National Organization for Women Names ERA Ratification as Top Priority
"Women are still not guaranteed equal rights under the U.S. Constitution. NOW has made ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) a top priority because equality in pay, job opportunities, political structure, education, health care, including reproductive health care, and education will remain elusive without a guarantee in the U.S. Constitution.
An ERA would also make it significantly more difficult to roll back progress on women’s equality: an acute concern in our current political climate. NOW supports an intersectional interpretation of the ERA that uplifts the needs of all women including immigrant women, low-income women, women of color, women with disabilities, and the LGBTQIA+ community."
National Organization for Women
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ONE MORE STATE
NOT ONE MORE GENERATION CALL TO ACTION: ERA ADVOCACY DAY Wednesday, June 27 - NCGA Raleigh, NC - 9:30 am |
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One more state. Not one more generation. NC4ERA urges you to participate in ERA-NC Alliance's Advocacy Day on Wednesday, June 27th at the legislature in Raleigh.
The CALL TO ACTION comes on the heels of Illinois becoming the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Only one more state ratification is needed to amend the US Constitution. NC is now the face of the national conversation. Our state is poised to make history, becoming the 38th and final state needed to push the passage of the amendment over the top. But ERA bills S782 and H1072 are sitting in Rules Committees in both chambers, unconsidered and unheard as session draws to a close. We need to lobby for the ERA NOW. Don’t miss this moment in history as we call on the General Assembly to account for continued inaction and prepare to HEAR FROM US in 2019. We will not stop. We will not wait another generation. #OneMoreState #NotOneMoreGeneration #ALLforERA Join the ERA NC Advocacy Day event on Facebook and be sure to click on the “share” drop-down button, and “Invite friends!” Advocates are welcome to attend the press conference in a show of support for the legislation. If you cannot attend, you can listen using the link to the audio stream of the Press Conference Room. |
Event: ERA-NC Advocacy Day
Date: Wednesday, June 27 Location: North Carolina General Assembly, 16 W. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC . Time: 9:30 am – 1:00 pm 09:30 am - Gather on the 1st floor, 1300 quadrant. This is to the left as you enter the bldg, Jones Street entrance. 10:00 am - Bill Sponsor Press Conference in the press conference room, 1st floor, 1300 quadrant. 10:30 am - Gather outside press room. Distribution of educational packages to legislators. Please wear green and white. Lapel ribbons will be distributed in limited numbers. Should you make a sign supporting the ERA, please be aware signs cannot be carried into the gallery or press room. You must pass through a security check at entrances. Visit the NCGA website for information about directions, parking and dining at the legislature. Please share this invitation widely with your friends, family and acquaintances. |
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AnnouncementSave The Date!
October 6, 2018 ERA-NC Alliance Annual Membership Meeting Don't forget to mark your calendars now and join us! |
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Constitution Week
September 10-17, 2017 |
Special Screening
"Equal Means Equal" |
"EQUAL MEANS EQUAL"
Screenings near you |
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Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17th this year. Learn why WOMEN still aren't equal under the US Constitution. Find your local campus showing of the ground-breaking film, "Equal Means Equal," and support women's civil rights.
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Fri., Sept. 15 at 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Hitchcock Rm. Sonja Haynes Stone Center, 150 South Rd, Chapel Hill, NC Click here to download flyer 
Panelists
Eleanor Smeal, President Feminist Majority Foundation Jessica Neuwirth, President National ERA Coalition NV State Senator Pat Spearman NC Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. NC Representative Carla Cunningham Emily Hagstrom, Public Policy & Political Science UNC |
Tues., Sept. 12 at 6:00 pm
NC State University – Raleigh Talley Student Union, 2610 Cates Ave Tues., Sept. 12 at 6:00 pm NC Central University – Durham Alfonso Elder Student Union 1801 Fayetteville St #125 Wed., Sept. 13 at 2:00 - 5:00 pm University of NC – Wilmington Wrightsville Beach Room Fisher Student Center Thurs., Sept. 14 at 7:00 pm Mars Hill University – Mars Hil Belk Auditorium Wren Student Union 100 Athletic Dr. |
Operation Cookie Drop: "I Love The ERA"
NC4ERA will join the ERA-NC Alliance for Operation Cookie Drop: “I Love the ERA” at the North Carolina General Assembly at 16 West Jones Street in Raleigh, NC on June 7, 2017, at 2:00 pm.
