VOLUME 1
ISSUE 1
SPRING 2018
Over 100 years later... STILL FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
ROSA Magazine
HONORING OUR FOREMOTHERS
U.S. Postal stamps carry a message about America’s deep history. This history is shaped by people and events who have steered its course – including influential women. For more than a century, women activists like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and countless others have been commemorated on stamps that tell an important story about the role of women in history. We honor and celebrate the women who have paved the way for our accomplishments today. R
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IMAGE CREDIT
(All photos courtesy of the United States Postal Service ®.)
POLITICALWisdom
Susan Brownell Anthony (February 15, 1820 - March 13, 1906) American social reformer and women’s rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement.
IMAGES COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
O
h, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done. - SUSAN B. ANTHONY
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ROSA Spring 2018
CONTENTS FEATURES
46 58 23
40 TO WATCH Forty women from all walks of life and varying political perspectives who are establishing a new dialogue and creating a brighter future.
HAPPY TO SEE ALLRED An interview with legendary Women’s Rights Lawyer, Gloria Allred, who has made a career of defending victims of sexual violence and prejudice.
MARCHING FORWARD
Stories about the Suffrage Movement and the women who pioneered change.
THE COVER
STILL FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT 104 years later, we keep fighting. From the suffragette movement to the Women’s March, women continue to speak out. It is a battle without arms or bloodshed, but it is a battle nonetheless. We fight when we stand our ground. We fight for our families, friends, communities, and ourselves. And, because we are women, the many voices of faith and conscience, we will fight and we will not yield.
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ROSA Spring 2018
CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS
03
15 63 74 76
POLITICAL WISDOM
Quotes from powerful women who inspire and intrigue. Susan B. Anthony: page 03; Sojourner Truth: page 08; Jeannette Rankin: page 14; Shirley Chisholm: page 18; Michele Bachelet: page 22; Mary “Mother” Jones: page 26; Pauli Murray: page 38; Geraldine Ferraro: page 62.
WOMEN IN POLITICS Jeannette Rankin & Hattie Caraway - On the Heels of Greatness: page 16; Shirley Chisholm Chisholm’s Lasting Legacy: page 19.
DECISION 2020 She’s Running: A Conversation with Emily Jackson: page 64; Raise Your Hands, Raise Your Voices: page 66; Will She, Or Won’t She?: page 67; 7 Questions to Ask Yourself If You’re Thinking of Running for Office: page 70; 2018: Could This Be the Year of the Independent?: page 72.
POLITICAL BRIEFS Political APPtitude: page 74; All Politics is Local: page 75.
SOCIAL SIDE OF POLITICS Speaking in Code: How Metaphors Shape Politics: Page 76; Wonder Woman and the Entertainment of Politics: page 80.
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POLITICALWisdom
Sojourner Truth (Unknown - November 26, 1883) African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. She was born into slavery in New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826.
f women want any rights more than they’s got, why don’t they just take them, and not be talking about it?
- SOJOURNER TRUTH
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IMAGES COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION AND UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
I
Sandra F. Long
PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF
CREATIVE DIRECTION Matt Williams CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joni Dahlstrom Toni Mitchell Ronald Jefferson Cammy Pedroja Madelyn Pennino Tom Konechy Marianne Messina Wally Swist ROSAmag.com 833 767 2624 (833 ROSA MAG) EDITORIAL OFFICE 424 Church Street | Suite 2000 | Nashville, TN 37219
For information on reprints and e-prints, please email reprints@ROSAmag.com. ROSA Magazine is published by SLA Worldwide. All correspondence should be addressed to: 424 Church Street | Suite 2000 | Nashville, TN 37219. The ROSA trademark and logo are owned by SLA Worldwide. Copyright (c) 2018. Printed in the United States of America. ROSA Magazine does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the quality, accuracy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information, product or service represented within our magazine or website. The information provided is for educational or entertainment purposes only. Anyone using the information provided by ROSA Magazine, whether politically, legally, or from a business perspective, or any other perspective does so at their own risk, and by using such information agrees to indemnify ROSA Magazine from any and all liability, loss, injury, damages, costs and expenses (including legal fees and expenses) arising from such use. ROSA Magazine does not endorse or recommend any article, product, service or information found within said articles. The views and opinions of the authors who have submitted articles to ROSA Magazine belong to them and do not necessarily reflect the views of ROSA Magazine or its staff.
PUBLISHER’S Letter
TITLE: LOREM IPSUM BY AUTHOR
‘‘
‘‘
History has taught us a lot about Rosa Parks and her honor, her fairness, and her willingness to fight for what she believed in. In the end, we all just want what is right for our families and ourselves. I am ROSA is a commitment to try and see beyond our own beliefs, to walk a mile in the other person’s shoes. To look beyond our experiences, to seek understanding of the other person’s viewpoint.That’s what we do as women, what we have always done and what we will always do. Join us as we make a stand. IAMRosa.org
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PHOTO COURTESY OF CINCINART
It was just a day like any other day... The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of people joined in. - Rosa Parks
In 1955, during segregation, Rosa Parks made a stand by not standing. When asked, she would not relinquish her seat to a white passenger, challenging the status quo and changing the world forever. Today, as we march and protest for injustice in the world, women are still making a stand. A time-honored tradition, women have marched for the right to vote, the rights of our children, and for civil rights. We march to make a point. But now, we are beginning to understand that marching is not enough. To change the system and the outcome of issues that we care about, we must hold political office. Whether that’s council, city or national office — we must occupy a seat at the table.
