Dorothy Pitman Hughes: pioneering Black feminist dies age 84

The pioneering Black feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a community activist who co-founded Ms magazine with Gloria Steinem and appeared with her in one of the most iconic photos of the second-wave feminist movement, has died. She was 84.

Hughes died on 1 December in Tampa, Florida, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, according to funeral director Maurice Sconiers. Her daughter, Delethia Ridley Malmsten, said the cause was old age.

Hughes and Steinem forged a powerful speaking partnership in the early 1970s, touring the country at a time when feminism was seen as predominantly white and middle class. Steinem credited Hughes with helping her become comfortable speaking in public.

She moved to New York City in the late 1950s and worked as a salesperson, nightclub singer and house cleaner. By the 1960s she had become involved in the civil rights movement, working with Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X.

She set up the West 80th St Community Childcare Center, where in 1968 she met Steinem, who was then a journalist writing a story for New York Magazine. They became friends and from 1969 to 1973 spoke across the country on gender and race issues. In 1972, they co-founded Ms, whose first issue featured Wonder Woman on its cover.

She is survived by three daughters: Malmsten, Patrice Quinn and Angela Hughes.