We Are Woman

Special Equal Means Equal Screening & Panel - Tampa, Florida - February 20th.

noreply@blogger.com (Alaina LaTourette) — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 05:19:00 +0000

If you are in the Tampa area, please join us Monday, February 20th at 7:30 PM for a special screening of Equal Means Equal followed by a Panel and Q&A Session on the ERA.

There will also be a Pre-Screening VIP Open Bar Reception from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM.

Purchase tickets for screening and pre-screening reception here.

This event is hosted by the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality, We Are Woman, and the Law Office of Jo Ann Palchak, P.A.

Looking for ways to stay active and involved in the fight for our fundemental values and priorities?

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We Are Woman is proud to be an official partner of the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017!

noreply@blogger.com (Alaina LaTourette) — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 19:28:00 +0000

Posted by: We Are Woman -

We Are Woman is proud to be an official partner of the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017!

Event Details

Together, we will send the message loud and clear that women's rights are human rights! We will NOT go back!

WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!

UNITE, RESIST and ORGANIZE!

If you are interested in marching with We Are Woman, or volunteering please let us know.

We stand in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

Can't make it to DC? Find a Sister March in your area!

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail [Martin Luther King, Jr.]"

noreply@blogger.com (Alaina LaTourette) — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 17:54:00 +0000

Posted by: We Are Woman

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail [Martin Luther King, Jr.]"

16 April 1963

My Dear Fellow Clergymen:

While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation.

Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham's economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants--for example, to remove the stores' humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. A few signs, briefly removed, returned; the others remained. As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. Mindful of the difficulties involved, we decided to undertake a process of self purification. We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: "Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?" "Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?" We decided to schedule our direct action program for the Easter season, realizing that except for Christmas, this is the main shopping period of the year. Knowing that a strong economic-withdrawal program would be the by product of direct action, we felt that this would be the best time to bring pressure to bear on the merchants for the needed change.

Then it occurred to us that Birmingham's mayoral election was coming up in March, and we speedily decided to postpone action until after election day. When we discovered that the Commissioner of Public Safety, Eugene "Bull" Connor, had piled up enough votes to be in the run off, we decided again to postpone action until the day after the run off so that the demonstrations could not be used to cloud the issues. Like many others, we waited to see Mr. Connor defeated, and to this end we endured postponement after postponement. Having aided in this community need, we felt that our direct action program could be delayed no longer.

You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue.

One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. Some have asked: "Why didn't you give the new city administration time to act?" The only answer that I can give to this query is that the new Birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act. We are sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of Albert Boutwell as mayor will bring the millennium to Birmingham. While Mr. Boutwell is a much more gentle person than Mr. Connor, they are both segregationists, dedicated to maintenance of the status quo. I have hope that Mr. Boutwell will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. But he will not see this without pressure from devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal. Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?

Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.

I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.

In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? We must come to see that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber. I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth concerning time in relation to the struggle for freedom. I have just received a letter from a white brother in Texas. He writes: "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you are in too great a religious hurry. It has taken Christianity almost two thousand years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth." Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self respect and a sense of "somebodiness" that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle-class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro's frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible "devil."

I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle. If this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be flowing with blood. And I am further convinced that if our white brothers dismiss as "rabble rousers" and "outside agitators" those of us who employ nonviolent direct action, and if they refuse to support our nonviolent efforts, millions of Negroes will, out of frustration and despair, seek solace and security in black nationalist ideologies--a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare.

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in the South have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. They are still all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality. Some -such as Ralph McGill, Lillian Smith, Harry Golden, James McBride Dabbs, Ann Braden and Sarah Patton Boyle--have written about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms. Others have marched with us down nameless streets of the South. They have languished in filthy, roach infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of policemen who view them as "dirty nigger-lovers." Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. Let me take note of my other major disappointment. I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership. Of course, there are some notable exceptions. I am not unmindful of the fact that each of you has taken some significant stands on this issue. I commend you, Reverend Stallings, for your Christian stand on this past Sunday, in welcoming Negroes to your worship service on a nonsegregated basis. I commend the Catholic leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hill College several years ago.

But despite these notable exceptions, I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.

When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, a few years ago, I felt we would be supported by the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.

In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral concern, would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed.

I have heard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their worshipers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers declare: "Follow this decree because integration is morally right and because the Negro is your brother." In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.

I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"

Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation -and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping "order" and "preventing violence." I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.

It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather "nonviolently" in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett in Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice. As T. S. Eliot has said: "The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason."

I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest." They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?

If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.

I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood,

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Remove The Deadline From The Equal Rights Amendment!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 May 2015 20:56:00 +0000

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is introducing a Senate resolution to remove the deadline from the Equal Rights Amendment. Once removed, only three more states are needed to enshrine gender equality into the United States Constitution.

Call to Action:

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. In 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and went to the state legislatures for ratification. 35 states ratified it - a deadline was attached and the deadline expired in 1982. 38 states are needed to add an amendment to the Constitution.

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

Did you know that the 27th Amendment, dealing with congressional compensation was originally proposed on September 25, 1789 and ratified on May 7, 1992? That’s 203 years! No deadline for that one, but constitutional protection for women? The Equal Rights Amendment got ten years, and then it was game over.

Contact your senators and tell them you want them to support removing the deadline. Spread the word. Make them feel the pressure. Be friendly and courteous but be firm!!!!

