Dorothy Belden '88 fought hard for what she believed in.
In 1957, she was one of the first women hired as a copy editor at Wichita's The Beacon newspaper and later became the first woman on The Eagle and Beacon's editorial page staff.
During the 1960s and '70s, she helped lead the local women's movement. She served as the first president of the Kansas Women's Political Caucus and spoke out against low pay for women at The Eagle and Beacon, where she also worked to organize a newsroom labor union.
In a 1989 Wichita Eagle interview, Belden said, "I was a pain in the neck to my friends then because I just couldn't talk about anything but injustice, the injustice against workers, the injustice to women. But I'm proud that for once in my life I stood up for what was right."
In 1980, Belden's focus shifted to another form of injustice, discrimination against senior citizens. She left her newspaper work to earn a master's degree in gerontology at Wichita State. She then took over as editor of Active Aging, a newsletter for area seniors. By the time she retired in 1989, Active Aging had more than quadrupled in size.
Women's and senior citizens' rights weren't this activist's only passions. She loved art and did charity work throughout the city.
Belden is survived by her husband, three daughters and two step-sons. She died July 24 in Wichita at the age of 76.
