Women's Forum Oral History Collection Interview Index

Amanda Joan McKay Smith was born in White Post, Virginia. She grew up on a farm with her mother and siblings. Smith became involved in gender activism in the early 1970s while working for Senator George McGovern, when she was assigned to work on women’s issues for McGovern’s office alongside her typical clerical duties. Later that decade, Smith began working with North Carolina’s Department of Vocational Education to implement Title IX and other laws that required states to make vocational education more equitable for all genders. During the ERA ratification movement, Smith was active in groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the National Women’s Political Caucus, but dedicated most of her time to vocational education equity. At the time of the interview, Smith lived in Durham, North Carolina and was active in the Durham Verge Alliance.