Women's Forum Oral History Collection Interview Index

Miriam Johnson Dorsey was born April 6, 1944 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her mother worked in the North Carolina legislature. She attended schools in Raleigh, including Broughton High School. Dorsey attended Peace College (now William Peace University) and finished her Bachelors degree at UNC Chapel Hill in political science. After college, she worked as a secretary in the North Carolina General Assembly, and then went on to work in Washington DC for Congressman Richardson Preyer. Dorsey became involved with gender activism while working for Prior. She joined the Women’s Political Caucus on Capitol Hill and through that group became an outspoken advocate for women’s equal pay and employment opportunity in Congress, garnering significant media coverage for her activism. She left DC and began working for Governor Hunt’s administration in North Carolina in 1977 as the Director of the Council for Women. During her time with the Council, she focused on efforts to help victims of domestic violence. Around this time, Dorsey also started a 501(c)(3) organization to fund election campaigns of pro-ERA politicians around the country. She was a founding member of the North Carolina’s Women’s Forum, served on the national board and was the ERA representative for the National Women’s Political Caucus, and was active in ERA America. Later in life, Dorsey specialized in mediation and earned a Masters in Conflict Resolution. She passed away in January 2022.