Particpants will gather in the 1300 quadrant. In an effort to alert the members of the House and Senate Committees on Rules as to the importance of ERA bills HB102 and S85, participants will distribute heart-shaped cookies and literature on why the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be ratified. The cookies will be provided to participants. Urge the members of the Rules Committees to support the ERA by downloading and acting on the latest ERA-NC Legislative Alert. |
ERA ratification bills HB102 and S85 were both sent to the House and State Committees on Rules, where bills frequently expire without being voted on. Furthermore, the General Assembly is currently pushing to truncate this year’s session, additionally diminishing the chances that the bills will be heard this session. Our hope is to draw their attention to the need to pass bills out of committee and inform the members about the issue of the ERA in general.
RSVP is not required, but will assist ERA-NC with planning! Please RSVP here.
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Editorial Board Raleigh News & Observer Endorses ERAThis time, NC should pass the ERA
April 1, 2017 By The Editorial Board
Last week as legislative leaders scrambled to reach a compromise on House Bill 2, a group of women activists and legislators gathered in the Legislative Building to advocate for a much older law involving gender – the Equal Rights Amendment. The event, complete with women holding the iconic round signs of 45 years ago emblazoned with “ERA YES,” felt like it was happening in a time warp, but the issue is very much part of now. Bills filed in both the state House and Senate this year would give the legislature a chance to ratify the amendment. Read more. |
Photo Credit: News and Observer In 1982, about 7,000 Equal Rights Amendment supporters demonstrated in Raleigh.
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Women's Mobilization Monday
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Currently, North Carolina has two ERA bills, H102 and S85, sitting in the Rules Committees of the House and Senate chambers. Representative Carla Cunningham and Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. are the primary sponsors of the bills, respectively. Supporters are advocating that the bills be re-assigned to committees where they will become a priority to be heard.
Rep. Cunningham will recognize the work of all the women and men in the gallery to secure equal rights for women and congratulate the ten counties and municipalities in NC that have passed an ERA resolution. Adoptions of ERA resolutions are rolling across the state since record-setting numbers of women’s rights advocates participated in the historic Women’s March in DC in January of this year. Press Conference Women's Mobilization Monday
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NCGA 2-14-17 Press Conference L-R Joyce Mitchell, President Democratic Women of NC; Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr.; Pat Sledge, Business and Professional Women of NC; Representative Carla Cunningham; Virginia Adamson, ERA-NC Alliance; Audrey Muck, ERA-NC Alliance Media Communications
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North Carolina General Assembly Action Alert 02/14/17
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Durham City Council passes an ERA Resolution
Durham, NC - The Durham City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) at its regular council meeting on October 17, 2016. The action is being heralded as an historic event by members of the ERA-NC Alliance, who advocated for its passage. The council is the first municipal body in North Carolina to re-engage on the issue of fully enfranchising women in the United States Constitution.
In 1972 a proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed both houses of the U.S. Congress and was sent to the states for ratification. By a 1982 deadline, only 35 of the required 38 states had ratified the ERA. North Carolina was one of the states that failed to ratify the ERA. However, the state is becoming a leader in a new movement to pass the ERA. Marena Groll, Chair of NC4ERA and Co-Chair of ERA-NC, commended the action of the council as “forward-thinking and critically relevant.” |
The reemergence of the ERA occurs at a time of significant political unrest for women who are increasingly the family breadwinners and community leaders, but continue to experience sexual discrimination.