There is NO VALID ARGUMENT against gender equality.

List of elected officials to contact:

Sample Tweets
@InsertSenateHandle Sign on to Cardin-Kirk bipartisan bill to support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment today! #ratifyERA #ERANow
@InsertSenateHandle support equality and justice? Cosponsor the Cardin-Kirk bill to remove the deadline from the #ERA. #ratifyERA #ERANow
@InsertSenateHandle We must fight for equal treatment of all under the law. Cosponsor Cardin-Kirk Bill to ratify the #ERA! #ratifyERA #ERANow

Co-sponsored last session
Senator Sherrod Brown (OH)- Staff: Kia Hamadanchy, Phone: 202-224-2315, Twitter: @SenSherrodBrown
Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK)- Staff: Leila Kimbrell, Phone: 202-224-6665, Twitter: @lisamurkowski
Senator Chris Murphy (CT)- Staff: David Bonine, Phone: 202-224-4041, Twitter: @ChrisMurphyCT
Senator Jack Reed (RI)- Staff: Aaron Hernandez, Phone: 202-224-4642, Twitter: @SenJackReed
Senator Chuck Schumer (NY)- Staff: Becca Kelly, Phone: 202-224-6542, Twitter: @SenSchumer
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH)- Staff: Erica Anhalt, Phone: 202-224-2841, Twitter: @SenShaheen
Senator Ron Wyden (OR)- Staff: Trevor Jones, Phone: 202-224-5244, Twitter: @RonWyden

Suggestions from Group
Senator Cory Booker (NJ)- Staff: Daniel Smith, Phone: 202-224-3224, Twitter: @CoryBooker
Senator Brian Schatz (HI)- Staff: Mika Morse, Phone: 202-224-3934, Twitter: @SenBrianSchatz
Senator Gary Peters (MI)- Staff: Zephranie Buetow, Phone: 202-224-6221, Twitter: @SenGaryPeters

Women Senators
Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA)- Staff: Jonathan Thessin, Phone: 202-224-3841, Twitter: @SenFeinstein
Senator Claire McCaskill (MO)- Staff: Colleen Bell, Phone: 202-224-6154, Twitter: @McCaskillOffice
Senator Heidi Heitkamp (ND)- Staff: Liam Forsyth, Phone: 202-224-2043, Twitter: @SenatorHeitkamp
Senator Patty Murray (WA)- Staff: Jason Smith, Phone: 202-224-2621, Twitter: @PattyMurray
Senator Maria Cantwell (WA)- Staff: Nico Janssen, Phone: 202-224-3441, Twitter: @SenatorCantwell
Senator Joni Ernst (IA)- Staff: Andrea Hechavarria, Phone: 202-224-3254, Twitter: @SenJoniErnst
Senator Susan Collins (ME)- Staff: Katie Brown, Phone: 202-224-2523, Twitter: @SenatorCollins
Senator Deb Fischer (NE)- Staff: Josh Lynch, Phone: 202-224-6551, Twitter: @SenatorFischer
Senator Kelly Ayotte (NH)- Staff: Samantha Roberts, Phone: 202-224-3324, Twitter: @KellyAyotte
Senator Shelly Moore Capito (WV)- Staff: Victoria Weaver, Phone: 202-224-6472, Twitter: @SenCapito

noreply@blogger.com (Alaina LaTourette) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:48:00 +0000

A special thank you to all of our supporters and hardcore Constitution Day Rally attendees. Your unwaivering dedication touched us deeply and strengthened our resolve to not let anything get in the way of achieving gender equallity; not even a little rain.

Our last speaker, Brenda S. ("Sue") Folten, Board Chair SPART*A, was delayed on her way to the rally and arrived as we were breaking down the stage. The text below is Brenda's speech which we would like to share in appreciation of her persistence and commitment. Thank you Brenda.

We Are Woman, 9/13/14:

“On November 16, 1776, Molly Corbin and her husband, John Corbin, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 British troops. John and Molly crewed one of two cannons the defenders possessed. When her husband fell, Molly took his place at the cannon and continued firing until she, herself, was seriously wounded.

On March 20, 2005, Sgt Leigh Ann Hester's MP squad of two women and eight men in three Humvees were shadowing a 30-truck supply convoy when they were ambushed. Sgt Hester maneuvered her team through the kill zone and into a flanking position, where she and her squad leader, SSG Timothy Nein, assaulted a trench line with hand grenades and grenade launcher rounds. They cleared two trenches and over two dozen enemy soldiers to protect their convoy.

The Army Nurse Corps was established in 1901 over the objections of men who said that women didn't belong in the military. They are not strong enough; they interfere with that delicate process of male bonding that enables men to fight and risk their lives for each other; they might be raped by the enemy.

Last week the winner of a Marine Corps Association essay contest was a woman Marine who argued that women didn't belong in the infantry because they aren't strong enough; they interfere with male bonding; and they might be raped by the enemy AND by their fellow Marines.

Meanwhile, the Army - MY ARMY - just opened Ranger School to women, saying to our women soldiers, in effect: Show us what you got.

There is a battle over the soul of our Armed Forces - between those who believe manhood necessarily includes bullying, preying on the weak, and raping women...And those who stand for the warrior ideal of honor and courage and the notion that, as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said,

"VALOR KNOWS NO GENDER."

We have to keep challenging the leaders who value upper-body strength over character, who think that being a warrior is more about swagger than courage, who are invested in a view that the strongest woman is inferior to the weakest man.

