THE SKINNY
Sheila Michaels is most widely know for bringing the honorific “Ms.” into the spotlight on a radio interview, calling it “a timid eight-year crusade”
Sheila was expelled from William & Mary College for political activism, and protested against the censorship of her college paper
Sheila was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality, worked as a technical editor, New York cab driver, Japanese restaurant owner, and oral historian throughout her life
Civil Rights in her Blood
Sheila Michaels was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Alma Weil Michaels and Ephraim Michaels. While she did not know her father until she was 14 years old, Ephraim Michaels was a civil rights attorney, so the passion she carried for activism was in her blood.
Due to her mother not wanting to live with a young child, Sheila was sent to be raised by her maternal grandparents, Irving and Frances Weil in the Bronx, New York City. Her affection for activism started at an early age, and when she returned to live with her mother and her second husband, Harry Kessler, they were highly disproving. So much so, that they asked that she stop using the Kessler name, which resulted in her changing her name back to Michaels.
Sheila Michaels graduated high school in 1957 in St. Louis and later went on to attend the College of William & Mary. However, her time at William & Mary was short-lived upon her expulsion for her part in political activism at the age of 19. Her protest against the censorship of her college paper, as well as authoring several anti-segregation articles is ultimately what jump-started her successful career in civil rights.
The Road to Independence
Sheila Michaels was no stranger to independence, as she worked as a technical editor, New York cab driver, Japanese restaurant owner, and oral historian alongside her political activism. Michaels long dreamed of an honorific title to fill the gap between mistress and married; an address for someone who did not “belong” to a man.
After working several entry-level jobs in St. Louis, Sheila Michaels made the big move back to New York in October 1959. Michaels became a member of the Congress of Racial Equality, and it was there she met the like-minded Mary Hamilton, her future roommate, and inspiration.
The two shortly moved in together in 1961 and spent the next years traveling, protesting, and registering voters. It was her relationship with Ms. Hamilton that commenced her crusade into pushing the term “Ms.” into the spotlight.
The Inspiration
Mary Hamilton was a woman who separately made legal history by demanding to be addressed as “Miss” since she was not married. One day, a piece of mail addressed to “Ms. Hamilton” came to their shared living space, and was seen by Sheila Michaels. At first, Michaels thought it was a typographical error on the left-wing magazine sent to her roommate. Hamilton informed her that it was correct, and it was the fateful delivery that influenced the term.
“The first thing anyone wanted to know about you was whether you were married yet. I’d be damned if I bowed to them.”
Ms. was the perfect solution for a woman of her worth and independence. From the time she saw the letter in 1961 to 1969 Michaels pushed to be addressed as “Ms.” At first, her efforts to promote the honorific were unsuccessful and ignored. Eight years later, in a 1969 WBIA radio Interview with The Feminists group, she suggested the use of the term. The honorific caught on, and in 1970, none other than Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes chose to title their new feminist magazine Ms. The magazine debuted in January of 1972 and the term became a feminist calling card.
It's Ms.
As the years passed, and the idea behind the name resonated with millions, Sheila Michaels continued her commitment to activism, gathered oral histories of the civil rights era, traveled to Singapore, Turkey, India, and Japan, as well as married a Japanese chef, Hikaru Shiki.
She later got divorced, but continued to thrive in the civil rights movements, while simultaneously advocating for the use of “Ms.” Michaels died from leukemia on June 22, 2017, at the age of 78. Her modern viewpoint and feminist championing lives on to this day.
Sources/Resources
THE SKINNY
Sheila Michaels is most widely know for bringing the honorific “Ms.” into the spotlight on a radio interview, calling it “a timid eight-year crusade”
Sheila was expelled from William & Mary College for political activism, and protested against the censorship of her college paper
Sheila was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality, worked as a technical editor, New York cab driver, Japanese restaurant owner, and oral historian throughout her life