BY MADELYN AMOS | Chants of “not one more year” filled downtown D.C. as equal rights activists marched from the White House to the Capitol on Dec. 13—the 100-year anniversary of the ERA’s introduction in the House of Representatives. Activists, led by the ERA Coalition, demanded that not one more year pass without rights being protected by the Constitution on the basis of sex.
Advocates flew in from across the country to gather in Lafayette Square, urging Congress to affirm the ERA and remove the arbitrary time limit set for ratification when it passed the ERA in 1972. The march shut down Pennsylvania Avenue, first stopping at the Department of Justice to ask Attorney Merrick General Garland to remove the Trump administration OLC memo that is obstructing the ERA’s path. The march continued on to the National Archives, where advocates reminded the U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan that the ERA has met all the requirements according to Article V and should be published as the 28th Amendment.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) joined the march in front of the National Archives, giving a passionate speech highlighting the work women of color have done in the fight for equality and urging her fellow members of Congress to affirm the ERA.
The march culminated in a press conference at the House Triangle, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) who echoed a unified call for justice. Speakers included: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.); Gloria L. Blackwell, CEO of American Association of University Women; Honorable Carolyn Maloney, board chair of the ERA Coalition and former U.S. representative; Eleanor Smeal, president of Feminist Majority; Shalina Effendi, organizer with Generation Ratify; Kase Solomón, CEO of League of Women Voters; and Margaret Mitchell, CEO of YWCA USA.
The centennial anniversary of the ERA became a pivotal moment, uniting advocates in the shared commitment to see the ERA recognized as the 28th Amendment, a testament to the enduring pursuit of equality for all.
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