So why should you care about this issue?

Whatever your view of the uses of the American military, this culture has ripple effects - to our sports teams, to our colleges, to our streets. Whatever your view of the military, many young women want to serve. This is their dream: to serve their country. This is what they choose to do. And the young women in our all-volunteer force have made our military stronger; And smarter; And better.

Thank you for letting me stand here today for the women serving in our military. Gay and straight, cis-gender and trans, they are strong. They are smart. They are brave. They are not victims; they are warriors. And just as they stand up for us, we must stand up for them.

Thank you.”

Brenda S. ("Sue") Fulton

Board Chair, SPART*A

Brenda S. ("Sue") Fulton is the Chair of the Board of LGBT military organization SPART*A (Servicemembers, Partners and Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All). Fulton, a 1980 graduate of West Point and part of the first class to admit women, was commissioned in the Army, served as a platoon leader and company commander in Germany, and was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.

Fulton was a founding Board member of Knights Out, an organization of LGBT West Point graduates, and OutServe, the association of actively-serving LGBT military members. In 2011, President Obama appointed her to the West Point Board of Visitors.

She and Penny Gnesin were the first same-sex couple to marry at the Cadet Chapel at West Point, and they currently live in Asbury Park, NJ.

Resignation and Gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 02:20:00 +0000

I've spent the last week in thought over a very big decision and I have finally made it. I am going to resign from We Are Woman. Being one of the two original founders... the group is of course very near and dear to my heart. There are only so many hours in a day though and only so many things we are able to accomplish. I've had to give up a couple of things so that I have the time and energy to continue with others. I was primarily doing the website, blog, graphics & memes, some social media etc... but there are things I want to be doing now so I have to let go of others to make room. I just wanted to let everyone know and say that it was not an easy decision to make.

Thank you to everyone for making We Are Woman a success!

Jenni Siri

Thank You to Everyone from We Are Woman

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 03:40:00 +0000

There are so many people to thank... We are grateful to each and every one of you, activists, rally participants, speakers, entertainers, volunteers and donors. We also really appreciate that so many of you stood out in the rain to rally for a cause that is so vital to the future and to our rights. Thank you!

We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally Recorded Videos from Live Stream

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 20:36:00 +0000

Photo by Donna NoShock @NoShock

Thank you to Michael Pellaghati of The Pella Report for the great livestreaming at the rally! You can find him on twitter at @thepellareport

Emmy Rivera, Comedian from NYC was the emcee for the day. Thank you Emmy!

NOTE: If they don't all load just refresh the page, or you can view them on YouTube HERE

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Capitol Blend warming up

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Rally Setup

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Introduction by the We Are Woman team
Barbara Goodwin, BG, US Air Force, Ret.
Mary Kelley Richard, US Coast Guard
Jas Booth, Executive Director, Final Salute
Jill Troutner, Graduate of West Point
Lynne Patrick, VA Central Office
Trista Mastacastillo, Program Manager Veteran Voices
Monisha Rios, Founder, Leave No One Behind & Mending Branches Collaborative Think Tank
Angie Batica, Minnesota Women Veterans Initiative

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Diana Danis, Co-Founder Changing, Governmental Gender Paradigms
BriGette McCoy, Founder and CEO Women Veteran Social Justice (WVSJ)

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Wendy Cartwright, We Are Woman, Capital Blend

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Chitra Panjabi, Membership Vice President, National Organization for Women (NOW)

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Jessica Neuwirth, President & Director, ERA Coalition

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
James Barringer, Boys and Men For The ERA

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Kimberly Inez McGuire, Director of Public Affairs, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
David Silverman, President, American Atheists, Inc.

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Senator Sandra Pappas, President, Minnesota State Senate

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Annie Hill, Secretary-Treasurer, Communications Workers of America

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Wendy Cartwright introduces:
Roberta Francis, Co-Chair, NCWO ERA Task Force

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Monica Raye Simpson, Executive Director, SisterSong

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Eleanor Smeal, KEYNOTE SPEAKER, Founder & President, Feminist Majority Foundation

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
BETTY, Kimberley Johnson, Author & Activist and Madison Kimrey, Teen Activist

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Jennifer Rao introduces:
Rep. Chris Van Hollen U.S. Congressman, MD-8th House Budget Committee,Ranking Member

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Alaina LaTourette introduces
Terry O'Neill, President, National Organization for Women (NOW), Soraya Chemaly, Writer on Women's Issues
Recognition of Alice Cohen, Political Director, Feminist Majority Foundation,
Laura Dunn, Executive Director & Founder, SurvJustice

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Interview with Karen Teegarden, President, Unite Women

Honor Reading - Names of Fallen Female Vets 9:30 a.m. Saturday Morning in D.C.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 23:59:00 +0000

Please help us pay tribute to our fallen Women Veterans as we open the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally with an Honor Reading of their names. The rally will be on September 13, 2014, at the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. The Honor Reading will be the first on the agenda at 9:30 a.m. ET

The event will be live streamed here: http://bit.ly/Rally_Stream

The names of the fallen will be read by the following Veterans:

Barbara Goodwin
BG, US Air Force, Ret.

