Women across America have largely been excluded from history; including those who repeatedly placed their own lives at risk in pursuit of a cause greater than themselves.

Mabel Norris Reese was one of these women.

In the 1950s, Reese was the owner, editor, and lead reporter for Florida's small-town newspaper, the Mount Dora Topic. For more than a decade, this courageous journalist exposed rampant corruption and racism among Lake County’s leading law enforcement and judicial officials during the Jim Crow era. Her groundbreaking civil rights coverage revealed widespread cases of planted evidence, false arrests, brutal beatings, and pre-meditated murders. In return, her life was threatened, a cross burned in her yard, her home bombed, and her business vandalized at the hands of vigilantes.

Yet she faced down these threats with an unending pursuit of truth and justice, and her quest to ensure civil rights reflects the highest qualities of humanity and continues to underscore the importance of a free press. 

For the past several years, a determined group of community activists has petitioned the governor's office and the selection committee to recognize Mabel by inducting her into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. To date, those efforts have been in vain.

We believe a national focus on Mabel will not only alert women across America to the importance of her legacy, but will inspire future generations of women to find courage in the face of fear.

Because, quite simply, Mabel was a badass.

Nominations will soon begin, and once again our efforts will be focused on circumventing political blockades with an overwhelming outpouring of support. For more information on the life of Mabel Norris Reese, visit remembermabel.com.