Who is Margot Smith?
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I'm an activist Democrat living in Berkeley, CA. with a doctorate in Public Health from UC Berkeley. I worked as a research social scientist for the California State Health Department in environmental health, mental health and survey research; for Stanford in rural health care, for UC Davis and the State of Hawaii in access to medical care. Since retirement I produce political videos. As an activist I've organized many events for the public for important causes.
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I am running because I believe that we need to protest our state legislatures' support of high-rise market-rate housing, a gift to developers, and oppose their weakening of environmental laws.
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I cherish diversity. While in Los Angeles, I worked in Watts and in the Latinx communities; and in Salinas, CA. supported farm worker unions. At Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, I was head of Black Studies for two years in the 1980s and dealt with pervasive institutional racism. In Berkeley I recently wrote a city declaration honoring Byron Rumford for outlawing racial discrimination in housing. I housed a homeless African American UCB student in my home for two years until he graduated. Diversity powers our creativity in the U. S.
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I’ve lived in Berkeley since 1969, (except for two years in IL), raised four children as a single mother for 10 years, and love them and my six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. I care about their futures.
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I was born in San Francisco, grew up in Beverly Hills before it was an enclave for the rich; attended USC and UCLA. After my divorce I earned a B.Ed. and M.A. at the University of Hawaii and a doctorate in Public Health at UC Berkeley.
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My research as a social scientist included mentally disabled populations, rural health care, toxic spills, cultural biases in IQ tests, the geographic distribution of medical services and access to health care. If you would like to see my published articles please visit Researchgate.com.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margot-Smith/publications
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My Political Videos
• Margot Smith for Assembly: (2 Minutes.)
• Democracy in the Workplace
• The U.N. Conference on Women, Beijing 1995
• Honoring Women Veterans
• Canada’s Single Payer Health System
•. Damu Smith: Conspiracy Against BlackYouth
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Memberships
• Chair, Berkeley Gray Panthers, 12 years,
• Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club,
• American Public Health Association,
Founder, Rural Health Committee,
• Berkeley Community Action,
• Berkeley People's Alliance,
• Ashby Village Action Committee,
• East Bay Communities for Action,
• Our Revolution,
• Healthy California Now, Single Payer Health Care.
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Selected Publications
• Organizing Seniors for Action: a Practical Guide,
COMM-ORG Papers Collection, Editor: Randy Stoecker 2011, Volume 17
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• Granny Goes to Washington and Goes to Jail.
Margot Smith. Chapter 1 in Democratizing the Global Economy. The Battle Against the World Bank and the IMF. Kevin Danaher, Ed. Common Courage Press, Monroe, ME. A Global Exchange Book, 2001
Margot Smith and kids, 1966
Margot Smith and kids, 1972
Margot and daughter Janet at the
UN Conference on Women, Beijing, China 1995
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Margot and daughter Janet, 2023
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