**MOST POLITICIANS THINK WOMEN SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD. IN THE LAST ELECTION 22 MILLION WOMEN AGREED. THIS YEAR MAKE THEM LISTEN…VOTE!**
The Equal Rights Amendment is NOT in the U.S. Constitution. The Trump administration wants to make sure it doesn’t get in the Constitution and has filed asking the Federal Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Nevada, Illinois and Virginia to force U.S. archivist David Ferriero “to carry out his statutory duty of recognizing the complete and final adoption” of the ERA as the 28th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss the case.
When, in 1972, Congress passed the ERA after 49 years of debate, it set a 7-year deadline for ratification by the necessary 38 states. Bowing to public pressure a 3-year extension was voted by Congress. 92% of the 38 states had ratified when the extension ran out in 1982.
While attempts have been on-going in Congress to eliminate the deadline, the campaign for ratification has continued. In 2017 Nevada became the 36th state to ratify; in 2018 Illinois ratified; and early this year Virginia ratified the ERA.
Now Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is leading the lawsuit in DC. In his statement of condemnation against the Trump administration he said, “Donald Trump is telling the women of America that, after 231 years, they should just sit down and wait even longer for equal treatment under the Constitution. It’s wrong, it’s offensive, and it’s shameful. If the Trump administration opposes a Constitutional guarantee of equality for women, then they should just say so rather than hiding behind process and trying to throw the issue into (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell’s hands.”
These few words- “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United State or by any state on account of sex” - will mean that sex will be given the same scrutiny under the law as race, religion or national origin. It is justice long over-due.
No doubt the Trump administration is hoping you won’t be paying attention while our lives are in such turmoil during the pandemic and the constant attention being paid to the elections. However, it is urgent we not be fooled yet again by these tactics.
While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world, you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.
That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.
Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland, and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.
Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters, and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.
Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.
Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.
You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.
Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.
When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.
By John Lewis
Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral. July 30, 2020
YOU ARE NOT JUST VOTING FOR PRESIDENT!
You are voting for who replaces Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
You are voting for Federal Judges who are not far-right ideologues.
You are voting for the next Secretary of Education.
You are voting for the next Attorney General.
You are voting for saving National Parks.
You are voting for letting kids out of cages.
You are voting for clean air and clean water.
You are voting for scientists to be able to speak freely about climate change and public health and to be respected for their knowledge.
You are voting for housing rights.
You are voting for LGBTQ+ people to be treated justly and with dignity.
You are voting for people of different faiths to be treated as full citizens.
You are voting for Dreamers.
You are voting for the protection of Social Security and Medicare.
You are voting to bring back manufacturing jobs to America.
You are voting for veterans to get the care they deserve.
You are voting for rural hospitals.
You are voting so that everyone can have healthcare.
You are voting for public broadcasting (PBS).
You are voting for renewed efforts to eliminate systemic racism.
You are voting against hate.
You are voting to have a President who doesn’t embarrass this country every time he attends an international meeting.
You are voting for a President who respects and stands with our Allies.
You are voting against allowing the United States to become yet another authoritarian regime.
Joe Biden may not have been your first choice for the Democratic nominee and he’s not perfect but he will be 1000 times better than four more years of Trump.
MAKE SURE ARE REGISTERED AND HAVE A PLAN TO ENSURE YOU VOTE!
#womensvoicesmedia
On August 26, 2020, America celebrated 100 years of voting rights for women. It’s been over 100 years since women have been granted the right to vote in our country. And that does not include all women. Black women were not given full voting rights until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. And yet, they were an incredible part of the struggle back in the beginning of the 20th century. America’s troubling history with women’s rights has included black women. Black women were at the forefront of every major battle in U.S History – the abolition movement during the 1850s, the suffragist movements of the 1860s and 1920s, and the Civil Rights Movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Together, black and white women have paved the way for all women to have racial and gender equality. And yet, we have a long, long way to go.
Dare to Run is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to train women how to run for public office in New York and in 14 states around the country. We have a two-semester certification program that gives women all of the tools and skills they need to run ambitious campaigns for public office in their respective communities. This year, in honor of Women’s Equality Day, Dare to Run is proud to celebrate 100 years of voting rights – and what that means for our country. Since 1920, women have impacted every single election in our nation’s history. They have contributed to what is known as the gender gap in electoral politics – the difference between the men and women vote. As you may have guessed, overall, women tend to vote for more Democratic Candidates; men tend to vote more Republican. The gender gap between men and women’s voting trends is deeply partisan and has grown increasingly so over the last thirty years. Experts predict it will continue to be that way for a long time. Dare to Run is proud to celebrate women’s history this year with a small celebration in honor of the past, the present and the future.
We toast the ladies of the past – the women suffragists who fought for our right to vote in the early 1900s, who went on hunger strikes and protests so that future generations of women would be able to vote.
We toast the ladies who completed the first Cohort of Dare to Run – Giselle, Keyla, Nayma, Shanequa, Melissa, Jillian, Wanda, Sheba, and Jusinta – you are a phenomenal group of women and we are so proud to recognize the contributions you have made to your communities in New York City and beyond. We look forward to watching all of your accomplishments as you embrace your journey to public office. We toast the ladies of the future – the incoming class of Dare to Run for Fall 2020 – Karinna, Stephanie, Dorian, Tammy, Sharon and JoEllen – we salute your dedication to running for office and changing your communities and the world you will one day leave behind. We know you will do amazing things with this information and we are so happy to have you be a part of this program.
And finally – we toast YOU: the person who is reading this blog post. Check out https://www.daretorun.org and learn how YOU Can enroll in the program, get the hands on tools and skills you need to run a successful campaign for public office, and change the world. It is within reach. Happy Women’s Equality Day!
Rachelle Suissa
Founder and CEO
Dare to Run
#womensvoicesmedia