Envisioning Equality: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage

Ninety years ago today, American society experienced a long overdue shift in the status quo. On August 26, 1920, after decades of struggle, the United States finally afforded women the right to vote.

The women responsible for this triumph walked no easy road to victory. Jane Addams, Abigail Adams, Lucy Burns and Alice Paul. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Ida B. Wells. Frances E.W. Harper, Sojourner Truth and Margaret Fuller. Lucy Stone. Lucretia Mott. Susan B. Anthony. Their names may be more or less familiar, but we too often forget how much these women sacrificed, over more than a century, to make possible every advantage today's women now enjoy.

Personal losses were common: some of these women alienated spouses, friends and loved ones as a result of their commitment to seeing women treated as full citizens. Others were shot at. Attacked by mobs. Locked in jail and threatened with death. There was no shortage of creativity when it came to devising ways to try to scare these women out of the streets and back into the kitchen.

And yet, despite all this, they pressed on. They rallied at Seneca Falls in 1848, and hosted a National Women's Rights Convention in 1850. They built formal organizations and associations to further the cause. They advocated in the streets, and organized in the statehouses until one hot day in August 1920, their movement had gained so much steam that 36 states ratified an amendment giving women the right to vote, ensuring that suffrage would be the right of every American woman.

It was a remarkable thing these women did, over so much time, and with so much opposition. They literally changed the world for those of us who live in it now. On this day, the 90th anniversary of their triumph, we pause to honor all they did, and all they gave, on our behalf.

Bringing true honor to these extraordinary women requires us to do more than just nod our heads in remembrance of the good fight they fought. It requires a commitment from those of us who treasure a democracy of full equity and inclusion to continue their work of ensuring that all Americans have equal access to the freedoms and opportunities our Constitution promises.

The grantees of the Ms. Foundation are the embodiment of that fighting spirit. From the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, to the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative; from National Advocates for Pregnant Women to Green for All to the National Women's Law Center -- every one of our grantees works each day to build a more just democracy and help make equality, finally, the law of the land.

Their work is, in so many ways, a direct extension of the groundbreaking work the suffragists did to begin to level the proverbial playing field, and we applaud them for their courage and determination in the face of so the many challenges that continue to block the path to full equality.

Happily, our grantees are not alone in their efforts. The movement to build women's collective power runs broad and deep, and is made up of thousands of social justice organizations driving change.

Among them is a group called Vision 2020, which has launched a decade-long national project dedicated to pick up where the suffragists left off. Their goal is to see gender equality achieved no later August 26, 2020 -- the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment. The group's first public event takes place on October 21-22, 2010, when a congress of national delegates, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, will meet at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to launch an action agenda to move America toward equality by this important date.

It's hard to imagine that the suffragists wouldn't be exceedingly proud. On this important day in women's history, be sure to make your own commitment to honoring their legacy: pledge to support a new generation of women's leadership working to ensure equality for all.

Image: Postcard, c 1913, Library of Congress.

Shackling Incarcerated Pregnant Women is a Reproductive Justice Issue

Few people can claim that childbirth is easy. For most women, it turns out to be a painful, sometimes scary, but ultimately bearable means to a joyous and long anticipated end. But for women in state prisons across this country, childbirth has taken on a whole new level of terror and shame. Why? Because they’re often forced to labor, and give birth, in chains.

Though such practices violate international standards of practice and have now been banned in federal prisons, forty states still permit the use of shackles during the childbirth process. Thankfully, a handful are now moving to repeal that policy – due in large part to the activism of local organizations and individuals who understand the practice for what it is: an inhumane and unnecessary means of stigmatizing and shaming women in prison, the majority of whom, it’s important to note, have been jailed for non-violent offenses.

Ms. Foundation grantee SPARK Reproductive Justice Now! has spent more than two years researching and documenting the experiences of incarcerated pregnant women in the organization’s home state of Georgia – a state that does permit the shackling of pregnant women in its prisons. Detailing the conditions under which female prisoners in Georgia experience labor and delivery, Tonya Williams, a program director at SPARK writes on RH Reality Check,

…Incarcerated pregnant women across the state of Georgia have been and continue to be subjected to shackling by the wrists, ankles or around the belly on their way to the hospital, during labor and delivery and in recovery. Dehumanized, shamed by the visible signs of their bondage, and oftentimes unable to receive the holistic and essential pre- and postnatal care and nutrition needed, pregnant women in Georgia must confront a painful reality. They have become a part of the modern day chain gang.

Williams’ article (which also highlights the work of Ms. Foundation grantee The Rebecca Project) is an important entry in the conversation about the rights of the incarcerated – and it offers a critical reminder that reproductive justice is about securing the right for all of us to “make sustainable and libratory decisions about [our] fertility, bodies, genders, sexualities, families and lives.” When women in state prisons are routinely physically restrained – against international convention and federal policy – during the most personal and intimate of human experiences, it becomes clear that the link between “reproduction” and “justice” has been badly broken. Organizations like SPARK, The Rebecca Project and another Ms. Foundation grantee, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, are hard at work crafting innovative solutions to problems like these; we applaud them for shining light on an often hidden segment of the fight for reproductive justice, and are proud to support their work.

Sherrybaby and Reproductive Justice: NCRW Reports

Our Sherrybaby screening and discussion was a wonderful success, but don't take our word on it, read Kyla Bender-Baird's perspective on the National Council for Research on Women's Big Five blog. She noted:

Coming out of communities rather than a legal framework, reproductive justice tackles a broad spectrum of issues from immigration to LGBT identities to worker rights, highlighting the intersections and recognizing institutional barriers. By exploring the themes of poverty, single motherhood, the criminal justice system, and the welfare system, the Ms. Foundation utilized Sherrybaby as a catalyst for greater discussion of reproductive justice.

