastic and provided a great basis for the discussion. We sincerely appreciate your generosity in allowing us to use them and look forward to the possibility of working with you again.Best, John" - John Milewski, Host & Managing Editor, dialogue, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
"your amazing array of images that capture such an important historical event." - Molly Macgregor, National Women’s History Project
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan
Signing autographs after her keynote speech
Availability/Donation
4/$500 each
Majority delegate needlepointing
Availability/Donation: 2 / 500
"Thank you again for your decision to show our history, it helps me when I talk to my grandchildren and great grandchildren to let them see the faces of the women who've made a difference in their lives and there were so many! Will see you soon in NY.Judy" (10/18/12) "I have so much respect for your work. Without our photographers and journalists we'd be another lost generation of women of knowledge.E.R.A.'s specialty in college was women artists in history and I found it amazing that there were so many of them that few had ever heard of. What a loss of our history. You are one of the important people who keep us all alive to history. Thank you! "(10/16/12) - Judy Tallwing | Native American Artist
Availability/Donation:
2 / 500 each (8×10) (cprints, mounted)
1 - 20×24 Cibachrome ( permanent color) $2,500 including shipping.
Final mile torchbearers Sylvia Ortiz, Peggy Kokernot [Kaplan] and Michelle Cearcy
The fine print….
From one to four vintage 11×14” prints or 8×10 on 11×14 board, as noted, in return for a donation and joining the relay! These are all printed in the decade after the conference and there may be some wear to the boards. .Prints for personal/display use only. Reproducation for other use by permission of the photographer, except for social media of the purchaser with copyright credit to DMH. Please contact dhenry188@gmail.com for details.
NY State delegate in wheelchair
Availability/Donation: 1 / $250 (8×10 on 11×14”)
"These photos....serve as a reminder, through the images of the people involved, of what a significant period in women's history the Seventies were." - Keith Sikes, Director, The Valley Photographic Center
"As a feminist from the 1960s and '70s, I was delighted to read about your stamps program. I'm on a committee of the Veteran Feminists of America....Best regards, Sonia Pressman Fuentes"
"I'm glad you're doing this." - Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation, 3/8/11
Alice Bibeau and Colleen Wong
California delegates.
Availability/Donation
2 /$1,000 each
C. Delores Tucker at microphone ( alternate but similar image )
Availability/Donation: 2 / 500
"I urge you to do whatever is possible in pursuing the stamp series proposed by the highly respected photographer Diana Mara Henry...." Marilyn A. Dunn, Executive Director of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Librarian of the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study (See complete statement and article here.)
"Thank you for all your exciting and visionary work!" - Billie Luisi-Potts, Executive Director, National Women's Hall of Fame
In 1990, Mary Ruthsdotter, then Projects Director and one of the founders of NWHP [National Women’s History Project] wrote to Diana Mara Henry on their use of her photographs in their video: "Without your commitment to photographing the work of the women's movement, the historic record would be spotty indeed. We're grateful to you for your significant contribution to our shared history as women, and for sharing the results of your work with our project." The acknowledgements of the Discussion Guide for the NWHP video,"Women in American LIfe: Part 5: 1955-1977: New Attitudes Force Dramatic Change" "We also wish to acknowledge the monumental work of photographers Bettye Lane and Diana Mara Henry, whose dedication to documenting the issues and events of the women's movement throughout the 60's and 70's, created the visual record of this important part of women's history."
Availability/Donation: 1 / 3,000 each
Gloria Steinem at podium and on monitor
Gloria’s favorite!
See Gallery section for more images!
Please contact dhenry188@gmail.com for details as to which images on the Gallery page of this website are also available as vintage prints.
