From the desk of Debra Ness

Hi John,

Today is Women's Equality Day -- a day intended to celebrate the progress our nation has made since women won the right to vote in 1920.

But it's a false narrative that all women in America won the right to vote when the 19th Amendment was ratified.

The sad truth is that it only applied to white women -- because the white-dominant suffrage movement deliberately excluded women of color, leaving an unfinished fight that continued for decades longer.

That's why, instead of celebrating today, the National Partnership is remembering women of color who kept fighting to get the vote for ALL women -- courageous women like Mary Church Terrell,
Ida B. Wells and Zitkala-Sa, who endured the compounded harm caused by pervasive, deep-rooted gender AND racial bias.

Mary Church Terrell spent her life championing racial and gender equality, but suffrage leaders did not openly welcome her into their organizations. In a speech before the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1904, Terrell demanded, "My sisters of the dominant race, stand up not only for the oppressed sex but also for the oppressed race!"1
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At the 1913 woman's suffrage parade in Washington D.C., journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells was told by parade organizers to march in the back or not march at all. Wells refused. And at great personal risk, she marched alongside the delegation of women from her state.
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A member of the Yankton Dakota Sioux, Zitkala-Sa ("Red Bird") lectured across the country promoting Native American culture and citizenship for Indigenous people. "In the land that was once his own ... there was never a time more opportune than now for America to enfranchise the Red man!"2
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We are proud to recognize and advocate for these brave and visionary women of color to be elevated to their rightful place in suffragist history.

We also know that the entrenched racism and gender discrimination that held these women back continues today. And in our ongoing fight to achieve equality for all women we must intentionally address the compounding impacts of race and gender discrimination. With your help, we are centering women of color in all that we do as we continue the fight for equity, liberty and justice for all. Thank you for believing in this important work, John. Your support makes all the difference!


Time's up for pay inequality.

Earlier this month, the National Partnership took part in a closed-door session with members of the U.S. women's national soccer team and participants of Hollywood's TIME'S UP campaign to discuss pay equity for women. The next day, the TIME'S UP, Pay Up campaign for equal pay was launched.

This exciting new partnership helps advance our efforts to break down barriers to women's equality and close the gender and racial wage gap. We'll keep you updated as this important work
progresses.
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Fighting Trump's discrimination and bigotry in health care.

I wrote to you previously about the Trump administration's latest attack on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- a proposed rule that would gut a section of the ACA known as the Health Care Rights
Law that prohibits discrimination in health care against women, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency, and many others.

I am proud to report that our coalition mobilized more than 130,000 people -- including thousands of National Partnership supporters -- to speak out against this dangerous rule during the public
comment period. In exercising our right to petition the government through the public comment period and in speaking out against discrimination and bigotry, we uphold our core democratic values and
principles. Thank you for making this important work possible!

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Partner spotlight: uplifting Black communities.

On August 28, the Young Black and Giving Back Institute is hosting the second annual #GivingBlackDay - the only fundraising day dedicated to Black-led grassroots organizations that specifically
serve and uplift Black communities.
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This unique day takes place during Black Philanthropy Month and falls on August 28 due to its historical significance, for example:

August 28, 1955: 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered by three white men, which became a "flashpoint in the civil rights movement."

August 28, 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

August 28, 2008: Then-Senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, becoming the first black man ever to win the nomination and bid for the presidency.

Show your support by donating whatever you can to the Black organizations featured at givingblackday.org.
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Thanks for reading this month's update! And please visit us on Twitter @NPWF to help rewrite the history of women's suffrage.
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-- Debra

Debra Ness
President
National Partnership for Women & Families


________________________________

National Partnership for Women & Families
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 650
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 986-2600
Fax: (202) 986-2539
Email: [email protected]
Web: [link removed]

© 2019 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.
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