Groll stated that, “In this election cycle, we have been shocked into a national conversation about sexism and inequality. It’s an unsparing look at everything from wage inequity to rape culture. Women are powerfully positioned in the conversation as an important voting demographic on the issues.” Groll predicts that blatant sexual discrimination will continue to drive a demand for constitutional equality. “The ERA will be the next defining step for women’s civil rights in America. We are caught up in a breaking wave of the most educated, communications-savvy women in the world. They aren’t going to sit still and be denied the constitutional tools to defend themselves against retro-cultural practices that are hostile to them and to their families.” The Alliance will be taking the ERA campaign to other cities and counties across the state. 
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NC4ERA Joins Equal Means Equal
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EME House Party Pack
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Trigger Alert. Click image to play trailer. EQUAL MEANS EQUAL is a groundbreaking exploration of gender inequality in the USA featuring top women's rights activists, leaders, and survivors. A brutal expose of a broken system, the film reignites the dialogue on full legal equality for all Americans. Kamala Lopez: equalmeansequal.com Heroica Films – President Equal Means Equal – Director |
HOST AN EME HOUSE PARTY SCREENING!
Purchase and download a home copy of the film here. You can host a showing in your home at your own convenience! You are also welcome to join NC4ERA and the ERA-NC Alliance the week of October 16-22, 2016, when the Alliance will focus on statewide efforts to host House Parties in every county for showings of “Equal Means Equal.” For more information about the film's themes, click on the topic: ● The Gender Pay Gap ● Pregnancy Discrimination and Maternity Rights ● Domestic Violence ● Rape and Sexual Assault ● Female Poverty ● Child Sex Trafficking ● Healthcare and Reproductive Rights ● International Women’s Rights ● The Law ● Juvenile Justice, Prison and Rates of Female Incarceration |
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BREAKING NEWS: WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY
August 26, 2016
Legislative, Congressional candidates respond to Equal Rights survey
In response to a recent survey on the Equal Rights Amendment, 85% of the respondents of the North Carolina candidates for the General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives have declared support for the ERA when asked:
“If elected, will you cosponsor and vote for the resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment?” The survey was conducted by the Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance. The nonpartisan Alliance, organized this spring, is dedicated to ratification of the ERA. According to Roberta Madden, co-chair, “The amendment is needed to provide bedrock constitutional protection for equal rights for everyone, regardless of gender. We are very pleased by the broad support for equal rights. Supporters include Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians,” she said. The ERA will be introduced in the General Assembly in 2017. |
If candidates in your district have responded, please be sure to thank them! If they have not yet responded, urge them to do so. We will continue to update this page as more more responses come in. The goal is to get as many candidates to sign on for the ERA as soon as possible.
Click here for a listing of candidates responding to the survey and a listing of their position on the issue of passing an Equal Rights Amendment. 
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Upcoming NC NOW Annual Conference Celebrates 5o years
Features NC4ERA Campaign 2017
At this year's Annual Conference, NC NOW will issue a pivotal call to action on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as a leader of its political reemergence in North Carolina and across the nation. National NOW has prioritized the ERA as one its top three issues in strategic action planning.
NC4ERA, a project of NC NOW joined forces with Ratify ERA-NC in April of this year to forge an alliance with the most recognized women’s rights organizations across the state. The ERA-NC Alliance presently stands as model for the states in direct collaboration with the national ERA Coalition. This call to action occurs at a time of significant unrest for women dissatisfied with the status of women’s rights. The demand for equal rights is rising in response to recent legislation and ongoing practices seen as hostile to women, particularly in the areas of pay inequity, workplace discrimination, reproductive justice, violence against women, and political parity. |
The ERA will be introduced into the 2017 long session of the NCGA in both chambers. We extend our sincere thanks to our NC legislative champions of the ERA in 2015, Senator Floyd McKissick and Representative Carla Cunningham. We look forward to their continued support.
