Rae Unzicker

Rae Unzicker (b. Carole Renetta Engles, August 20, 1948 - March 22, 2001) was a civil rights activist and advocate for the rights of persons with psychiatric disabilities. Unzicker traveled to upwards of 45 states and many foreign countries for around 30 years to share her views on civil rights for these people. She was one of the first women to receive an award for her outspoken opinions for people with psychiatric disabilities.

Biography[]

Carole Renetta Engles was born in 1948, and grew up in Kansas.^[1] She suffered from a psychiatric disorder, which lead her parents to send her to many hospitals during her childhood years. She attended University of Kansas in 1966–1967, despite suffering a hospitalization during that year. She had a great personality, and many people fell for her passion for civil rights. It was easy for Unzicker to speak out about people with these disabilities, because she had one herself. ^[2]She married Jim Unzicker, who supported her ideas and opinions, on November 9, 1974. The two of them spent most of their time together advertising for business, and advocating for people with disabilities.

In 1979 she founded the "South Dakota Mental Health Advocacy Project" to work on the rights of psychiatric patients and persons with psychiatric conditions.^[1] This project would be published to inform the public of the struggles arising for people with these disabilities. The project also provides education and support for those people in need. Some other purposes for the project are to advocate for better funding, eliminate the bad reputation of disabled people, and to provide comfort and support to the families of people with psychiatric disabilities.

Awards and recognition[]

• Outstanding Woman in America, 1987, Women's Day Magazine
• Appointed by Bill Clinton to National Council on Disability, 1995
• Inspiration for NARPA article

Notes[]

References[]

• "A Civil Rights Pioneer Passes: Tribute to Rae Unzicker, NARPA, The Rights Tenet, Spring 2001 (available at http://scua.library.umass.edu/ead/mums818.html)
• "Rae Unzicker Papers, 1967-2000", Collection at UMass Amherst, Special Collections and University Archives (finding aid available at http://scua.library.umass.edu/ead/mums818.html)
• "NAMI South Dakota." (2021, May 22). (available at https://namisouthdakota.org/about-nami-south-dakota/mission/)
• "Rae Unzicker Papers, 1979-1997." Rae Unzicker Papers, 1979-1997 - Digital Commonwealth. (n.d.). (available at https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth-oai:np1978385)

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