What does Women’s Equality Day mean? honour?
Women’s Equality Day is celebrated on August 26 to commemorate the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. The 19th Amendment states:
“The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be restricted or limited by the United States or any state on the basis of sex. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
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The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, but did not actually verified until eight days later it was signed by a government official. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the historic proclamation on August 26, 1920 (one week after it was ratified) at 8:00 am in Washington, DC, without an audience or fanfare.
When did it become a holiday?
On August 26, 1971, the US Congress declared August 26 Women’s Equality Day to celebrate the importance of the 19th Amendment. The Joint Resolution of Congress on Women’s Equality Day states:
“…and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have proclaimed August 26, the anniversary of the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment, as a symbol of the ongoing struggle for equal rights…”
It was officially adopted two years later, in 1973.
Why was Women’s Equality Day established?
On August 26, 1970 (50 years after women won the right to vote), 50,000 second-wave feminists marched down New York City’s Fifth Avenue “hand in hand, blocking Main Street at rush hour.”
The march, known as the “Women’s Strike for Equality”, was sponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) and was conceived by women’s rights activist and writer Betty Friedan. She envisioned the day as a “work stop” when women put aside their household chores and take to the streets on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to demand women’s rights, including access to abortion, better and more affordable childcare, and equal access. to education and employment. Thousands of women across the country staged protests, making the Women’s Equality March one of the largest women’s rights rallies in the U.S. largest one-day protest in US history.)
Who was behind making Women’s Equality Day possible?
New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug (also known as “Fighting Bella”) backed a bill to establish an official Women’s Equality Day. Abzug became a congresswoman at age 50 after an already successful career as a lawyer and civil rights activist. Her campaign slogan was the famous phrase: “This woman’s place is in the House… House of Representatives!”
Through Women’s Equality Day, Azbug hoped to celebrate women’s resilience and perseverance, and draw attention to the ongoing struggles women face.
It is now widely known that while the 19th Amendment was the culmination of decades of hard work and determination from so many suffragette factions, the reality is that women of color did not have full access and freedom of voice until years and decades after how laws and laws were passed, such as the Snyder Act of 1924 and the Civil Rights Act of 1965. It is also regrettable that the rights and freedoms advocated by feminists in the 1970s, such as access to abortion, affordable daycare, equal employment opportunities and equal pay, Still issues that women are fighting for today.
How can we celebrate Women’s Equality Day today?
Read: Vanguard: how black women broke down barriers, won the vote, and pushed for equality for all
Donate: Family Planning Foundation
Visit: equalpaytoday.org to learn about pay inequality and support Black, Latinx, Native, AANHPI, and Moms Equal Pay Days.
register: Vote
Robin Moreno Curandera, life coach and Emmy-nominated TV host. Her new book Get root rights, will be released June 7, 2022 on Hachette Go. Robin’s favorite things are her family, camping, and eating tacos, not necessarily in that order.
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