Important information about the new 2017 ERA Campaign will be featured at the conference. Donating your time and financial support to NC NOW will empower the organization to support ERA efforts. For more information about NC NOW’s activities focused on the ERA visit: www.nc4era.org. To support the ERA and the work of NC NOW, use the Donate NC NOW Button. 
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ERA-NC Alliance Conducts NC Candidate Survey on ERA
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Black Mountain News July 20, 2016
Roberta "Robbie" Madden and volunteers are canvasing members of the North Carolina General Assembly to determine their positions on the North Carolina Equal Rights Amendment. Madden has made the Equal Rights Amendment ratification a focus of her life for the past 44 years.
“It has been a 93-year struggle to get equal rights for women added to the Constitution, and we aren’t there yet,” the 78-year-old Madden said. “I will never, never, never give up on this. It has been my life’s work, and I hope to live to see the amendment ratified.” Read more. Volunteers join Roberta Madden to work on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). They are preparing a large mailing to NC legislative and congressional candidates to determine their positions on the ERA. From the left Alice Wells, Helen Bell, and Roberta Madden.(Photo: Blake Madden) Source: Black Mountain News |
BREAKING NEWS: Americans Overwhelmingly Support ERA - Whopping (94%)
ERA Coalition/ Fund for Women’s Equality releases new poll June 2016
Poll Results on the Record
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BREAKING: New York, NY - June 17 2016 Today the ERA Coalition/ Fund for Women’s Equality released a poll finding near-universal support for amending the United States Constitution to include protections for women. The ERA is a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.
94% of those polled said they would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees equal rights for both men and women. This extraordinary level of support was expressed by both men and women - 90% of men and 96% of women polled. And when identified by political party, Democrats, Republicans and Independents all overwhelming support the amendment as well: 97% of Democrats, 90% of Republicans, and 92% of Independents. |
Click image to view press release of poll results. Source: ERA Coalition.
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NC4ERA Co-Founds New Alliance for ERA
Join us April 12, 2016 3:30 - 5:30 pm
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ERA-NC Alliance
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Featured Guest
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The mission of the Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance (ERA-NC) is the ratification by North Carolina of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
ERA-NC ALLIANCE
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| ERA-NC Commemorative Program 4-12-16 |
NC4ERA is proud to participate in the formal launch of the Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance (ERA-NC) on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 from 3:30 - 5:30 pm at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC in DeTamble Auditorium, Tribble Hall. Our featured panelist is Dr. E. Faye Williams, President and CEO of the National Congress of Black women.
Immediately following the panel discussion, there will be a reception in the Tribble Hall Foyer.
While the event is free and open to the public, seating in DeTamble Auditorium is limited, so please register to reserve your seat!
NC4ERA is honored to act as one of the founders and Co-Chairs of the new ERA-NC Alliance with Ratify ERA-NC. Networking conversations began in the fall of 2015 and culminated with the establishment of the alliance in February 2016. The alliance immediately became a state-affiliate with the national ERA Coalition. The alliance serves the ERA Coalition as a model for other states interested in building state wide alliances to advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Immediately following the panel discussion, there will be a reception in the Tribble Hall Foyer.
While the event is free and open to the public, seating in DeTamble Auditorium is limited, so please register to reserve your seat!
NC4ERA is honored to act as one of the founders and Co-Chairs of the new ERA-NC Alliance with Ratify ERA-NC. Networking conversations began in the fall of 2015 and culminated with the establishment of the alliance in February 2016. The alliance immediately became a state-affiliate with the national ERA Coalition. The alliance serves the ERA Coalition as a model for other states interested in building state wide alliances to advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Commissioning Guests
Speakers and Panelists
NC Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. (D) - McKissick represents District 20 in the NC Senate. He was first appointed to the chamber in April 2007. He has been a partner at McKissick and McKissick since 1990. He is a former member of the Durham City Council and Durham City Board of Adjustment. McKissick was the primary sponsor of ERA bill S184 in the 2015 session.
