NWHP Blog: Events and Articles posted by people like YOU » women’s rights

Equal Rights Amendment—NOW!

NWHP admin — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 07:21:19 +0000

The ERA was written by Alice Paul in 1923 and introduced to Congress every year until it passed out of both chambers in 1972. This amendment seemed to be received with enthusiasm and was ratified by 6 states in two days! However, the pace of the ratification slowed after 1975 and only 35 states (out of the 38 needed) had ratified it by 1978. In October of 1978 Congress extended the deadline for ratification to June 30, 1982. This extension expired and in 1982 and the ERA was not passed. This deadline has inhibited the ERA to be passed and since then the ERA has been loosing it’s fight for equality.

On January 11th, 2013 (in honor of Alice Paul’s Birthday) a petition was launched at the grassroots level by those who haven’t forgotten about the importance this legislation means to women & girls nationwide. This petition is on the Whitehouse.gov website and it’s purpose is to gain support for the ERA and to eliminate deadlines introduced in 1972.

Social media & grassroots organizing has given the ERA new life and the chance to gain the Nation’s attention once more. It has already collected more than 6,000 signatures in little over a week. If you would like to join this cause, CLICK the links BELOW!

Click HERE to sign the petition!!!

Click HERE to join the Facebook group!

Follow the ERA 2013 Action Campaign on Twitter @ERAAction

Click HERE to follow on Tumblr! (http://eraactioncampaign.tumblr.com/)

Written by: Kimberly Roush Blog Moderator

Kerber, Linda K., and Hart Jane Sherron. De. “Dimensions of Citizenship III.” Women’s America: Refocusing the past. 7th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Oxford UP, 1982. 719. Print.

Listen!, And You Can Hear the Suffragists!

Kate Campbell Stevenson — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 05:13:30 +0000

Fifteen years ago, I experienced a personal seismic shift as I first entered the Sewall Belmont House & Museum. How could I not have known about the National Woman’s Party? Raised in an educated Midwestern family of community activists, I was incensed that the early 20th Century suffragists’ stories were not included in my school history books! As I climbed the Sewall-Belmont winding staircase that day the portraits of Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Inez Milholland shouted to my spirit to learn more about their mission. It was a true awakening. Those brave women’s voices, whose protest banners silently screamed for Women’s Equality in 1917, continue to call out to us today to complete their mission. We’ve made progress –but are STILL fighting for fair pay, equal access, and control over our own bodies.

In 1920, as women won the vote nation wide, Alice Paul realized that victory was just the first step in the struggle to reach full equality. She went back to school for her law degree knowing that the women’s equality battle would be fought in the Courts and in Congress – as Lily Ledbetter, and many other women today know only too well.

Enjoying the ease of modern day computers and cell phones, I am inspired by the NWP’s creative visual rhetoric so aptly recorded through historic banners, the Allender Political Cartoons and the Congressional Voting Card Index displayed at the Sewall Belmont House & Museum. I can hear the echo of the NWP members’ determined voices working the front room phone banks lobbying Congress to support their equal rights legislation. Today, I proudly display a copy of one of the restored Allender Cartoons in my home. It serves as a daily reminder for me to use my voice and my actions to continue to speak up for women’s full equality and to encourage women everywhere to make their voices heard AND TO VOTE.

Listen -and you can hear the suffragists calling out for you to take action. Refuse to be part of the silent majority! Study the issues. Find your voice. Speak out often, encourage others, and VOTE!

Kate Campbell Stevenson –women’s activist, actor and producer of Women: Back to the Future. and Maryland delegate to Vision 2020, a national initiative to make equality a national priority through the shared leadership among women and men.

AUTUMN GEM: A Documentary on Modern China’s First Feminist

autumngem — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:31:31 +0000

Meet the “Chinese Joan of Arc” Qiu Jin (1875-1907), a radical women’s rights activist who defied tradition to become the leader of a revolutionary army. Qiu Jin spoke out against footbinding and arranged marriages and demanded equal opportunities for women. She attempted an armed uprising against the corrupt Qing Dynasty and became the first female martyr for China’s 1911 Revolution. Qiu Jin is celebrated as a national heroine today.

Using scholar interviews, archival materials, and dramatic reenactments based on her original writings, AUTUMN GEM brings the story of Qiu Jin to life. The hour-long film was produced and directed by two San Francisco Bay Area Chinese American filmmakers, Rae Chang and Adam Tow. It stars former China National martial arts champion and Hollywood stunt actress Li Jing.

AUTUMN GEM has screened at over 100 venues worldwide, including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Princeton, Brown, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of British Columbia, and Australian National University.

As 2012 marks the centenary of the end of imperial rule in China, it is especially crucial to acknowledge the role of women in the country’s transition to a modern nation. AUTUMN GEM sheds light on a remarkable figure who continues to serve as an inspiration to Chinese women today.

San Francisco Bay Area Screenings

All events are free and open to the general public. For full details please visit http://autumn-gem.com

MARCH
March 1: San Jose State University
March 2: Atherton Library
March 6: Fremont Library
March 8: Foster City Library
March 10: Cupertino Library
March 11: Livermore Library
March 12: Los Altos Library
March 14: San Carlos Library
March 18: Mountain View Library
March 21: Sunnyvale Library
March 27: Campbell Library
March 28: San Jose King Library
March 31: Dublin Library

APRIL
April 7: Berryessa Library
April 24: Evergreen Library
April 25: Alameda Library

MAY
May 1: Belmont Library
May 2: Millbrae Library
May 10: Burlingame Library
May 12: Pacifica Sharp Park Library