ROSA, a non-partisan magazine designed to feature women in power and politics writes about women who have fought or who are fighting for our future. Women who hail from the left, the right or somewhere in the middle. Women who are in the ring politically — that’s who we write about. Our intention is to be a catalyst for change. To be a connector of women worldwide. And, to encourage women to make a stand. ROSA, is simply an idea whose time has come. An idea that honors our past, present and future, politically. As you read the stories of these incredible women in power and politics, remember, we have a future to build.
Sandra Faye Long ROSA, Publisher & Editor in Chief
THE POWER OF
WO R D S
W
ords are powerful tools. They can make you laugh or cry; evoke anger or joy. Words have the ability to fill you with inspiration or poison your thoughts, depending on how you process them. Words stay with you.
Words give us hope, love and a vision for a positive future. Words teach immense and marvelous lessons, lend confidence and poise, and launch you to accomplish great things. However, words, received and given, must always be watched. One misplaced, ill-intended word said in anger or bias can destroy all the beauty that your many well-placed words have created. Always be mindful and careful of the words you allow to be said and heard. Welcome to ROSA Magazine. The words you find here will cause you to pause, think, consider, relate, know, and be confident as you use your own words.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ANNA ISMAGILOVA
In this rousing world of journalism that heavily leans to one side or the other, ROSA Magazine holds to a standard of classic journalism. We report it all and let you determine your stance. Our mission is to inform and connect women everywhere, giving them the ability to decide for themselves and go forth confidently into the world to make a difference. R
EDITORS & Writers
POLITICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING... WHEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT FOLLOW THE LIGHT. ™
EDITORS & WRITERS We the writers of ROSA magazine, pledge to do our part to bring the country together by committing to the spirit of bi-partisanship writing. We look forward to capturing stories with the facts from all sides. If you believe we missed a fact, an idea, or key thought in our story, please reach out to us at writers@ROSAmag.com
CARTOON BY DUSAN RELJIC
Joni Dahlstrom Ronald Jefferson Tom Konechy Marianne Messina Toni Mitchell Cammy Pedroja Madelyn Pennino Wally Swist
FEATURED WRITER CAMMY PEDROJA, PH.D. is a journalist covering women’s issues. With an MFA in writing from Columbia University, and a doctorate in English and feminist topics from SUNY Binghamton, Cammy now writes for many national print and digital outlets. For this issue of Rosa, Cammy spoke with civil rights lawyer, Gloria Allred (pg. 58).
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POLITICALWisdom
W
e’re half the people; we should be half the congress. - JEANNETTE PICKERING RANKIN First woman elected to Congress
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IMAGES COURTESY OF COLLECTION OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 1, 1880 - May 18, 1973) American politician and women’s rights advocate, and the first woman to hold federal office in the United States.
WOMEN of POLITICS
WOMEN in Politics
Greatness ON THE HEELS OF
BY MADELYN PENNINO
In the 1900’s Jeannette Rankin and Hattie Caraway laid an unprecedented foundation for women in politics. Becoming the first women in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, respectively, they opened the door for women to be a part of the political process for years to come.
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Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin is presented with the flag that flew over the House of Representatives during the passage of the suffrage amendment. Photo Credit: U.S. House of Representatives
Y
ears before Jeannette Rankin made history in 1916 by becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, she had earned a spot on the political map as a champion for women – a moniker she still holds today. Born in Montana in 1880, Rankin started the National American Woman Suffrage Association during her time as a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. After college, she returned to Montana and was largely responsible for helping women to gain the right to vote in 1914. Rankin, a Progressive Era member of the Republican Party, was instrumental in drafting the 19th Constitutional Amendment that gave women the unrestricted right to vote. She was also an outspoken advocate for civil rights. Rankin remains the only woman from Montana to have served in Congress.
“I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last.” - Jeannette Rankin
Years later in 1932, Hattie Caraway earned the respect of her Arkansas constituents as the first women elected to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate.