Coretta Scott King applauding Barbara Jordan’s keynote address
Availability/Donation: 2 / $500 ALSO AVAILABLE in 16×20” for $2,000 As seen on Saatchi
"Subject: [Delegate from America Samoa] High Chief [ Pulu Peneueta ] Aloha, Diana.....my grandmother who WAS a very extraordinary woman, mother and grandmother. Not only was she that but was also a pillar in our village and a force to be reckoned with..." Hilo, Hawaiii....and then 6 years later, from another member of the tribe:
"Thank u.... I luv it! I am thinking of using dis photo on r t-shirts 4 da "Filigataula & Tuugasala Kuaea" reunion 4 Aug 5th & 6th, 2011 & Jan 2012." And from another relative:
"Thanks for responding and taking the time to write about her. She was an amazing woman that taught me a lot on how to survive....She was great woman of faith and belief in womens equal rights. Hope to meet you in person one of these days. Blessings to you and your endeavors in life."
“Keep ‘em in the closet”
A delegate holds up handmade sign.
Availability/Donation
3 / $1,000 each
Susan B. Anthony calling the question on the ERA
Availability/Donation: 2 / 500 each, plus one 16×20” $2,000
"The Jewish Women's Archive recently featured DIana Mara Henry among the 74 Jewish feminists in our online exhibit, "Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution," because of her significant contribution to history as a photographer of the Women's Movement. Her powerful photographs capture the strength, spirit and energy of women activists of the 1970s, a pivotal decade in American and women's history. I heartily endorse MS. Henry's proposal and encourage you to approve the USPS stamp series..." - Gail Twersky Reimer, Executive Director
Congratulations on the new exhibit of your work from IWY!... What a great initiative, and so long overdue.Take care, Linda Garcia Merchant http://www.vocesprimeras.com/
Availability/Donation: 4 / 250 each
NASA booth “Picture Yourself as an Astronaut”
Seemed incredible in 1977….
See Gallery section for more images!
Please contact dhenry188@gmail.com for details as to which images there are also available as vintage prints.
Pro-Plan delegate with first raised
Availability/Donation: 3 / $500
“Dear Diana Mara Henry,I am so glad that you are having a well deserved life in photography exhibition. You deserve to be honored for your work. Best wishes, Lilly Rivlin”
"Dear Diana, Judy [Chicago} wanted me to let you know that she did receive your book and that she really appreciated the picture of herself and Alice Neel!"
"You are doing great and important work for us all." - AmyTrompetter
From: <Suzynativevoices Date: Sun, Apr 1, 2007 Subject: Congrats for putting together the 30th Anniversary!
“Congratulations to you and your team for putting together the follow up on the 30 Years After Houston's Women's Conference. I will cherish that picture with the First Ladies. ......... Blessings for your great works! Suzy Chaffee, NVF co-chair"
Grey Panther Betty Hambuerger of Maryland
Her hard bat brim reads Pro God, Pro Family, Pro ERA
Availability/Donation
One 16×20” for $1,000
First Lady Betty Ford applauding Barbara Jordan’s keynote address.
Availability/Donation: One vailable as a 16×20” print for $2,000
"One photograph I am interested in is called 'The Last Mile of First National Women's Conference'. It depicts Bella Abzug arm in arm with the runners bringing the torch in to the National Women's Conference in Houston, in November, 1977. What am amazing photo!...I'd also like to use "FNWC Barbara Jordan applauded" in my paper.... Your work is remarkable, and truly captures the spirit of the NWC." -4/20/2011 - Sabra Ferguson is a Special Education teacher in Madisonville, Texas. "Houston Makes History" was written for Professor Elizabeth Snapp at Texas Woman’s University for her course Women in Texas History. Sabra has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The University of Houston, and is currently completing background coursework for admission into the TWU Speech and Language Pathology Master’s program.
Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman making a fist
Availability/Donation: 3 / 500 each
Grand opening!
Please contact dhenry188@gmail.com for details as to which images from the Gallery section of this website may be available as vintage prints.
Clara McLaughlin and her daughter Rinetta
Availability/Donation: One available as a 16×20” print for $3,500. Diana’s personal favorite from the conference. Clara and Rinetta attended the celebration for her work at UMass in 2016. What a thrill!
"Diana --I'm so glad you are giving the gift of The Spirit of Houston to the future -- and of course, you have my permission to reprint pages 10 to 17 and anything else I wrote about Houston....I'm so grateful that you were there to capture what we saw and experienced! with friendship and gratitude, Gloria....Without you there with heart and camera, so much would have been lost." - Gloria Steinem
"I am impressed by your long and dedicated career and your great work to bring more attention to the female leaders of the 1970's. - Peter B. Welch, Member of Congress." [now Senator.]
