Women's History Month: Morgan Ahern 1948-2019

This obituary came to RantWoman in email. There are references to a blo and a Facebook page, both called Lolo Dikto. Here are a few comments from RantWoman. Below that, Some of the rest of this post will be very difficult to read.

RantWoman in no way considers herself a student of Romani culture. Two anecdotes illustrate the depth of RantWoman's lack of experience.

--RantMom worked for a time at a fabric store. RantMom complained vociferously sometimes about how a large flock of "the gypsies" would come to the store, run all over the place and steal things. RantWoman has no personal experience with this topic.

Also a patriarch of the local community died and a friend of RantDad's got a gig with his band playing music for most of three days for the man's wake.

Clearly there is much more to know.

Morgan Ahern 1948-2019

By Susanna Smith, 1953, with help from Liz Lewis, 1956, and Lori Bradford, 1952

Morgan Ahern, Romani name Punkajia Jiavonni Morgan Luczako Zyrelic Fucharelle Heron, born on March 10, 1948, in Brooklyn NY, died of lung cancer on December 4, 2019 on Vashon Island, WA. Her father, Cornelius Ahern, was Romanichal, from Ireland, her mother, Rosemary Ahern, was Sinti, from Italy. Her mother’s family fled Italy shortly before WWII, those of her family who were not able to leave were killed in Auschwitz. Her father’s family had been in the U.S. for many generations.

At the age of seven, Morgan was taken from her birth family and put into foster care, as was common with Romani (Gypsy) children at the time. Morgan lost her birth language and had her hair cut, the style of her clothes changed, and her name changed to Jean. She was bounced around to different foster homes and orphanages, and eventually ended up at Queen of the Rosary Academy in Amityville, NY as a teen. There she became girlfriends with another girl (Sue), and because of their lesbian relationship, they were sent to Pilgrim State Children’s Mental Hospital, where they were given electroshock treatment for their lesbianism. Sue ended up committing suicide, and Morgan got out of the hospital by pretending to become “normal” – wearing a dress, shaving her legs, putting on makeup. After being discharged from the hospital, with no way to find her birth family, and nowhere to go, she ended up on the streets. She also did a period of time in the Women’s House of Detention in Manhattan, where a brief encounter with Angela Davis, also locked up there, changed her life. That, and that she was offered a place to stay by a woman who befriended her - Jill Johnston. She became involved in the women’s and gay rights and anti-Vietnam war movements at this time.

Morgan saw a sign at a methadone clinic offering young women free tuition and room and board to go to Notre Dame of Staten Island College. She went there for two years, and then to Richmond College (also free tuition), part of the City University of NY, where she earned a women’s studies degree.. She received her M.A. in sociology and history from Goddard Cambridge, Cambridge, MA. As one of the first women to receive a women’s studies degree, she was recruited by the University of Colorado in Boulder to help set up a women’s study program there. She then moved to Denver, where she reunited with her mother, running into her on a downtown street – her mother had moved to Denver to live near Morgan’s brother and his family. Morgan’s sister ended up in Denver as well. 

In Denver, Morgan worked various jobs to pay the rent, while working in and helping to organize various political groups. She worked in one of the women’s bookstores, helped out at Big Mama Rag, a feminist newspaper, and was an organizer of the Women’s Psychiatric Inmates Liberation Front, which protested the use of electroshock therapy and forced drugging of psychiatric inmates. 

Morgan moved to Seattle in 1985, where she immediately became involved in political activism there – solidarity with liberation movements in Central America, Palestinian rights, fighting the right wing emboldened by Reaganomics, fighting racism and anti-Semitism, working for women’s and gay rights, against police brutality. She got a job as a note-taker for Deaf students at Seattle Central Community College, where she enjoyed interacting with the Deaf community and with the other students and teachers. She became a sought after speaker around Romani culture and politics, about anarchism and fascism, about gay issues, about Madness, about the Holocaust, speaking at Seattle’s community colleges, the University of Washington, King County Libraries, the WA State Holocaust Education and Resource Center and more.  She started Red Bandana, an educational and political organization formed to draw attention to racism against the Romani people. She created a blog and Facebook page, both called Lolo Diklo:  Rromani Against Racism: dedicated to raising awareness about the history, culture and true lives of Romani people worldwide. She helped organize many protests, demonstrations, marches, concerts and cultural events.

In the late 1990’s Morgan moved to Vashon Island, where she continued her speaking and activism and also founded the Romani Traveling Museum, which is a collection of Romani books, clothing, jewelry, and artwork. The Museum never traveled much, but was available for viewing upon request. Morgan also worked at the Vashon (King County) Library, where she made many friends of both co-workers and patrons.

Due to Morgan’s early negative and traumatic interactions with the health care system, she rarely went to the doctor. In October of 2019, she became so ill she consented to go to a clinic, and they sent her to Tacoma General Hospital where she was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer. She decided against any treatment, which would perhaps have prolonged her life somewhat, but would have had debilitating side effects. She left the hospital to stay with friends on Vashon (big thank you to Rayna and Jay!), who took over her care until her passing, along with much help from the many friends that Morgan had made over the years. Her body was cremated and she will have a plot and stone in Vashon Cemetery, with her ashes making their way to places dear to her and to her people.

Morgan is survived by her brother Neil, sister Laurie, nephews Brendan (Kelli) and Sean, her cousins in Ireland, and her chosen family - LoriLu, Susanna, Liz, Shon, Amber and Clay, the community of librarians on Vashon, her Burton friends who looked out for each other, the college teachers she worked with over the years, the Colorado and Seattle feminists, the Eugene contingent, her dog Pinkie Lee, friends young and old, near and far, too numerous to name them all. We will all miss her stories and her passion.