Leah Rogne

Leah Rogne

Leah Rogne was born on August 4, 1947 in Fargo, North Dakota to Leslie and Katherine (Kasmark) Rogne. She has two older brothers: Trana, who was born in 1943, and Seward, who was born in 1945. Leah was born into a farming family. Her father’s brother farmed the adjoining farm and this allowed Leah to have a close relationship with her four cousins. She has fond memories of the freedom of being able to run free and roam the fields as a group. Leah’s parents were not religious and were also very involved in activist groups. Both of these facts had a profound effect on the way Leah would view the world as she grew up.

She initially attended college in the midwest after graduating from high school. This was during the 1960s when our country was undergoing lots of social change. Leah became frustrated with many of the things she saw so she decided to leave the country. She traveled in Europe and studied while she was there. She kept herself up-to-date on what was happening in the United States by reading the local English papers wherever she happened to be. She eventually returned to the United States and attended Tougaloo College in Mississippi to further her education. This is the same college attended earlier by Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi. Leah’s attendance at Tougaloo was during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and was another great influential factor in how Leah viewed the world.

Leah eventually ended up in California and was very active with Cesar Chavez and his efforts to form a union for migrant farm workers. It was during this period, in 1971, that Leah met a man named Fred who shared her passion for activism. It would be twelve years and two children later that Leah and Fred would actually marry, and then it was only for insurance purposes. Leah has had a varied and interesting career path, which eventually landed her in Mankato, Minnesota, as a professor in the Sociology Department. She still has her home in North Dakota and lives here in Mankato during the school year.

Her passion for her activist work continues to be a driving force and the great passion in her life.

Videos	Transcripts
Memories of Growing up in North Dakota(WMV)	Memories of Growing up in North Dakota
Assigned Chores by Gender(WMV)	Assigned Chores by Gender
Growing up in Activist Household(WMV)	Growing up in Activist Household
Sexual Revolution(WMV)	Sexual Revolution
College in Mississippi(WMV)	College in Mississippi
Going to California(WMV)	Going to California
Leah's Primary Goals(WMV)	Leah's Primary Goals

Note: Videos play best in Windows Media Player version 9 or newer.

Group Members Liz Cody, Kandice Cooke, Teila Frederick, Julie Mortensen, Danelle Parrish

Group Reflections