Mary Kelley Richard
US Coast Guard

Jas Booth
Executive Director, Final Salute

Jill Troutner
Graduate of West Point

Lynne Patrick
VA Central Office

Trista Mastacastillo
Program Manager Veteran Voices

Monisha Rios
Founder, Leave No One Behind & Mending Branches Collaborative Think Tank

Angie Batica
Minnesota Women Veterans Initiative

Following the reading we will hear from Diana Danis, Co-Founder, Changing Governmental Gender Paradigms and BriGette McCoy, Founder and CEO, Women Veteran Social Justice (WVSJ)

More information: http://www.wearewoman.us/female-casualties

Press Release 9/12/14: We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 22:10:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jacqueline Nantier-Hopewell - Director, We Are Woman DC Office
Contact: Kimberley Johnson - Director Media & Press, We Are Woman
info@wearewoman.us

NATIONAL RALLY EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (ERA)

Renewed Push for ERA Ripples Across Nation Ahead of November Elections

Washington, DC September 10, 2014 – Pushing back against a wave of legislative and judicial action seen as targeting the rights of women, the grassroots organization “We Are Woman” will lead a Constitutional Day Rally in Washington on Saturday, September 13th, launching the return of a demand for the ERA to fully enfranchise women into the United States Constitution. The organizers have included a special tribute to military women including an honor reading of the names of the fallen. The tribute will begin at 9:30am ET. They are expecting thousands of supporters from across the nation to attend the rally scheduled from 9:30am-4pm on the west lawn of the Capitol. The rally comes just weeks ahead of the fall elections in which women are projected to be the key voting demographic.

The much criticized ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case, jeopardizing women’s access to affordable contraception, quickly elevated an interest in the ERA and the visibility of the rally. Women across the nation had been engaging lawmakers and challenging candidates on concerns about the “gender gap” in pay and political representation, when the controversial ruling came down, further provoking tensions. Rally organizers intend to promote a drive for women voters to register their protest on a number of issues at the polls and to support the ERA for constitutional equality in response to concerns.

"The ERA is on the move again. In February, the Virginia Senate voted to ratify, and now the Illinois Senate," said Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority President, who is the keynote speaker at Saturday’s rally.

"The overwhelming support of voters for the ERA and the gender gap in voting is moving the ERA forward," she continued. Smeal previously headed the high-profile, national ERA campaign as President of the National Organization for Women.

Several states have ERA bills pending or being introduced in addition to those being entertained at the federal level in Congress. Women’s rights activists look to Illinois in November to be the 36th of the 38 states needed to ratify the ERA. The outcome of a bill pending in the state house is expected then.

Public information about all guest speakers, the tribute to military women, entertainment, transportation, merchandise, lodging and food for the two day event is available at http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us or http://www.wearewoman.us

###

Click for interactive map

The rally will be live streamed starting at or before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 13th.
It’s being streamed by Michael Pellagatti of The Pella Report.
Stream Link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thepellareport
The Pella Report Twitter: @thepellareport We Are Woman Twitter: @WeAreWomanUS

Rally Schedule:

8:00 am – Event setup
9:30 am – Program begins, catered breakfast is delivered
12:00 pm – Program continues, catered lunch is delivered
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Formal event ends, cleanup begins and informal networking/socializing begins off-site

Opening
Honor Reading
Diana Danis
BriGette McCoy
CAPITAL BLEND
Chitra Panjabi
Jessica Neuwirth
Kimberly Inez McGuire
David Silverman
Senator Sandra Pappas
Annie Hill
Roberta Francis
Monica Simpson
Ellie Smeal – Keynote Speaker
BETTY
Kimberley Johnson
Madison Kimrey
Alice Cohan
Desiree Hoffman
Soraya Chemaly
Laura Dunn
Cheri Honkala
Rep. Van Hollen
Coline Jenkins
JANE LEE HOOKER
Ben Manski
Marena Groll
Alaina LaTourette
Terry O’Neill
Dr. E. Faye Williams
FRIGHTWIG
Jamilla Bey
Andrea Miller
Cathy Kaelin, Tammy Simkins
Anise Jenkins
Brenda Sue Fulton
Ending Remarks

Outstanding List of Speakers for the #Rally4Equality2014 in DC 9/13/14

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 07:21:00 +0000

These are the amazing and influential people that will be speaking at the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally this Saturday, September 13th, 2014 in Washington, D.C.. The rally begins at 9:30 a.m. with an Honor Reading of the names of our fallen women Veterans.

For more information about the rally visit The Rally Hub.