Read the posting for more on our grantees: Migrant Health Promotion, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and the Rebecca Project.

Ms. Foundation Grantees Achieved Important Electoral Victories

Grassroots organizing was not only key to electing our country's first African American president last month, but an essential ingredient in local and state efforts as well. With the election not far behind us, we wanted to take a moment to congratulate our grantees who employed innovative cross-issue, cross-constituency and community-based approaches to campaigns for progressive, and against regressive, ballot measures initiatives across the U.S.

Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) led a bilingual, social justice and coalition-driven campaign to oppose Colorado Amendments 46, an anti-affirmative action measure, and 48, which would have assigned "personhood" status to a fetus and severely undermined women's reproductive rights.

Amendment 46, the so-called "Civil Rights Initiative," was defeated by a mere 28,000 votes; while the margin of victory isn't huge, it marks the first time voters have rejected such a ban (similar ones have passed in recent years in California, Michigan and Washington and one passed this year in Nebraska) and points to the success of door-to-door grassroots organizing efforts undertaken by groups like COLOR. We hope this sends a signal to the sponsors of affirmative-action bans that they're ability to dupe voters into thinking they're voting for instead of against civil rights is on the wane.

Amendment 48, on the other hand, was rejected handily by Colorado voters by a 3:1 ratio. COLOR's strategic approach deserves much of the credit: COLOR conducted grassroots outreach to Latina/o voters and the only Spanish-language media campaign addressing the initiative; they made strategic connections between 46 and 48; and they built partnerships with key labor and racial justice groups across the state. Their campaign expanded the base of opposition to Amendment 48 and brought organizers and constituencies into the fold who weren't used to thinking about reproductive justice as "their" issue.

COLOR's partnership with another Ms. grantee, National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), was also critical. COLOR and NAPW, a national voice for pregnant women's rights, joined to produce and distribute English- and Spanish-language materials for outreach and education, including op-eds that were widely published throughout the state, and to deliver messages that framed the issue as one of birthing rights and familial health. NAPW also partnered with local groups to-successfully-oppose an anti-abortion ballot measure in South Dakota. See their New York Times letter to the editor and YouTube video about how these initiatives, including California's Prop 4 (see below), would have threatened the rights and health of all pregnant women, including those going to term.

In California a number of our grantees, including ACCESS/Women's Health Rights, ACT for Women and Girls, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ), California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, the Dolores Huerta Foundation and Young Workers United (YWU) worked to successfully defeat Prop 4, the third "parental notification" ballot initiative to hit the state in four years. These groups built on the relationships and strategies that they had developed during past campaigns, including targeted outreach with distinct messages that would resonate in communities of color, immigrant communities and among youth. And many worked in partnership with statewide coalitions to ensure the voices of people of color were present and to insist upon building and mobilizing a broader base against this and future regressive measures.

Simultaneously, understanding the connections between issues and the combined threats ballot initiatives posed to their constituents, groups like ACRJ and YWU led cross-issue, grassroots efforts to oppose California propositions that aimed to increase the criminalization of youth, low-income people and people of color-Prop 6, which was rejected, and Prop 9, which passed-and to fight against the well-known Prop 8, which banned same-sex marriage.

Finally, in Milwaukee, WI, Multi-State Working Families Consortium had a big win: they succeeded in placing a paid sick days initiative on the ballot, and won. [Read coverage of the win in the Chicago Tribune and Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel] The Consortium, a network of coalitions from 11 states, has had a good year: they won the passage of paid family leave in New Jersey and paid sick days in Washington, DC and have seen bills move through key committees and legislative bodies in other states. They've also put together a Valuing Families at Work agenda [PDF] for candidates and elected officials, an indispensible resource for President-elect Barack Obama and his economic advisors as they design and implement an economic recovery plan, which must place the security of women, families and communities at the center.

Ms. Foundation Grantees Collaborate in Opposition to Colorado Amendment 48 Declaring Personhood Begins at Fertilization

Two Ms. Foundation grantees, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), and the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) are working together to oppose the "Definition of Person" amendment to the Colorado State Constitution. Amendment 48, on the ballot before voters on November 4, declares that the term person includes "any human being from the moment of fertilization" and would grant that person "inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law."

As noted on COLOR's web site, the amendment (emphasis added)

goes too far by outlawing all abortions, even in the case of rape, incest, and to save the life of the woman. The amendment does not respect family decisions and puts women's health at risk. Even though many Latinos would not choose abortion for themselves, we respect other people's decisions and believe that family decisions should be private.

In a letter to the editor in the New York Times, NAPW Executive Director Lynn M. Paltrow, writing about the Colorado amendment and related ones in California, and South Dakota, noted:

Measures that outlaw abortion and recognize fetal rights are routinely used to hurt all pregnant women, including those going to term. Such measures are used to control, and sometimes punish, women who do not want unnecessary Caesarean surgery; who want to have vaginal births after previous Caesarean surgery; women who love their children but can’t necessarily overcome a drug or alcohol problem in the short term of a pregnancy; and women who suffer unintentional stillbirths.

In collaboration, NAPW and COLOR have prepared a one-page fact sheet in English and Spanish that is part of state-wide education efforts and COLOR's grassroots door-to-door canvassing. Both organizations are also pursuing public information and voter education campaigns. Lynn Paltrow, of NAPW, in collaboration with Indra Lusero of the Luz Reproductive Justice Think Tank, wrote a commentary that has appeared in numerous local papers including the Vail Daily. Lynn Paltrow's speaking visit was covered in the Denver Daily News with an exploration of the opposition to Amendment 48.