Hillcrest Women
Thank you, Joyce Beers
“Hillcrest will continue to be an open-minded community. It will include yuppies, it will
include gays and senior citizens…”
Her name appears on our community center in the Uptown District, but who was Joyce Beers? She was an active and community-minded woman who was instrumental in shaping the early organizational elements of the Hillcrest. And she was a proponent of many projects that changed the face of our neighborhood.
Joyce was a champion of public transit and neighborhood revitalization. She loved Hillcrest. For 16 years Joyce served on the San Diego Transit Board and received a special
commendation from SANDAG for her work on public transportation.
The 92103 resident and activist was also the co-founder of the Uptown Community Planning Committee, serving as its chair from 1971 to 1973 then again from 1975 to 1976.
Joyce ran for the District 2 City Council seat in 1979, the year that Bill Cleator was elected. Her many accomplishments include being President of the League of Women Voters from 1973 to 1975 and the first Executive Director of the Hillcrest Association in 1984. Joyce Beers died in 1989 at the age of 60. It’s a proper fit to have our central neighborhood meeting hall named in her honor.
On this page
How to celebrate Women’s Equality Day
Activists Aida Mancillas and Gracia de Pick
New Jersey Quaker Alice Paul (1885-1977)
This ardent fighter for women’s suffrage and equal rights founded the National Woman’s Party and drafted the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1923. Alice Paul worked for its passage into the 1970s, although it did not become law. Celebrate Women’s Equality Day by watching HBO’s movie “Iron-Jawed Angels.”Learn more about Alice Paul
How to celebrate Women’s Equality Day (August 26th)
Every year on August 26 we honor those who fought in the struggle for a woman’s right to vote. When writing the US Constitution our founding fathers forgot about their mothers, aunts and daughters. It took 144 years (from 1776 to 1920) before these women were allowed the same right as their brothers to choose leaders on election day. “Failure is impossible,” said Susan B. Anthony. But she forgot to mention how slow success could be. Susan B. Anthony was amazing — working every waking hour for 50 years so women could vote. Sadly, she died 14 years before it happened. Don’t take her struggle for granted. Vote! Women’s equality still is not guaranteed by our Constitution.