To read the bios of the speakers click HERE

For the list of the rally entertainers click HERE
READ the latest Press Release

	Eleanor Smeal KEYNOTE SPEAKER Founder & President, Feminist Majority Foundation
Terry O'Neill President National Organization for Women	Monica Simpson Executive Director SisterSong	Rep. Chris Van Hollen U.S. Congressman, MD-8th House Budget Committee Ranking Member
Chitra Panjabi Membership Vice President, National Organization for Women	Roberta Francis Co-Chair NCWO ERA Task Force	Alice Cohan Political Director Feminist Majority Foundation
Madison Kimrey Student, Actress and Activist	Marena Groll Coordinator NC4ERA	Anise Jenkins Executive Director, Stand Up! for Democracy in DC (Free DC)
Laura Dunn Executive Director & Founder, SurvJustice	Soraya Chemaly Writer Women's Issues	Kimberley A. Johnson Author, Blogger & Activist
Cathy Paganelli Kaelin Co-Founder, ERA Action Co-Chair, PDA 3 State Strategy	Tammy Simkins Co-Founder, ERA Action Co-Chair, PDA 3 State Strategy	Andrea Miller Co-Executive Director Progressive Democrats of America
Ben Manski President, Liberty Tree Co-Founder, Move to Amend	Brenda S. ("Sue") Fulton Board Chair SPART*A	Jamila Bey Director of Communications Secular Student Alliance
Diana Danis Co-Founder Changing Governmental Gender Paradigms	Honor Readings By: Barbara Goodwin, Jas Booth, Mary Kelley Richard, Jill Troutner, Lynne Patrick, Trista Mastacastillo, Monisha Rios, Angie Batica	BriGette McCoy Founder and CEO Women Veteran Social Justice (WVSJ)
Jessica Neuwirth President & Director ERA Coalition	Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. President & CEO National Congress of Black Women	David Silverman President American Atheists, Inc.
Coline Jenkins Co-Founder & President, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Trust	Senator Sandra Pappas President Minnesota State Senate	Annie Hill Secretary-Treasurer Communications Workers of America
Kimberly Inez McGuire Director of Public Affairs National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health	Cheri Honkala Co-founder Kensington Welfare Rights Union Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign	Desiree Hoffman YWCA Director of Advocacy and Policy

Final Push, Voter Pledges Delivered Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 05:02:00 +0000

This is it... we are down to the wire now. All of the voter pledges that we have received since early spring will be hand delivered to Congress on Friday! Please help us get the word out in a final push to make this list as long as possible, we want Congress to know that we WILL be voting this midterm.

Image Source

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Every vote counts. If it didn't, there wouldn't be so many working so hard to keep us from doing it!

Want to see things change? Take our pledge below to wield your voting power in support of equality, and let your vote be your voice on behalf of women across the nation emerge and be heard!

We’ll take your voice with us to Washington when we gather for the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally (#Rally4Equality2014) in September and present the list of pledge signers to members of Congress.

WE the undersigned pledge to:

• VOTE

• Help OTHERS register and vote

• Support ONLY those candidates who show
through deeds, not just words, that they
support legal and economic equality for all,
the Equal Rights Amendment and ballot
access for all citizens

When you sign the pledge, your information will be shared with members of Congress on September 12th, 2014. We will also add you to our mailing list so we can keep you up-to-date on plans for September and ways you can help with the event and get involved to support the cause!

Except as specified above, we will not share your information with anyone, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Press Release 9/9/14: We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 03:28:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jacqueline Nantier-Hopewell - Director, We Are Woman DC Office
Contact: Kimberley Johnson - Director Media & Press, We Are Woman
info@wearewoman.us

NATIONAL RALLY EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (ERA)

Renewed Push for ERA Ripples Across Nation Ahead of November Elections

Washington, DC September 7, 2014 – Pushing back against a wave of legislative and judicial action seen as targeting the rights of women, the grassroots organization “We Are Woman” will lead a Constitutional Day Rally in Washington on Saturday, September 13th, launching the return of a demand for the ERA to fully enfranchise women into the United States Constitution. The organizers have included a special tribute to military women and are expecting thousands of supporters from across the nation to attend the rally scheduled from 9:30am-4pm on the west lawn of the Capitol. The rally comes just weeks ahead of the fall elections in which women are projected to be the key voting demographic.

The much criticized ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case, jeopardizing women’s access to affordable contraception, quickly elevated an interest in the ERA and the visibility of the rally. Women across the nation had been engaging lawmakers and challenging candidates on concerns about the “gender gap” in pay and political representation, when the controversial ruling came down, further provoking tensions. Rally organizers intend to promote a drive for women voters to register their protest on a number of issues at the polls and to support the ERA for constitutional equality in response to concerns.

"The ERA is on the move again. In February, the Virginia Senate voted to ratify, and now the Illinois Senate," said Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority President, who is the keynote speaker at Saturday’s rally.

"The overwhelming support of voters for the ERA and the gender gap in voting is moving the ERA forward," she continued. Smeal previously headed the high-profile, national ERA campaign as President of the National Organization for Women.

Several states have ERA bills pending or being introduced in addition to those being entertained at the federal level in Congress. Women’s rights activists look to Illinois in November to be the 36th of the 38 states needed to ratify the ERA. The outcome of a bill pending in the state house is expected then.

Public information about all guest speakers, the tribute to military women, entertainment, transportation, merchandise, lodging and food for the two day event is available at http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us

###

More logos and graphics HERE

For more information on the rally visit: http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us

SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Eleanor Smeal Founder & President, Feminist Majority Foundation

This is a partial list, there will be a total of 29 speakers. 2 of those will be speaking on women in the military and presenting an honor reading with 8 Veterans reading the names of the fallen.

For a complete list of speakers visit: http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us/event-info/speakers/

Terry O'Neill - President, National Organization for Women

Chitra Panjabi - Membership Vice President, National Organization for Women

Monica Simpson - Executive Director, SisterSong

Rep. Chris Van Hollen - U.S. Congressman, MD-8th Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee

Andrea Miller - Co-Executive Director, Progressive Democrats of America

Ben Manski - President, Liberty Tree & Co-Founder, Move to Amend

Coline Jenkins - Co-Founder & President, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Trust

Madison Kimrey - Student, Actress & Activist
More...