"Your photos are beautiful and represent such a powerful and passionate time in American history. I believe these photos will last and many years from now they will be looked at and studied just as Mathew Brady's classic and haunting Civil war photos are today. Please feel free to use this phrase and the one I gave to you the other day ['Thank you for being a part of history.'] as a blurb in your important new book! Best Wishes!" Ron Kovic
Grand opening with Three First Ladies, Bella Abzug, and athletes Donna De Varona, Peggy Kokernot, Michelle Cearcy and Sylvia Ortiz
Availability/Donation
One 16×20” for $3,500
Jean Westwood, Democrat Party Co-chair, at microphone
Availability/Donation: One available as a 16×20” print for $2,000
“Oh, Diana, this is so great! Thanks so much for sending this announcement. How wonderful for the Wilson Center to have a show of your Houston photos. I just wish I could get there I love the flyer with your photo ID. Enjoy every minute of the opening. I'll be thinking of you. Warmly, Kitty Sklar“
“There is absolutely fantastic stuff there. You were really at the center of a lot of incredible action! I loved the women workers collection, too. I think there is a book here that could contain narrative, your photos, and documents fragments like you have in the women workers collection. Thanks for sharing your work (and allowing me to publish it).- Jefferson Cowie
What an achievement! Thanks for helping keep history alive. Best wishes, Andrea Johnston, President and Co-Founder, Girls Speak Out® Worldwide
Mary Crisp, Republican Party Co-Chair, Pro-Plan button and pearls, knitting
Availability/Donation: One available as a 16×20” print for $2,000
Grand opening and grand finale…..
Please contact dhenry188@gmail.com for details as to which images from the Gallery section of this website may be available as vintage prints.
Final celebration with Coretta Scott King and Koryne Horbal first row, center, Bettye Lane standing on chair with her camera behind ERA sign.
Availability/Donation
One 17×14” for $3,500
Date: Fri, Feb 27, 2026 Subject: Research Update “Hi Diana, I hope you're doing well! I just wanted to give you some updates about my research and pre-production process. I've been reading through The Spirit of Houston and it has been so helpful, thank you again for sending that to me, it's been great! As of right now, my plan is that hopefully in mid June I can come up to shoot an interview with you and any of the photos you'd like to share.” 1st Year MFA Graduate Student Documentary Film Program, Wake Forest University.
“Thank you for your kind [1/2/20] congratulations. I have been very pleased with the reception of my book so far in the NYT and other media venues. It's really more than I expected and so gratifying after years of research. I hope you will find how informative your interview was in shaping my analysis and approach. I value the time you spent with me when you hosted me in Springfield. “ - Leandra Zarnow
“We are very appreciative of your efforts to ensure that the 50th Anniversary of the NWC not go unnoticed. It is a big deal and should be commemorated!” - Leandra Zarnow. Jan 21, 2026
“As we are a university-based educational project, we do not provide endorsements.” - Leandra Zarnow, March 4, 2026
Clara McLaughlin and her daughter Rinetta
Availability/Donation: One available as a 16×20” print for $2,500
Grand opening with Three First Ladies Ladybird Johnson, Rosalyn Carter, Betty Ford and Congresswoman Bella Abzug.
