Letter: Aug. 26 is ‘Women’s Equality Day’
To the editor:
– August 26 is “Women’s Equality Day.” This observance not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. We are reminded that there is still more work to do: including working to protect the right to vote from efforts to restrict it; working to achieve equal pay for equal work; and working towards equal access and funding for women’s health care and services.
As we celebrate, we honor the women who fought for this right- Carrie Chapman Catt, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Nina Otero-Warren, and others often overlooked in studying American History. When they first organized, American women were a disenfranchised class. They had to overcome barriers. They were frequently harassed, often jailed, and sometimes attacked by mobs and police. Through grassroots efforts circulating petitions and pamphlets, writing articles in newspapers and magazines, giving speeches at churches, convention halls, and on street corners, they persevered and created one of the most successful nonviolent civil rights movements in American history.
Marguerite Bader
President of the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County
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