ENTERTAINERS

MC: Emmy Rivera, NY based Comedian, Story Teller
Read more about the entertainers: http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us/event-info/entertainment/

BETTY

More about BETTY

Also HERE

Capital Blend

More about Capitol Blend

Frightwig

More about Frightwig

Jane Lee Hooker

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Congressman Chris Van Hollen to Speak at the #Rally4Equality2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 07:21:00 +0000

We are excited to announce a new addition to our list of great speakers, Congressman Chris Van Hollen who represents the 8th District of Maryland and is Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee. He has a stellar record of supporting legislation that is in best interest of women, including issues such as health care, reproductive choice and fair pay.

The We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally begins at 9:30 a.m. on September 13, 2014 and will take place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. For more information visit the RALLY HUB. You can view the rest of our speakers HERE.

Terry O'Neill and Chitra Panjabi from NOW to Speak at the #Rally4Equality2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 00:13:00 +0000

We are pleased and honored to announce that Terry O'Neill, President of The National Organization for Women (NOW), and Chitra Panjabi, Vice President of Membership for NOW, are confirmed speakers for the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally on September 13, 2014.

The rally begins at 9:30 a.m. and will be held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. For more information visit the RALLY HUB. You can view the rest of our speakers HERE.

Social Media Blitz to Raise Funds for the #Rally4Equality2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 19:17:00 +0000

We are having a twitterthon encouraging people to tweet (and share a lot on facebook and other platforms too #Rally4Equality2014) in an attempt to raise funds for the rally which is fast approaching.You can join our facebook event find ideas for tweets, text, and a lot of graphics HERE

We are also encouraging everyone to share on other social media platforms that they use.

If you want to donate you can do so HERE

Thank you for your help!

I will post some of the graphics and tweets below, you can use any of these donate links:

http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate
http://bit.ly/Donate_Blog
http://bit.ly/Donate_WAW

Below are sample tweets that can be used. They can all be modified if need be (especially if you're trying to fit in a graphic), and or feel free to use your own words. You can also use them for ideas for posting on other social media platforms.

If you're not able 2 go 2 ‪#‎Rally4Equality2014‬ please consider a donation. Even a little goes a long way! http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

If you're not able 2 go 2 #Rally4Equality2014 please consider a donation: https:http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

We need your help! Make a donation and support #Rally4Equality2014 - $5 $10 $25 $100 - any amount helps! http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

Make a donation 4 #Rally4Equality2014 - $5 $10 $25 $100 - any amount helps! https: http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

Lets make ‪#‎Herstory‬! Make a donation to #Rally4Equality2014 in DC! - https: http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

Less than 2 weeks! Help us reach our goal - Support the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally - Make a DONATION! http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

Less than 2 weeks! Support the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally - Make a DONATION! http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate

We need your help! We can't take donations at the rally. PLEASE Donate if you can: http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate ‪#‎equality‬ #Rally4Equality2014

We need your help we can't do this alone. Support equality - make a donation: https: http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate #Rally4Equality2014

We're in the home stretch now and can use your help! Make a DONATION:http://bit.ly/WAW_Donate #Rally4Equality2014

Here are some graphics that you can download and share on Twitter, Facebook, G+, Tumblr, Pinterest or any of your other favorite social media platforms. You can also find many more of various dimensions in our dropbox folder HERE

Download

More graphics HERE

BETTY to Perform at the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 19:09:00 +0000

We are excited to announce BETTY has been added to the band lineup for the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally that will be held on September 13th, 2014 in Washington, D.C.

BETTY is the original pop rock band fronted by Alyson Palmer and sisters Elizabeth and Amy Ziff. The band's heartfelt passion and signature sound of soaring harmonies, lively melodies and clever lyrics layered over strong grooves create an energetic, boundary-pushing live show that is a popular attraction worldwide. Elizabeth (vocals, guitar), Alyson (vocals, bass) and Amy (vocals, cello) are the singer/songwriters and arrangers. At times, the trio augments their sound with other instrumentalists live, and with guest artists from a broad spectrum of pop culture: music, art, literature and activism.

BETTY’s last release “Rise” is an ep featuring the song the band wrote in 2013 for Eve Ensler’s global campaign to end violence against women and girls, One Billion Rising. Their last full-length release, “Bright & Dark”, produced by David Maurice (Kelis, Garbage) is a lush exploration of the challenges and triumphs of their recent past, including Elizabeth’s battle with breast cancer. That album features guest vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52’s and is the band’s best-selling song collection to date. Cuts are featured on the hit television series Weeds, NBC’s Love Bites, Ugly Betty, The L Word and more. Currently, the band is writing songs for their tenth album.

Unstoppable activists, the women of BETTY use their music for humanitarian outreach: working for equal rights, peace & aid, and the empowerment of girls & women. Since forming in 1986, they are most proud about being part of many hundreds of events that have improved lives, helped change policy and raised millions of dollars for worthy causes, research and people in need. Named Arts Envoys in 2012, the trio works with the U.S. State Department internationally in Cultural Diplomacy.

BETTY and their music have been featured on national and international radio, television, films, commercials, jingles, web projects, as guests on recordings, compilation albums and in live theater, including the smash Off-Broadway hit directed by Michael (Rent, Next To Normal) Greif, BETTY Rules. They do.

Visit their Website

Visit their YouTube Channel

For more about BETTY and our other amazing entertainers please visit the RALLY HUB.

