Sallie Ann Harrison

Sallie Ann Harrison grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi, where her white, pro-integration parents modeled defiance of the racist status quo of the time. During the 1960s her political activism took root in the civil rights movement. After graduating from Delta State College in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1971, she relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where she honed her radical feminism and journalism skills. Her column, “Radical Ravings,” in WomaNews was read throughout Florida and became a thorn in anti-feminist Anita Bryant’s side. Sallie joined thousands of women in Tallahassee, Florida, and Washington, D.C., to demand ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. 

In her professional career with the Florida Abuse Registry, Sallie agitated and intervened tirelessly for better services and legal justice in order to protect elder Floridians from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. She retired in 2004 after completing a rewrite of Florida Statute 415, which provided Floridians the right to age in place and be free from abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Other activism included cofounding the first Rape Crisis Center in Florida and writing the first grant in Florida to study and investigate domestic violence.

Sallie’s outspoken, creative take on life, love, and the pursuit of happiness also took form in comedic writing, plays, and performances. Her play Turkey Baster premiered at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville, Florida, in 1982. Her plays were also produced at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. Sallie lives in Gainesville with her wife Pandora Litman and their cat Raj. She has four grandsons and one great-grandson. They are following in the Harrison footsteps, working for justice for all Floridians.