Press Release: When Women Gather: Uniting for Positive Change on 7/25/20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COALITION OF NC WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS SPONSOR EVENT ADDRESSING RACISM IN THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT

RALEIGH, NC, July 15, 2020 – This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment which granted many women in the US the right to vote. However, 1920 was not the end of the fight for suffrage. As Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson explains: “When our volunteer committee sat down together to plan this event we did so out of a need to tell a fuller story of suffrage. Early on we decided that we would commemorate, not celebrate, the passage of the 19th Amendment. How could we fully celebrate the enactment of an Amendment that in practice left so many women – Black/African, Asian, Native American, Latina – out of the franchise? And we also know that with this more inclusive 19th Amendment narrative we have an opportunity to engage in the process of reconciliation.”

A coalition of NC women’s organizations is sponsoring a virtual event, “When Women Gather: Uniting for Positive Change,” on Saturday, July 25th at 9:30am to 12:00pm. It is free and open to all. 

What: When Women Gather: Uniting For Positive Change
When: Saturday, July 25th at 9:30am to 12:00pm
Where: Zoom
Who: Speaker biographies at https://bit.ly/2Obvjr0
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/601075534142598/
Register here: https://www.lwvwake.org/when-women-gather-conference
Price: Free

“The conference title is inspired by the song, “The Women Gather” by “Sweet Honey in the Rock” – lifting up the voices of all women in the work of greater political engagement,” Dr. Johnson said.

Opening remarks will be provided by Mandy Carter, a North Carolina African American lesbian social justice activist. The keynote speaker is Dr. Lisa Tetrault, author of the award-winning book The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898. The keynote presentation will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Donna Chavis, a recognized leader in social and environmental justice work and a member of the Lumbee tribe. Panelists include: Cas Shearin, a social justice advocate who facilitates discussions to foster relationships and promote racial equity truth-telling and healing; Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson, Dean of the School of Arts, Sciences, & Humanities at Shaw University and chair of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission; and Mary Williams-Stover, Executive Director of the NC Council for Women and Youth Involvement. Speaker bios are available at https://bit.ly/2Obvjr0.

The event will include small group breakout discussions in which participants are encouraged to understand issues through a lens of intersectionality (race, gender, economic equity, etc.), to develop goals, strategies, and action plans for advancing positive change, and to create a foundation for long term collaborative working relationships.

Event sponsors include AAUW NC; Democracy NC; ERA-NC Alliance; League of Women Voters NC; MomsRising Education Fund; NC Council of Churches; NC Council for Women and Youth Involvement; NC National Organization for Women; NC Women Vote Centennial; PoliticaNC; Public Schools First NC; Ratify ERA-NC; Shaw University – School of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities; UNCG Humanities Network and Consortium; Women’s Forum of North Carolina; and WomenNC.

Learn more or register at https://www.lwvwake.org/when-women-gather-conference.
PDF of the When Women Gather event press release available at WWG Press Release FINAL.

Media Contact:
Virginia Adamson, Event Committee Chair
Email: ncwvc2020@gmail.com
Phone: 919-886-7035
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/601075534142598/
Twitter: @NCWomenGather
Instagram: whenwomengathernc

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Shortlink: https://wp.me/p22b2e-2Ii