"sister organizations" founded by 1979. As COYOTE gained credibility as a national movement, it gained affiliations with more liberal and mainstream feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women (NOW), Wages for Housework, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the American Bar Association. These affiliations were possible in part due to COYOTE's wide support base, which at one point consisted of 270,000 members. COYOTE v. Roberts In 1976, COYOTE, led by St. James, filed a lawsuit against Rhode Island. In the case, COYOTE v. Roberts, the argument was based on how much power the state should have to control the sexual activity of its citizens. The lawsuit also alleged discrimination on how the law was being applied. Data was submitted that demonstrated selective prosecution: the Providence police were arresting female sex workers far more often than the male customers. St. James testified in the case. Although the case eventually was dismissed when Rhode Island General Assembly changed the prostitution statute in 1980, COYOTE and St. James are given credit as one of the reasons prostitution in Rhode Island was decriminalized, although prostitution was outlawed again in 2009. "Samantha" and Gloria Lockett were co-directors of COYOTE in the early 1990s. They had been critical of the group for focusing on "higher class" prostitutes (such as call girls and escorts) and white sex workers, while ignoring the concerns of streetwalkers and ethnic minorities. In 2009, Bella Robinson founded the Rhode Island chapter of the organization (COYOTE RI) and currently serves as the executive director. , Norma Jean Almodovar serves as the executive director of the Los Angeles branch of COYOTE. See also A Vindication of the Rights of Whores International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education Prostitution in Rhode Island Prostitution in the United States Sex-positive feminism Sex worker Sex worker rights World Charter for Prostitutes Rights References Further reading Jenness, Valerie. Making it Work: The Prostitutes' Rights Movement in Perspective (1993, Walter de Gruyter, Inc., New York) Pheterson, Gail. A Vindication of the Rights of Whores (1989, Seal Press, Washington.) . Gilmore, S. (2010). Strange Bedfellows: Building Feminist Coalitions Around Sex Work in the 1970s. No Permanent Waves, 342–94. External links Official COYOTE LA website Coyote (Organization). Records, 1962-1989: A Finding Aid.Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. 1973 establishments in the United States Prostitution Sex worker organizations in the