Our Fight is Not Done! Speech from Rally For Our Rights
How many of you are surprised that despite our shock the world vote in August, our Kansas legislature is still looking for ways to ban abortion in our great state?
Me either.
OUR FIGHT IS NOT DONE!
I hate to tell you this – it will NEVER be done.
Every inch of progress we claw out has to continually be defended to the teeth from those that want us to be powerless so we are easier to control.
But what these authoritarians don’t understand is we will not go back. Women and our allies are more than 50% of the population. We will not let them erase us or our hard-fought progress.
Oh no.
If we were meant to be controlled, we would have come with a remote.
I understand being tired of fighting. I am tired of fighting for the same basic rights that we’ve been battling to gain for centuries.
We've been fighting since 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention, where the Declaration of Sentiments was signed, the beginnings of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Since 1916 when the first birth control clinic opened in Brooklyn, whose fight to stay open founded the American Birth Control League, which has grown into Planned Parenthood.
Since 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified, declaring that citizens shall not be denied the right to vote based on account of sex.
Since the 1960s when the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act banned employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and required them to pay equitable wages.
Since 1972 when Congress passed the Equal Right Amendment, granting equality of rights under the law that cannot be denied or abridged on account of sex. – Which we’re still fighting.
Now is not the time to stop fighting. Now is the time to recruit more badasses to come to the front lines.
The more of us that come together – the more powerful we are.
So what can you do to join the fight?
1. Get engaged and stay current on what is happening.
Our opponents’ biggest weapon is our ignorance and apathy.
2. Vote every single time, no matter what we’re voting on, even when it doesn’t seem like our rights are not in direct danger.
They are. Believe me, our right to vote would be taken away in a heartbeat if it were possible.
3. Get involved in building community.
Talk to people. Come together. Build alliances. Bring a friend with you and get to know the women in our community.
4. Stay focused on the big picture.
We’re not all going to agree on everything, so don’t get your panties in a wad. Our goal is to have freedom over our own lives, futures, bodies, and minds. Equality for all.
5. Help get the ERA ratified.
In 2020 the last state needed to reach full ratification was finally achieved for the amendment to take effect. Now Congress needs to step in to finalize getting this amendment added to the Constitution. They’re going to need a lot of coaxing.
Having this protection in the Constitution would protect the right to bodily autonomy like it does in Kansas.
6. Never ever ever GIVE UP!
We can work together by recruiting more women and allies to join our fight. The more people that help, the less exhausting the fight will be. There will be others to step forward when you are ready for a rest.
We can’t afford to give up. Our sisters, daughters, granddaughters, the women that come after us, and the whole world need our brilliance. We will not let our light be dulled. We have much to give.
Matriarchy will save the world. It’s time we make that happen.
Did you know I've published a book? Learn more about it here!
Because We’re Never Finished
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