Jean Stapleton announcing the NY State Women’s meeting
Availability/Donation: 4/250
Introduction to Women on the Move, a book of photographs by Diana Mara Henry
Diana Mara Henry: Making Women's History Visible An appreciation by Nancy C. Unger “Diana Mara Henry’s iconic images chronicle many of the historic moments and great men and women of late twentieth century America. By beginning Women on the Move with images from her own background, Henry provides important context for her development as a photojournalist and a feminist. As she chronicles women’s fight against social, political, and economic oppression, and for peace, equal rights, and protection of the earth, we come to understand Henry’s passion for women’s dignity and empowerment. As a professor of women’s history, it is often difficult for me to convey to my students the dynamism of the early feminist movement in full flower. In Women on the Move, Diana Mara Henry’s striking photographs bring to life the excitement, the tension, the joy, and the drama of this inspiring period in which anything seemed possible. No one gives us candid photographic portraits like Henry, and they’re all here: Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and many, many more. Through Henry’s eyes, we see these women as heroic, but also deeply human. Her image of Eunice Schriver’s careworn face in a pensive moment at the 1972 Democratic convention reveals a profound beauty. Even as Henry presents the exhilaration and hope that permeated the National Women’s Conference, held in Houston in 1977, she enriches the story by including images of women opposed to feminism or divided over its goals. The portraits of Phyllis Schlafly as well as a member of the “pursed lips” crowd, intent on keeping lesbians in the closet, are powerful reminders that even during this giant step forward, solidarity among women was by no means absolute. Women on the Move is a passionate celebration of one woman’s vision and talent, and many women’s activism and progress. It will delight and inspire.” Nancy C. Unger is the author of Beyond Nature's Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History (Oxford University Press ) The photograph Nancy used in her book is of The Women's Pentagon Action, with puppets by Amy Trompetter.
Hi, Diana…
This is Nikki Patricia’s youngest daughter and little sister to Michelle Cearcy. I’m writing to you because our Mother has recently transitioned and I’m organizing the ‘Celebration of Life’ to honor Mom and all she has done in life and career to make substantial gains in the support of people, but Women in particular.
Would you be so kind to help share this information with all of the people from the Womens Conference who may or may not still be in body. Please share and keep me in the loop of may be able to attend and say words about Mom’s contribution. I know the last time you saw her was 2012 in New York. I was there with my son, Mom and Michelle.
The funeral will be held February 2nd at Fallbrook Church, 12512 Walters Rd., Houston, Texas 77014. 9-10:45 am viewing . Service begins at 11am -1 pm.
Flowers can be sent there and correspondence can be sent to: PatCearcyMemorialemail@yahoo.comThank you, Nikki.
I am so honored to share my memory in tribute to Patricia Darlene Cearcy, who arrived with Michelle from Houston to celebrate the 35th anniversary in NYC in 2012 of the First National Women's Conference. At that event I was able to fill in my knowledge of her great role in preparing for and provisioning the conference, which required immense savvy, dedication, and wisdom as well as outstanding teamwork, networking, and communications. Since then, I have also had the pleasure of meeting her daughter Darlesia, who like all of the family continues to bring her light into the world. May her memory be for a blessing to us and generations to come. -Diana Mara Henry
Let us also add to our pages of memory: Elizabeth “Betty” Athanasakos, 1927-2022, Presiding Officer, IWY Commission, 1976, here at left
next to former Commissioner Gilda Bojorquez Cjurich, at Houston. Her Interview
and account of the conference and its funding obtained by Bella ( minute 2:55 on)
https://www.bpwfl.org/member-spotlight-elizabeth-betty-athanasakos/
Her memorial video with lots of IWY images:
https://www.bairdcaseftlauderdale.com/tributes/Elizabeth-Athanasakos
How Valerie Pettis designed
the iconic logo.
Teeshirts are here! in aqua and black…
“My big challenge will be to make sure my teenage daughter does not borrow it! She saw it today
and tried to nab it for her own collection!”
-Thank you to one of our first supporters, Professor!…
Please email us with your choice of size and color, for $35 each including postage
Assembled in Honduras from US made components, 52% cotton and 48% polyester
Unisex sizing - S, M, L , XL
BELLA+CANVAS uses sustainable manufacturing processes with Blue Sign certified dyes, efficient dye houses that adhere to the state of California’s EPA regulations around waste water treatment and usage, and cutting facilities in Los Angeles that run on partial solar power with comprehensive recycling programs for paper waste and fabric scraps.
Message on the occasion of the 35th anniversary.
Thank you, Billie Jean King!
What do you think?
Women leaders of the 1970’s on US
postage stamps, from photos by
Diana Mara Henry….
Here are Sylvia Ortiz, Peggy Kokernot Kaplan and Michelle Cearcy.
Who are we?
We are participants and colleagues who are positive and inclusive, in The Spirit of Houston