Judy Baar Topinka was an incredible political leader; a very committed Czech/Slovak American; and also a committed Slavic leader who supported many different communities of Central and Eastern European heritages. Judy’s life was about bringing people together from all different backgrounds to make her home State of Illinois a strong and diverse place. Judy’s passing twelve years ago was abrupt and unexpected. Many miss her sense of humor and her sense of history. Many simply miss her simple yet honest style of leadership.
The link https://youtu.be/KYyTJmjyCQY contains a 2002 interview by Lucyana Migala with Judy on WCEV, a radio station that used to broadcast from Cicero, Illinois. Judy addresses the effort to build a statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in Washington, D.C. Masaryk was the first president of Czechoslovakia after the end of World War I. More information about the statue and Masaryk are at https://monumentalhistory.wordpress.com/2016/09/28/tomas-garrigue-masaryk/. Judy also speaks about the pride she had in her heritage and how being Slavic could often be an impediment for success in the United States. For Judy, ethnicity was an important aspect of everyone’s lives especially as citizens of the United States of America. One’s ethnic background was not an impediment, but a source of strength and solidarity with others.
Thank you Judy for loving your Slavic background! Thank you also for your support of memorializing President Masaryk in the United States! Our hope is that someday Judy’s home State of Illinois will recognize her in a similar manner. Like Masaryk, Judy certainly earned the honor.