Download this graphic

Download larger for printing

Black Women in West Philly Talk About Women’s Equality Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 09:59:00 +0000

What Black Women in West Philadelphia Had to Say About Women’s Equality Day

by Jasmine Burnett, National Black Network for Reproductive Justice

August 27, 2014

Follow Jasmine Burnett on Twitter: @Blkfeminst

This piece was produced in collaboration with Echoing Ida and first appeared at RH Reality Check.

Rarely, if ever, are Black women interviewed in the neighborhoods where they live and asked about a policy’s impact on their lives. As such,on the days leading up to Women’s Equality Day, which is held each year on August 26, I felt it was high time for me to begin asking Black women in my community about their lived experiences with, and connection to, the laws that secured their right to vote.

(Photo Source: Makers "Long History of Black Feminism")

When I think about Women’s Equality Day, I reflect on the power and significance of Black women exercising their right to vote. And I am reminded of the ways in which the fight for women’s equality was a “crooked room” for Black suffragettes. As they stood on the front lines of organizing for women’s voting rights, they were also fighting to end the lynching of Black men and women across the South. Today, Black feminist activists continue this intersectional work, of having to protect our bodies, lives, and families by voting against legislation that aims to take away our human rights at the same time that we’re fighting to end sexist and gender-motivated violence as well as racist, state-sanctioned violence in our communities.

Most people, including women, don’t know or care much about Women’s Equality Day, except those of us who live and breathe women’s rights work. The cause of this can be largely attributed to sexism, plain and simple. For Women’s Equality Day, there isn’t the same level of attention paid to it that is given to federally recognized holidays, and we don’t get a day off work to reflect on its significance in American history, or our position in society as women voters.

So, I took to the streets of my neighborhood in West Philadelphia, interviewing two friends andeight other Black women. In this area, 75 percent of the residents are African American. It comes as little surprise that politicians and law enforcement have a challenging history with the Black community here.

Being new to Philadelphia, and this community, I was relieved to find that the Black women I spoke with understood the complicated history with the Women’s Equality Day and that it took a combination of the 19th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for Black women to have full access to the vote. These facts illustrate the Black feminist adage about how all the women are white, all the Blacks are men, and Black women, indeed, are brave.

I found during my interviews that I was not alone in thinking that voting matters. As Briana, 25, shared, “It matters for me to have a voice, and now that we have it, we should make sure that we use it.”

“It’s important that Black women have the right to vote,” added Audrey, 55. “But, a lot of them don’t take the opportunity to vote. They come up with a lot of excuses like, ‘Why should I do this, it’s not going to matter anyway?’ I always tell people, it does matter.”

Some Black women, as Audrey explains, are traumatized to inaction at the fear of being made visible. “A lot of Black women I talk to between the ages of 19 and 30 don’t vote at all. They come up with excuses of why they shouldn’t. I often talk to young women and tell them every vote counts, and their voice matters.”

But, having the right to vote is one thing, having the opportunity to exercise that right is another matter entirely, as has been made clear with voter identification laws that disproportionately affect women in this country. “We live with this idea of a post-racial, post-sexist society,” said Charmaine, 26. “There’s still a lot of work left that we can do, especially in Pennsylvania, which is trying to change the voter laws. The monster we are up against changes every year. We need to re-evaluate and adjust our tactics.”

Happy Women's Equality Day - A History

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 17:21:00 +0000

What is Women’s Equality Day?
Source: The National Women's History Project

At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.”

The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities.

Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971
Designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.

Rep. Jackie Speier the Equal Rights Amendment and What is Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 21:08:00 +0000

Equal Rights Amendment ratification long overdue
By Jackie Speier
Updated August 25, 2014
Source: SFGate

Our Constitution granted women the right to vote 94 years ago, but efforts to ban discrimination based on sex have never earned constitutional status. This gaping legal hole was summed up recently by conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: "Certainly the Constitution does not require (discrimination on the basis of sex). The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't."

Women today aren't guaranteed equal pay for equal work and are subjected to restrictions on contraception and family planning services, unfair workplace conditions and laws that favor the perpetrators over victims in cases of sexual assault. The need for constitutionally guaranteed equality remains shamefully overdue. How can we have "liberty and justice for all" when a prohibition against sex discrimination is missing from our nation's blueprint?

The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in every session of Congress from 1923 until 1972, the year it finally passed. The amendment required ratification by 38 states, but fell three states short.

The 15 states that have not ratified the ERA are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. The Illinois Senate passed the ERA in May and the Illinois House is set to vote on it in November.

The ERA would provide women with remedies to combat discrimination in pay equity, pregnancy accommodations, contraceptive coverage and domestic violence. Currently, women face a double burden when they are victimized. They must first prove the violation happened, and then they must also prove intent to discriminate based on sex. The ERA would banish this "intent" requirement forever.

As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated, "I would like my granddaughters, when they pick up the Constitution, to see that notion - that women and men are persons of equal stature."

And so I have introduced House Joint Resolution 113 to eliminate the deadline for ERA ratification.

The ERA has had its deadline moved in the past; the 27th Amendment (congressional pay), was ratified 202 years after it passed Congress. When states tried to rescind their support for the 14th and 15th Amendments, their efforts were struck down by the courts; therefore, the 35 states that have already voted for the ERA cannot take back their support.

