Rev. Barrow's lifelong commitment to civil rights activism began at age 12, when she organized a demonstration with her fellow Black students, demanding to be allowed to ride the all-white school bus. She went to seminary at 16, and worked at a welder at a shipyard in Washington during WWII. In the 50's, Rev. Barrow worked as an organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1963, she attended the March On Washington, and marched in 1965 on Bloody Sunday. Alongside Rev. Jesse Jackson, she helped organize the Chicago chapter of Operation Breadbasket, which later became Operation PUSH. In the 80s,she served as president of Operation PUSH, and was Rev. Jackson's campaing manager when he ran for president in 1984. She was an advocate for women's rights and LGBT equality, and was an AIDS activist (her son, Keith, died of AIDS in 1983). Rev. Barrow was a mentor to countless young activists, and in later years, focused on gun violence in Chicago and threats to the Voting Rights Act. She died March 12, 2015, just days after hearing her godson, President Barack Obama, speak at the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. She was 90.
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