It’s International Women’s Day, and I’m thinking about the brave champions who’ve shown us how we can tackle all the righteous fights that lie ahead.

American history is chock-full of powerful examples. If you’ve got a minute, I’d like to run through just a few of them.

Phillis Wheatley, the first Black woman to publish a book of poetry in America — her imaginative power inspired leaders like George Washington, and she had to stand tall against attacks on her intellect and integrity.

Black washerwomen in Atlanta who formed a union and went on strike in 1881, less than two decades after the end of enslavement — they won higher wages and inspired more workers to fight for economic justice.

Women at the Everett Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts who went on strike in 1912 — they defeated big businesses, won higher wages, and sparked a movement that increased the pay of hundreds of thousands of other textile workers throughout New England.

Frances Perkins, who was driven to keep fighting for workers after witnessing the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, where 146 workers (mostly women, mostly immigrants) died in unsafe conditions — she helped pass landmark safety measures and labor laws, became the first woman to serve in the Cabinet, and helped create programs like Social Security as FDR’s Secretary of Labor.

Latina janitors in Los Angeles who launched a campaign in the 1980s for higher wages, better benefits, and a seat at the negotiating table — they captured the nation’s attention, mobilized a wide range of allies, took on global corporations, and won.

By channeling their determination, we can persist in making the change we need to make. We can call out injustice, and we can fight back.

And we’ve got plenty of fights on our hands.

Too many women still don’t get equal pay for equal work.

Too many women are still locked out of the workforce and denied opportunity because they can’t find quality, affordable child care.

Too many women have to choose between taking care of their families and putting food on the table because we still don’t guarantee paid family leave as a nation.

Too many trans women — particularly trans women of color — face discrimination and have to live in fear of violence just for being who they are.

And for the first time in over half a century, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day in a country that doesn’t protect the right to an abortion nationwide.

So today’s a chance to celebrate the trailblazers who’ve made so much progress, and it also calls on us to keep up the fight. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth

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