Several members of the ERA-NC Alliance attended the ongoing protest at the U.S. Department of Justice to encourage Attorney General Merrick Garland to remove former AG Bill Barr’s memo blocking the national archivist from publishing the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Here are a few photos from our days standing sentinel at the DOJ:
Events
Press Release: ERA Sentinals
ERA-NC Alliance to stand vigil June 29-30 in D.C.
to protest AG Garland’s inaction on women’s rights
Washington, D.C. — Frustrated by Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Joe Biden’s inaction on the long-awaited Equal Rights Amendment, members of the ERA-NC Alliance will stand vigil June 29 and 30 as Silent Sentinels outside the Department of Justice in protest. National organizers Equal Means Equal, which began the vigil June 10, have vowed to continue until Garland and Biden act on the ERA. Advocates nationwide have joined the vigil.
Garland has failed to order National Archivist David Ferriero to accept Virginia’s ratification of the ERA and to publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Exploiting Inequity
Join us on February 16th at 12:30 to learn about the inequities facing N.C. women, particularly women of color, both before and during the pandemic. The presentation by Executive Director, Mary Williams Stover, will focus on the research by the N.C. Council for Women highlighting the income, health issues and political participation inequality that has plagued N.C. women as well as their challenges during the pandemic. After the presentation, there will be a short Q & A featuring Mary Williams Stover, Adrienne Spinner and Sadie Blue as well as representatives from the ERA-NC Alliance.
ERA at the NCGA News
North Carolina made the national news in US News after yesterday’s press conference on the planned re-introduction of ratification bills for the Equal Rights Amendment in the NC General Assembly! Here are links to a few of the articles, we are getting noticed across the country:
https://www.usnews.com/news/
https://www.newsobserver.com/
https://thedailyrecord.com/
https://www.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.
https://apnews.com/
NC will try once again to ratify the (ERA) Equal Rights Amendment, WXII
Thanks to all the Senators and Representatives who have signed on as sponsors and co-sponsors. Let’s work to make N.C. the second Southern state to ratify the ERA!
Lori Bunton
Co-President, ERA-NC Alliance
Equality Tour
Vote Equality!
The ERA-NC Alliance has joined forces with VoteEquality.us to highlight equality-minded candidates in 2020. Below you’ll find North Carolina voter resources and tips.
This year we’re urging voters to be especially mindful to make a voting plan – COVID-19 has raised the urgency of secure absentee voting and how to stay safe while voting in person. We’ve also conducted our 2020 Candidates Survey to find out which candidates will support North Carolina’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, so voters can know which candidates have an equality mindset.
PRIORITY ACTION:
Check your voter registration; is everything is still correct?
www.ncsbe.gov
2020 Annual Meeting
Register Today!
Saturday, October 17th, 10 AM – 12:30 PM
Online Annual Meeting via Zoom
Virtual “doors” open at 9:45 AM
Our co-presidents, Lori Bunton and Jimmie Cochran Pratt, will share what we’ve accomplished this year, outline our plans moving forward toward North Carolina being the 39th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and what you can do to help us gain Constitutional Equality for all Americans.
Keynote Speaker, Steve Andersson
Steve Andersson is a Commissioner of Human Rights for the State of Illinois appointed by Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker. He is also a retired member of the Illinois House of Representatives. During his tenure, he was floor leader for the House Republican Caucus and oversaw all debate on the House floor.
#Face the Music 4ERA
SAVE THE DATE for #FacetheMusic4ERA!
Join us on Women’s Equality Day to raise our voices with music & calls-to-action for racial and gender justice and to put gender equality into the US Constitution! ERA-NC Alliance is a proud co-sponsor of this event.
FaceTheMusic4ERA is a virtual music concert featuring an amazing line-up of artists and speakers from across the country celebrating how far the ERA has come and laying out concrete next steps to get the job done!
It’s an opportunity for organizations & activists to come together, celebrate our accomplishments and learn how you can help make the ERA the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution.
Stay tuned for artists and top ERA speakers to be announced soon!
Find the FB event page here: https://www.facebook.com/
For national co-hosts & sponsors and event details visit: https://www.eramn.org/womens-
EVENT DETAILS:
WHEN: August 26th, 2020
TIME: 5pm PST – 7pm CST – 8pm EST
WHERE: FaceBook Live & Online
WHY: Celebrate, educate, agitate & activate for the 28th Amendment, the ERA!
Constitution Day and the ERA
Note to Press: you can also download the press release for this event.
The ERA-NC Alliance, AAUW-NC and NC NOW are launching a statewide ERA awareness campaign in advance of Constitution Day. Billboards, installed strategically across North Carolina (see locations below), will call for state ratification of the ERA. During the weeks leading up to Constitution Day on Sept. 17, advocates will promote ERA ratification with a series of activities, including an Instagram challenge.