Gailya Paliga - Paliga is President of NC National Organization for Women (NOW). She was first elected as President in 2009. She has served on the NC NOW Board of Directors and the NC NOW PAC for many years and previously served on the NC Woman United Board. Paliga has past lives as a Computer Programmer and as an ESL teacher.
Dr. Michael Pisapia - Pisapia is a Wake Forest University Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs. His dissertation, Public Education and the Role of Women in American Political Development, 1852-1979, won the American Political Science Association’s 2011 William Anderson Award, and is being revised into a book manuscript. He won a 2013 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for scholarship on women and politics, in support of his research.
Photos: North Carolina General Assembly; Wake Forest University, Gailya Paliga
Photos: North Carolina General Assembly; Wake Forest University, Gailya Paliga
| WFU Tribble Hall Campus Map, Lodging, Directions |
Dr. E. Faye Williams - Williams is National President and CEO of the National Congress of Black Women and former Counsel to the U.S. Congress District of Columbia Sub-Committee on the Judiciary and Education. She is a former Professor of International Law at Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, LA. She previously served as Legislative Counsel and Chief of Staff for a District of Columbia Council member. Photo: National Congress of Black Women
Special: Available for purchase at reception, signed copies of ERA Coalition President, Jessica Neuwirth’s new book, “Equal Means Equal: Why the Time for an Equal Rights Amendment Is Now”
Special Thanks
We are extremely grateful to the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at Wake Forest University for sponsoring and hosting this event!
We also extend our thanks to WorkPlace Options, Raleigh, NC for providing print support for this event.
We also extend our thanks to WorkPlace Options, Raleigh, NC for providing print support for this event.
| ERA-NC Event Flyer 4-12-16 |
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ERA Conference October 2015NC4ERA joined other advocates from across the state at a conference on October 24, 2015 in Greensboro to strategize on the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Ratify ERA-NC, a sister organization, sponsored the event. The featured speakers included ERA Primary bill sponsors NC Rep. Carla Cunningham, Sen. Floyd McKissick and Melinda Lowrance, President NAACP Henderson.
Other advocates included included state leadership from Business Professional Women (BPW), American Association of University Women (AAUW), NC National Organization for Women (NC NOW), League of Women Voters (LWV) and NC Committee for CEDAW/CSW (WomenNC). |
NC4ERA presents at NC NOW Annual Conference
 NC4ERA tabling NC NOW
Annual Conference
NC National Organization for Women held its Annual Conference in Winston-Salem on Saturday, October 10, 2015. NC4ERA was pleased to present updates on the ERA bills presently in the NCGA in the morning session of the conference and How-To-Advocate Training in the afternoon session. The NC NOW Conference attendees adopted the proposed NC4ERA Resolution.
Check out Time Warner Cable's coverage of the conference here. |
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NC National Organization for Women calls on all members of the North Carolina General Assembly to pass into law a bill to ratify and affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as proposed by the U.S. Congress on March 22, 1972, and ratified by 35 state legislatures; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NC National Organization for Women recommend to the NC NOW PAC that they score candidates on their support for the ERA in considering whether or not to endorse a political candidate. |
Madison Kimrey
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NEWSFLASH: NC4ERA - A Project of NC NOW
On September 15, 2015 the North Carolina National Organization for Women (NOW) unanimously voted for NC4ERA to become a project of NC NOW as an ERA Task Force. NC4ERA is excited to become part of the largest women's organization community in the nation!
On September 15, 2015 the North Carolina National Organization for Women (NOW) unanimously voted for NC4ERA to become a project of NC NOW as an ERA Task Force. NC4ERA is excited to become part of the largest women's organization community in the nation!
Women's Equality Day
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"Women’s Equality Day” commemorated the certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting American women the right to vote in 1920. This occasion has been celebrated since 1973 by Presidential Proclamation.
