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Julia Reichert--Miss America 1968

Atlantic City

It was all pretty chaotic to me.  Police barricades, a lot of shouting, which scared me a bit.  There were plenty of very bold women, very individual, so I doubt it was Women Strike for Peace.  The people protesting us left the biggest impression on me.  They were vile.  And obviously upset.  And they did not understand what we were all about.  That was a big lesson to me.

Atlantic City is a place I spent part of each summer.  It was totally familiar to me, like home turf.  The folks on the boardwalk were like my family and friends' families.  But the feminists were NOT reaching them.  It was just shouting and insults from both sides.  I remember trying to talk sincerely with a few people on the other side of the barricade.  It was very tough.

Julia Reichert email to Judith Ezekiel, 9 August 2001.