As we prepare for the incoming administration, many people are worried about what that looks like and how the changes in Washington could impact their daily lives. For women who have lost reproductive freedoms in recent years or those who are still struggling to get the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) certified, there is pressure to gain momentum before potentially losing even more rights. Their hopes and demands are urgent, timely, and largely misunderstood.
Take, for example, a situation Dr. Nancy recently shared. She was explaining to a woman how the ERA would help defend women’s equality in all aspects of life, to which the woman responded, “That sounds like socialism.” While socialism seeks economic equality for all, history shows us that it does so by limiting freedom, autonomy, and ownership, much like communism. While both political systems are rejections of capitalism, instead giving economic power to the working class, they are far from the same. Democracy, in concept and practice, is the complete opposite. This grand experiment was founded on freedom and the ability to have a voice in the way we’re governed and the laws we agree to live by.
Looking back, the founding fathers were white male landowners, which was a requirement at the time to be a “citizen.” The first Congress addressed the issue with the Naturalization Act of 1790, which provided a uniform law for a path to citizenship and the ability to own land. It required being free, white, and living at least two years in the U.S. while proving to the courts he was “a person of good character, and taking the oath or affirmation prescribed by law to support the Constitution of the United States.” Children of U.S. citizens who were born abroad could also be citizens. This only included 80% of the population at the time. Various adjustments were made to include others.
Crusade for the Vote tells the story of rights awarded or limited by language in the amendments. “The 14th Amendment affirmed the new rights of freed women and men in 1868. The law stated that everyone born in the United States, including former slaves, was an American citizen. No state could pass a law that took away their rights to ‘life, liberty, or property.’ The 14th Amendment also added the first mention of gender into the Constitution. It declared that all male citizens over twenty-one years old should be able to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment affirmed that the right to vote ‘shall not be denied…on account of race’.”
“The insertion of the word ‘male’ into the Constitution and the enfranchisement of African American men presented new challenges for women’s rights activists. For the first time, the Constitution asserted that men—not women—had the right to vote. Previously, only state laws restricted voting rights to men. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote, ‘If that word ‘male’ be inserted, it will take us a century at least to get it out’.”
In fact, Suffragists had to wait until 1920 for the final enactment of 19th Amendment, which was addressed in every session of Congress for 42 years. Yet Black women were still denied voting rights. It took the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to “enforce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution” and outlaw “the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.” The National Archives notes the impact of the act, “The Voting Rights Act had an immediate impact. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black voters had been registered, one-third by federal examiners. By the end of 1966, only four out of 13 southern states had fewer than 50 percent of African Americans registered to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was readopted and strengthened in 1970, 1975, and 1982.”
With all women finally getting the right to vote, you’d think we would have more of a voice in the way we’re governed. But we still lack representation, and protections for the civil liberties—our rights and freedoms—promised by our democracy. More women of every color feel their rights are being abused since the overturning of Roe v Wade and the refusal of the Archivist’s Office to publish the ERA.
Publishing the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution “gives everyone, without regard to sex, the freedom and opportunity to give the best they have to offer,” says Zakiya Thomas, President of the ERA Coalition. The Coalition represents 300 organizations and over 80 million people fighting today’s battle in defense of finally getting Constitutional protections without regard to sex. Some argue the 14th Amendment does that, but remember its use of the word “male.” In January 2022, Alanna Vagianos wrote in Huffington Post, “A Trump-Era Memo Is Blocking The Equal Rights Amendment From Being Ratified Today. The Equal Rights Amendment, which ensures women have equal protections under the law, should become the 28th Amendment of the Constitution this week.” The memo stated that the ratification of the ERA had expired in 1982, and advocates were directed to start over after fighting for passage over 100 years. Despite a memo from several members of Congress to the Assistant Attorney General citing the reasons for the ERA to be published and a statement supporting its publication by President Biden, publication was stalled by the former administration—and it remains stalled.
The fight for the ERA is the story of our ongoing fight for democracy. It’s the story of coming together and amplifying our voices in support of our rights and civil liberties. A similar story can be found in Missouri, where the ACLU led the fight and achieved passage of Amendment 3 by petition and a statewide vote. In her podcast interview with Dr. Nancy, Executive Director Luz Maria Henriquez said that the passage is the story of democracy at work. Communities came together in a grassroots effort to gain signatures and meet the state requirements for ballot inclusion. Missouri has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Amendment 3 overrides those laws and restores women’s reproductive rights. However, it wasn’t an easy win, and the opposition – citizen and elected – did all they could to throw up barriers to prevent its appearance on the ballot. Luz said they were, in effect, attacking democracy, and through litigation, the ACLU of Missouri overrode their actions, and Amendment 3 ultimately passed.
The bottom line is that democracy is never finished. When our civil rights, “the right…[of] any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” is at risk, we need the full protection of the ERA and of elected representation that truly focuses on our rights and freedoms. Every day, we hear threats of more potential restrictions and prohibitions. It is up to us to remain vigilant, separate truth from fiction, and support organizations that support our civil rights and the freedom we all cherish. Let’s work together for the common good to ensure that we all have an equal opportunity to survive and thrive and give our best. Freedom is a privilege we all deserve. Let’s not give it away, but do everything we can to speak out, defend, and protect it for our children and our children’s children.