The event followed national “Women’s Equality Day,” which occurred earlier in the week on Wednesday, August 26. The victory of “Women's Equality Day” was celebrated at our March and Rally as we marked this special occasion and took the opportunity to join forces to push forward on eliminating all discrimination against women. Coalition Partners: NC4ERA, NC NOW, WomenNC, ActionNC, NC Women Matter, Working America in NC, Moms Rising NC, and NCWU. |
Click picture above to play - Eric Preston,
Fusion Films captured march highlights from the gathering at the Old Courthouse to the rally at Durham Central Park. 
ERA Supporter at Women's Equality Day! Photo Credit: Kathy Hall |
Collaboration: The Key To Impact
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Participants will be able to select on-site multiple workshops to attend in addition to the ERA session. Other issue sessions will include pay equity and paid leave, undocumented immigrant issues, voting rights and challenges, the student debt crisis, and reproductive justice/domestic violence/sexual abuse.
Check-in will begin at 8:30 am with a continental breakfast. The program will begin at 9:00 am sharp and will conclude no later than 4:30 pm. Lunch will be served. There will be a $10 registration fee per participant. Registration is still open. Register here. |
Standing Sentinel Protest
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Equal Rights Amendment
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"SILENT SENTINEL" VIGIL at NCGA Tuesday, April 14“Silent Sentinel” Vigil for the ERA is this Tuesday, April 14th, at 2:00 pm at the North Carolina General Assembly Building at 16 W. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC. Organizers are NC4ERA and NC NOW, Gailya Paliga, President.
"Silent Sentinel" is in the tradition of Suffragists who stood silently outside the White House during the struggle for the women’s right to vote. The "Silent Sentinel” Vigil will be outside Rm. 2207, Legislative Bldg., NCGA. This is the office of Rep. N. Leo Daughtry, Chair Judiciary 1 Committee. The ERA Bill H166 is sitting in Judiciary 1 Committee. Some of our volunteer Sentinels are wearing purple T-Shirts in a nod to the Silent Sentinels who incorporated purple into their sashes when advocating for the right of women to vote. ERA rounds will be supplied if permitted in the building. This is not a civil disobedience action. At no point will we block areas or access. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Let us know if you have questions. Contact us. |
Our ERA Minnesota Sisters standing vigil at their State of the State Address earlier this year. 
Have YOU hugged YOUR bills for the ERA today? |
"Silent Sentinel" HistoryJoining the sisterhood of "Silent Sentinels" who stood vigil before us. Feminist giants.
VIRGINIA ARNOLD NORTH CAROLINA 
You are looking at a world famous picture of North Carolina's own daughter, Virginia Arnold. She was a member of the "Silent Sentinels," a group of women who protested in front of the White House for the right to vote. They were harassed, then arrested, then "Jailed for Freedom." She was in the first group to be imprisoned.
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BREAKING NEWS: Equal Rights Amendment Bills Filed NCGA
Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. filed
SB184, ERA Joint Resolution Legislation on March 4, 2015 in the North Carolina General Assembly to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment to amend the United States Constitution. |
Representative Carla D. Cunningham filed HB166, ERA Joint Resolution Legislation on March 5, 2015 in the North Carolina General assembly to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment to amend the United States Constitution.
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"Women are our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. For them to be denied equal rights is an ongoing injustice we all must stand against." - Romain Stanley, Fayetteville, NC
Romain Stanley arrived early at Women's Advocacy Day on Feb. 24 at the NC General Assembly to advocate for equal rights for women. The snow caused events to be rescheduled. Something tells us this man will be back. |
BREAKING NEWS:
Sen. Floyd McKissick (D) Durham, Granville will sponsor the ERA joint Resolution bill in the NCGA. Sen. Terry Van Duyn (D) Buncombe also pledged support. |
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BREAKING NEWS:
Rep. Carla D. Cunningham (D) Mecklenburg and Rep. Mickey Michaux (D) Durham will sponsor the ERA joint resolution bill in the NCGA House this session. |
