Below is a "This is something positive we can do" alert that I received from my dear friend and stellar activist Jill Moss Greenberg. (Jill was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 1995.)
THIS IS SOMETHING POSITIVE WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW.
Dear Friends,
Another incredible loss with the election results is that while we were so close to seeing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) finally over the finish line - after 100 years! - and recognized as the 28th Amendment, we now only have 61 days to see it done! When the new administration takes office, it will be a huge setback that will delay the possibility of recognition for countless years to come.
Our best chance is for President Biden to PUBLISH THE ERA before the end of his presidency! All that is
required is for him to direct the U.S. Archivist to Publish the ERA.
It has already met all the Constitution Article V requirements; the American Bar Association, in August 2024, determined that the ERA is already the 28th Amendment and should be made official. President Biden now has nothing politically to lose by directing the Archivist to publish it! Being the President to finally bring us the ERA will become a huge part of his legacy. Yes, it will immediately be challenged and go to the Supreme Court, but this will happen regardless. We need to force the issue, and the President publishing it will do just that. We have 61 days to persuade him to do this.
VoteEquality is currently driving a big black RV around DC with the message “PUBLICATION” on it - a billboard for the ERA. They are also doing other actions, including being at the White House every single day like the Suffragists did over 100 years ago. Most of us can’t be in DC, but we can be actively involved.
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW:
1. SEND POSTCARDS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN
Write to President Biden telling him to PUBLISH EQUALITY IN OUR CONSTITUTION. You can send a card daily, but especially mail one on December 10th, 2024 (the 101st anniversary of when ERA was originally introduced
to Congress). (A link for downloadable postcards is attached)
The address to send the postcards is: President Joseph Biden,
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20500
2. CALL THE WHITE HOUSE
Make daily calls or send emails to the White House with the message of "Publish the already ratified ERA, Mr. President" The phone number is 202-456-1111 and calls are accepted 11am-3pm Tuesdays-Thursdays. On other
days, it has a message to send an email through https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.
3. CONTACT VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
Ask the VP to urge the President to Publish the ERA . Her website is: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/vicepresident/
While we are recovering from the election results, part of our healing can be putting our energy where it can potentially make a real difference. Bringing the ERA over the finish line after 101 years is something we can try to do right now!
Thank yo!
Jill
Note from me:
In 1923, three years after ratification of the 19th Amendment and the diamond jubilee of the first women's rights convention in 1848, hundreds of women from across America gathered in Seneca Falls, New York. They were there for a 3-day event that opened with an outdoor pageant beside the river that flowed through town. Dances were performed on the lawn"depicting the awakening of women, of attainment of knowledge, her struggle for freedom and her gradual approach to an ideal state of living." Harriet Stanton Blatch, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's daughter, was a keynote speaker.
On Sunday, July 23, standing in the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church, Alice Paul unveiled the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that she co-authored with Crystal Eastman. The event culminated with a pilgrimage to Susan B. Anthony's grave in Rochester. In 1998, I attended an event In Seneca Falls, marking 75 years since the unveiling of the ERA. And now, 101 years later, we're still at it?! Onward! Full steam ahead!!
Images: banner with Ruth Bader Ginsburg's quote and signage in front of the First Presbyterian Church, photos by Penny Colman
Newspaper clipping: The Butte Post, (Butte, Montana), July 16,1923, p. 17.
Quote in text: The Buffalo News, July 21, 1923, p. 5.
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