Equality is only three states and 24 words away. It's time for these words to be made constitutional law: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

Source: SFGate

Jackie Speier represents San Mateo County and a portion of San Francisco County in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Photo: Rep. Speier & Rep. Maloney Source: ERA Action

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Abortions Must Be Covered By Health Insurance Companies In California

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:17:00 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Health insurance companies in California may not refuse to cover the cost of abortions, state insurance officials have ruled in a reversal of policy stemming from the decision by two Catholic universities to drop elective abortions from their employee health plans.

Although the federal Affordable Care Act does not compel employers to provide workers with health insurance that includes abortion coverage, the director of California's Department of Managed Health Care said in a letter to seven insurance companies on Friday that the state Constitution and a 1975 state law prohibits them from selling group plans that exclude the procedure. The law in question requires such plans to encompass all "medically necessary" care.

"Abortion is a basic health care service," department director Michelle Rouillard wrote in the letter. "All health plans must treat maternity services and legal abortion neutrally."

Jesuit-run Santa Clara University and Loyola Marymount University notified employees last fall that they planned to stop paying for elective abortions, but said faculty and staff members could pay for supplemental coverage that would be provided through a third party. The two schools said their insurers, Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente, had cleared the move with the state.

University employees who objected to the decision and abortion-rights groups lobbied the women' caucus of the California Legislature, which in turn asked Gov. Jerry Brown to clarify and reverse the health care department's determination.

In her letter to the insurers, Roullaird said her department had "erroneously approved or did not object" to a small number of health insurance policies that excluded abortions. She asked the companies to review their plans, including any the department had already approved, to make sure they are in accordance with the new guidance.

The two insurance companies told the San Jose Mercury News that they would comply with the directive. Loyola and Santa Clara representatives said they would explore their options with Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente.

Two groups that oppose abortion, the Life Legal Defense Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom, sent a letter to Rouillard on Friday saying that under federal law California cannot force employers to cover elective abortions. The groups said they would file a civil rights complaint with the federal government unless the state's previous determination was reinstated.

"Pro-life employers have the freedom to choose health insurance plans that do not conflict with their beliefs on the dignity of human life," Life Legal Defense Foundation Legal Director Catherine Short said. "California cannot be allowed to discriminate against health plans that don't cover elective abortions and force people to purchase coverage that conflicts with their convictions."

Image Source ctrouper / flickr

Reformed Whores for the ERA and the #Rally4Equality2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 02:43:00 +0000

The Reformed Whores take us back in time to see what Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton would have to say about the ERA not being ratified yet. They also encourage everyone to come to the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally, September 13 on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. For more information visit: http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us/

Visit the Reformed Whores website and listen to their fun music and social commentary at: http://www.reformedwhores.com/

Radio Interview with Alaina LaTourette on PRN.FM

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 09:07:00 +0000

Corporations are now people (with religious freedom, no less), women, not so much. Jack & Deborah from Progressive Radio Network interviewed Alaina LaTourette, Vice President and Co-Chair of We Are Woman on Monday, August 18th. Their exciting discussion ranged from the recent abomination known as corporate personhood, a fiction created by the corrupt majority Supreme Court, to the fact that after 91 years of effort, women are still not officially protected as equal to men (and corporations) under the US Constitution, and hear Alaina define what true reproductive justice would look like if all women’s reproductive health and rights were honored and supported.

Podcast: Go to PRN | Play in new window | Download | Embed

An Extreme Overreach into Women’s Reproductive Health Care

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 05:43:00 +0000

FACT SHEET
From the National Women's Law Center

2013 State Level Abortion Restrictions:
An Extreme Overreach into Women’s Reproductive Health Care

2013 marked the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion. Yet, anti-abortion state politicians continued to relentlessly attack this right in 2013, in the hopes of overturning Roe and preventing women from obtaining abortions.

In 2013, 22 states enacted a total of 70 abortion restrictions – the second highest number of abortion restrictions to become law in a single year. These state restrictions are a dangerous overreach into women’s personal medical decisions.

READ the entire document in pdf format.

States Are Banning Abortion Outright, in an Attempt to Overturn Roe v. Wade
States Are Banning Abortion Later in Pregnancy, Ignoring an Individual Woman’s Particular Circumstances
States Are Attempting to Establish “Fetal Personhood” In Order to Ban Abortion, Without Exception, and Restrict Access to Other Reproductive Health Services
States Are Requiring Women to Undergo Medically Unnecessary, Physically Invasive Ultrasounds Before Obtaining an Abortion
States Are Attempting to Regulate Abortion Providers Out of Existence
States Are Banning Insurance Coverage of Abortion, Taking Away Benefits Women Currently Have and Jeopardizing Women’s Health
States Are Limiting Women’s Access to Non-Surgical Abortion
States Are Enacting Longer Mandatory Delay Requirements
States Are Enacting Harmful Sex Selective Abortion Bans
States are Allowing Individuals and Institutions to Refuse to Participate in Abortion

READ the entire document in pdf format.

Mo’ne Davis and Her Rise to Greatness

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 18:29:00 +0000

13-year-old sensation Mo'Ne Davis throws two-hit shutout at Little League World Series.

Out of the nearly 9,000 players who have participated in the Little League World Series, only 18 were girls. Davis is the fourth American girl, and with Emma March of Canada also playing, this is the third time in the tournament’s 68-year history that two girls are competing at the same time.

“It’s very unreal,” said Mo'Ne “I never thought that at the age of 13 I would be a role model, but now it’s real. I always wanted to be a basketball role model; being a baseball role model is really cool."

Continue reading at the New York Times

Read more about Mo'Ne