Geraldine Anne Ferraro Zaccaro, 1935 - 2011
Promotional image (used in 2007)
Born: 26 August 1935, Newburgh, New York
Died: 26 March 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Ferraro's father was an Italian immigrant, her mother the child of Italian immigrants. Educated at a Catholic schools, she attended Marymount Academy at Tarrytown, Now York where she was a member of the honor society and voted most likely to succeed, graduating in 1952. She earned a scholarship to Marymount Manhattan College, graduating in 1956, the first person in her family to do so. She became a school teacher, married John Zaccaro, started law school at night, and was admitted to the New York State bar in 1961. She devoted herself to her family through the decade but joined the office of the Queens district attorney's office, investigating rape, crimes against the elderly, child abuse, and domestic violence. Encouraged by Mario Cuomo she ran for a House seat in 1978 and served three terms. She was chosen by Walter Mondale as his running mate in 1984, she took her feisty blend of law-and-order concerns and liberal values on the road, covering more miles and speaking more often than Mondale himself. They were swamped by a landslide for Reagan, but for both women and immigrants her campaign helped break down barriers. She returned to practicing law, public speaking, and was US Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1993 to 1996. She ran a brief campaign for the US Senate in 1992, a more focused effort in 1998 failed when outspent 5-to-1 by Charles Shumer. In November of 1998 she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and given three to five years to live. She supported Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential campaign. Complications of her cancer hospitalized her about a week before her death.
Biography from Wikipedia and The New York Times obituary
Geraldine Ferraro quotes:
Quotes found : 32 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 3) 1 2 3 Next
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- But I made one mistake which I would never repeat as a member of Congress when I was in Washington, and that was when I was elected I didn't go on trips because I was so afraid of having someone accuse me of taking junkets. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - By choosing a woman to run for our nation's second highest office, you sent a powerful signal to all Americans. There are no doors we cannot unlock. We will place no limits on achievement. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - Acceptance speech (19 July 1984) - Campaigns, even if you lose them, do serve a purpose. My candidacy has said the days of discrimination are numbered. American women will never be second-class citizens again. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - Concession speech (6 November 1984) - I am absolutely thrilled. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - On her selection as VP nominee (12 July 1984) - I am the first to admit that were I not a woman, I would not have been the vice-presidential nominee. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - Letter to The New York Times (1988) - I didn't look very sensitive and they didn't know me very well. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - I don't consider myself a survivor; that's someone who has gone through something terrible. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - I have been extremely lucky; I am a person who is currently living with a cancer that is under control. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - I knew what leukemia and lymphoma were, but I had never heard of multiple myeloma. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - I'd call it a new version of voodoo economics, but I'm afraid that would give witch doctors a bad name. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - Interview with The Daily Breeze, Torrance, California (March 2008) - If you think somebody cares about you and believes your life is worth saving, how can you give up? permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - It was not so very long ago that people thought that semiconductors were part-time orchestra leaders and microchips were very, very small snack foods. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - It's okay in this country to be sexist. It's certainly not okay to be racist. permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - Let no one doubt, we will defend America's security and the cause of freedom around the world. But we want a president who tells us what America is fighting for, not just what we are fighting against. We want a president who will defend human rights — not just where it is convenient — but wherever freedom is at risk — from Chile to Afghanistan, from Poland to South Africa permalink
Geraldine Ferraro - Acceptance speech (19 July 1984)
Quotes found : 32 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 3) 1 2 3 Next
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