The presidents of the three statewide organizations will jointly announce the campaign at a press conference August 22nd at 2 pm in the NC Legislative Building Press Room with state Sen. Floyd B. McKissick, Jr., and Rep. Carla Cunningham, the primary sponsors of ERA bills SB184 and HB271, respectively. Additional primary sponsors of the bills are Sens. Erica Smith and Terry Van Duyn, as well as Reps. Susan Fisher, Evelyn Terry and Julie von Haefen. You can watch the full press conference.
ERA bills SB184 and HB271 will continue to be viable until the end of the long General Assembly session. They are exempt from the crossover deadline.
Constitution Day is a federal holiday that recognizes the day the United States Constitution was adopted and signed by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 17th, 1787; it also recognizes those who have become U.S. citizens. Federal agencies and all publicly-funded educational institutions are required to provide educational programming on the history of the Constitution on that day. This makes the day a perfect time to educate Americans that women are not equally protected under our constitution, and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment will remedy that dire situation!
“An all-male panel wrote our constitution,” said Marena Groll, co-president of the ERA-NC Alliance. “Equality was a problem right out of the gate, and it’s something that has eluded us for more than 230 years.”
An ERA bill was introduced in Congress in 1923, but not passed until 1972. The amendment was then sent to the states for ratification. By the controversial 1982 deadline, 35 of the necessary 38 states had ratified. The ERA movement re-ignited in 2017, challenging the legitimacy of the deadline as Nevada became the 36th state to ratify, quickly followed by Illinois as the 37th the following year. North Carolina has the historic opportunity to become the 38th — and final — state necessary to ratify the ERA to guarantee equal rights for women and men under the U.S. Constitution, and our state’s efforts are being followed nationally.
“We are very excited about the new billboards,” said Gailya Paliga, president of NC NOW. “We hope they spark interest in the ERA as a fundamental legal remedy against sex discrimination for women and men.”
“What an honor if North Carolina will vote to ratify ERA and be the final state to approve Constitutional protection of equal rights for all Americans,” said Jane Terwillegar, president of AAUW North Carolina.
Find a billboard near you! Snap a photo of the billboards – even a selfie with them if you can do it safely – and share it on our Instagram page!
Here’s where they are (you can also download the locations with maps and photos):
WILMINGTON, NC: 426 S. COLLEGE RD 0.1 MI NORTH OF RANDALL PKWY
CONCORD, NC: HWY 29-601 @ HARTMAN
GREENSBORO, NC: COLISEUM SOUTH OF WEST GATE CITY BLVD
RALEIGH, NC: I-440 0.4 MI WEST OF US 401/NC50 (S SAUNDERS)
Organizations and members are encouraged to organize and participate in events and activities in the march up to Constitution Day, Sept 17 and during that week of Sept.15 – 21. Here are a bunch of fun ideas to get you started!
Photos from the press conference on August 22:
2019 Board Member Elections
Dear Members of the ERA-NC Alliance:
In advance of our Annual Meeting on October 5th, the Nominating Committee of the Alliance is seeking candidates for Directors for the 2020-2021 term (2 years). Any Individual Member or member of Lead Organizations who is in Good Standing according to the Bylaws may be eligible to be nominated as a Director.
You will find the Elections Process here, and if you need to update your membership status please visit our Membership Renewal or Join Us page. Please review these, share with anyone else who may be interested, and consider the following:
- Would you like to be part of the ERA-NC leadership that is building upon the national momentum and working to make North Carolina the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment?
- Are you willing to represent the ERA-NC Alliance, be visible in your community and in the state as an advocate for equal rights regardless of sex, and urge the NC General Assembly to ratify the ERA?
- Are you willing to participate in monthly board meeting conference calls, serve on committees as possible, promote the purposes and objectives of the Alliance and help manage the business, property and affairs of the Alliance?
- Would you consider an Officer position in the future? If so, which one(s)?
If you are willing to put your name in nomination for a Director, please submit an updated, brief bio to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Virginia Adamson, by August 30th. (virginia.adamson@yahoo.com)
Please help recruit potential Officers and Directors for the Board by reaching out to your personal network. Those who are interested should be paid members of the Alliance and submit their brief bios by August 30th as stated above.
Thank you so much for your membership with the Alliance. We are only as strong as the number of people willing to speak up and advocate for equal rights. 2020 will build on the momentum we have built in 2019 for the Equal Rights Amendment. We need significant energy and commitment to make the ERA a reality!
Virginia Adamson
Nominating Committee Chair