Happy Women's Equality Day!
Did you know that today, August 26 is Women's Equality Day in the US? This
day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US
Constitution, giving women the right to vote. Women's suffrage was first proposed in 1848, but did not become law until 1920, 72
years later. For 72 years, American women organized, rallied, and
fought for the right to vote, something we take for granted today.
Women's Equality Day was first celebrated in 1971, after New York
Congresswoman Bella Abzug proposed to mark August 26 as Women's
Equality Day. I had the honor of meeting Bella Abzug in 1980 at a
rally. She was a formidable, charming woman with a great passion for
social change and women's rights. She died in 1998.
In 1995, at the World Summit on Economic Development in Copenhagen, Bella said:
Our struggle is about resisting the slide into a morass of anarchy, violence, intolerance, inequality and injustice.
Our struggle is about reversing the trends of social, economic, political and ecological crisis.
Our struggle is about creating sustainable lives, and attainable dreams...
Because the root of the problem is persistent inequalities and growing inequities.
For us to realize our dreams, we must keep our heads in the clouds and our feet on the ground.
We must marshal our courage and creativity and act together...If we love ourselves, if we love our young, if we love our country and the earth, -- and we do -- then that same motivation must move us to create not only the words but the actions to remove the great divide between rich and poor.
In a Presidential Proclamation on Women's Equality Day, President Obama said:
Today, our country renews its commitment to freedom and justice for all our citizens. As we prepare to celebrate this women's day of equality, we reflect on the sacrifices once made to allow women and girls the basic rights and choices we freely exercise today. The future we leave to our daughters and granddaughters will be determined by our willingness to build on the achievements of our past and move forward as one people and one Nation. The fight for women's equality is not a woman's agenda, but an American agenda.
I hope that all women of voting age in the US will remember what a precious gift it is to be able to vote. I hope that all women will take to heart Bella's words and know that the first act in the struggle for equality and justice for all people is to exercise your right to vote, not just in Presidential and national elections, but on every level.
Amazing that not all that long ago women couldn't even vote, and now here we are making policy, running for office, and effecting change through blogs like this one.
You do Bella proud, Momos!
Posted by: Mom101 | August 27, 2009 at 04:42 AM