Women’s Equality Day

August 26

Do you know what a hero is? A hero is a person who does something that is important to others. Usually, they possess many good qualities, such as bravery, trustworthiness, and courage. A hero to me is Bella Abzug. She lived in New York all through her life from July 24, 1920 to March 31, 1998. She attended Hunter College and graduated in 1942. Bella decided she wanted to be a lawyer, so she went to Columbia Law School until 1947.

Bella Abzug did many things to help the world. She was part of the peace movement against the war in Vietnam. Bella really wanted women to vote, so she supported the Equal Rights Amendment. She said, “I am not elevating women to sainthood, nor am I suggesting that all women share the same views, or that all women are good and all men bad.”

She was the first Jewish Congresswoman from New York from 1971-1976. She wasn’t the first or second woman in Congress, but she was the most well-known. While she was in Congress, she tried hard to work on a way for women to raise a family and go to work. Bella fought for day cares, so mothers could drop their children off and then go to work. She also tried to prevent women from getting less pay than men when they worked. This was called the Equal Rights Amendment. She also ran for the U.S. Senate for the Democratic Party. In 1976, she lost to Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Bella did many good deeds. She fought for others and made a difference in the world. She also wore big hats and had a fiery personality. That was why women came to her. The people knew she would help them have the same rights as men. Bella was determined to do her work. Another quality she had was helpfulness. She wanted working women to be able to balance a job and family.

I am as hardworking as Bella Abzug. I was hardworking on my basketball team. I tried hard and did the best I could. A hero is someone who does something important in your life. I know Bella is my hero. ~ Written by Kruti from New Jersey, 2007.

Bella Abzug – Video Online Only

August 26 of each year is designated in the United States as Women’s Equality Day. Instituted by Rep. Bella Abzug and first established in 1971, the date commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave U.S. women full voting rights in 1920.

President Obama has declared Aug. 26 — which marks the 91st anniversary of the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote — to be “Women’s Equality Day.”

In a proclamation published by the White House Thursday, Obama said, “I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country,” according to Reuters.

 

 

“The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution tore down the last formal barrier to women’s enfranchisement in our nation and empowered America’s women to have their voices heard in the halls of power,” Obama said.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis reiterated the president’s statement, crediting early women’s rights advocates like Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul for laying the groundwork for change and leading women closer to equality.

“We’ve ascended to leadership positions across all walks of American life, but perhaps our greatest impact can be felt in the American workforce,” Solis said in a statement.

“Today, we are a country drawing down from two wars and recovering from another great financial crisis, and once again it is women who are leading this country back,” she said.

 

Click here for more on this story from Reuters

 

May God Bless America and all the

Women of our World that are Taking Action in the USA!