Cecile Richards (born July 15, 1957)[1] is an American activist who served as the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richards was elected to the Ford Foundation board of trustees. In spring 2019, Richards co-founded Supermajority, a women's political action group.
Early life, education, and political activism
Richards was born in Waco, Texas, and is the daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards (née Willis), an American politician and activist. Her father, David Richards,[2] practiced law and built a practice dealing with civil-rights plaintiffs, newspapers, and labor unions. He also won several landmark cases, including a voting-rights lawsuit that went to the Supreme Court.[3] Cecile Richards initially went to public school, but, in ninth grade, she was disciplined for protesting the Vietnam War, after she wore a black armband. She then attended the progressive St. Stephen's Episcopal School for the remainder of high school.[3]
Richards' parents were immersed in political activism from her early years on. In January of 1971 at the age of 13 she was named an honorary page to the 62nd Texas State Legislator. At the age of 16, she helped her mother campaign for Sarah Weddington, the attorney who won Roe v. Wade, in her bid for the Texas state legislature.[4]
Richards stepped down as president of Planned Parenthood in 2018[12][13] and was succeeded by Leana Wen.[14] In April 2019, Richards co-founded a new political action group, Supermajority, to educate and train women to further women's political agenda for the 2020 elections.[15][16]
Supermajority
In April 2019, Richards co-founded a new political action group, Supermajority, that "aims to train and mobilize 2 million women over the next year to become organizers, activists, and leaders ahead of the 2020 election" to create a "multiracial, intergenerational movement for women's equity."[17][18] Founded with activists Alicia Garza and Ai-jen Poo, the group hopes to "push politicians to adopt an agenda akin to what Richards called 'a women's new deal'", with issues like "voting rights, gun control, paid family leave, equal pay, and others" viewed as "soft issues" being seen as "issues that impact everyone".[19]
Since women comprised the majority of the electorate in the 2018 midterm election, Supermajority hopes to further this trend, educating women on "basic organizing skills like voter registration" and building a larger platform for female candidates in the 2020 election.[17] Richards says "[the group will be successful] if 54% of the voters in this country are women and if we are able to insert into this country the issues that women care about and elect a president who's committed to doing something about them."[20]
In 2018 Richards published her memoir Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead. The memoir discusses her upbringing and career.[22][23]
Personal life
Richards is married to Kirk Adams, a labor organizer with the Service Employees International Union, and has three children.[7][24] Their eldest, Lily Adams, served as press secretary for Tim Kaine, later as an advisor of communications for Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign and communications director for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.[25] Richards and her husband live in New York City.[26] Richards was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in mid 2023.[27]