IMAGE COURTESY OF UNITED STATES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
“The time has passed when a woman should be placed in a position and kept there only while someone else is being groomed for the job,” Caraway, a member of the Democratic Party, once told reporters. Known as “Silent Hattie” because she spoke on the floor just 15 times in her 14-year political career, Caraway was a supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal reforms. She supported poor white farmers and workers, veteran groups and was widely known as a senator who challenged banks and lobbyists. As a senator, Caraway secured $15 million to construct an aluminum plant in her home state of Tennessee and the first federal loan funding for an Arkansas College. Both Rankin and Caraway are considered matriarchs of the U.S. political system, and are credited as role models who are responsible for inspiring countless women to enter the modern political arena. R
POLITICALWisdom
Y
ou don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas. - SHIRLEY CHISHOLM First African-American female elected to Congress
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IMAGE COURTESY OF THOMAS J. O’HALLORAN, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORTS (PUBLIC DOMAIN)
Shirley Anita Chisholm (November 30, 1924 - January 1, 2005 American politician, educator, and author. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress. She represented New York’s 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983.
IMAGE COURTESY OF DANIEL BAXTER
UNBOUGHT
& UNBOSSED
Shirley Chisholm 1972 presidential campaign rally. Unbought and Unbossed became her famous campaign slogan.
CHISHOLM’S LASTING LEGACY LIVES ON BY MADELYN PENNINO
S
hirley Chisholm possessed a soulful fire that has long transcended politics. Now, 14 years after her death, Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress, is being remembered for that fire and her courageous honesty during one of the country’s most turbulent eras. After taking office, Chisholm, the only woman elected to the 91st Congress in 1968 and who represented the 12th Congressional District in New York, immediately pointed out to colleagues that she would be no political wallflower.
workers. She was also a co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus. In 1972, she announced her candidacy for president, the first female African-American from a major political party to do so. In an iconic statement Chisholm said at the time, “I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and who dared to be herself.”
“I have no intention of just sitting quietly and observing,” she had said. “I intend to focus attention on the nation’s problems.”
Chisholm retired after seven terms in the House in 1983. Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Yvette Clarke announced in February that they will co-sponsor a bill that calls for a statue of Chisholm to be placed in the U.S. Capital.
And so she did. With a sense of deep and urgent purpose, Chisholm, a Democrat, denounced the Vietnam War and fought hard for education, health care, veteran and social service programs, while helping to establish minimum wage legislation for domestic
“Fifty years from now, I hope that statue stands among the other American icons we honor in the Capitol,” said Harris in a recently-published essay. “I hope Black women crowd into the Senators-only elevator, giving every American equal voice and equal representation.” R
Shirley Chisholm in front of the U.S. Capitol (Brooklyn College, City of New York). Photo Credit: Shirley Chisholm Educational Foundation, U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
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Chisholm and Rosa Parks at Highlander in 1955. Photo credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Creation and Evolution of the Congressional Black Caucus. Photo credit: US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.
Shirley Chisholm for President campaign poster 1972. Photo Credit: Shirley Chisholm Educational Foundation.
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POLITICALWisdom
Verรณnica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (September 29, 1951) Chilean politician who was the first women President of Chile twice, from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018.
F
- VERร NICA MICHELLE BACHELET JERIA Former President of Chile
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or me, a better democracy is a democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect, but to be elected.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ROB Z’S DESIGNS
MARCHING FORWARD
MARCHING Forward
M
THE
BY JONI DAHLSTROM
OTHER OF ALL MARCHERS
ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZERS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, MOTHER JONES WAS A TIRELESS ORGANIZER AND THE FORCE BEHIND THE MARCH OF THE MILL CHILDREN, WHICH CULMINATED IN THE FORMATION OF THE NATIONAL CHILD LABOR COMMITTEE.
2017
could be renamed the Year of the March. A sleepy public seemed to suddenly awaken and demand that their voices be heard. They reached for the time-honored tradition of public marches and rallies in cities and towns across the nation. In light of this newfound spirit of action, it is a good time to remember one of the most successful organizers in American history, Mother Jones. She was a tireless organizer and the force behind the March of the Mill Children, which culminated in the formation of the National Child Labor Committee. Mother Jones is proof that when determined women take on an issue, there is no stopping them.
FROM SCHOOL TEACHER AND SEAMSTRESS TO THE “MOST DANGEROUS WOMAN IN AMERICA” Mother Jones’ true name was Mary Harris Jones. She was an Irish immigrant who became a school teacher and later a seamstress. She married a union organizer, George Jones and together they lived in Memphis where they had four children. In 1967, yellow fever struck the city. Her husband as well as all four of her children, all under five, died. During the epidemic she was disturbed by the callous attitude of government officials and her wealthy clientele for the living conditions of the poor that led to the outbreak. With her family gone she returned to Chicago to open another dress-making business. Four years later the Great Chicago Fire wiped out her business and she lost everything. With nothing to lose, Jones became a labor organizer, first with the Knights of Labor and later gravitating to the United Mine Workers. For the next 30 years she campaigned, eventually coming to be known as Mother Jones.
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Mother Jones in 1902. Photo credit: The United States Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division under the digital ID cph.3a10320.
Mother Jones meeting with Calvin Coolidge, September 16, 1924. Image credit: Library of Congress.
MARCH OF THE MILL CHILDREN By 1901 Mother Jones was a seasoned organizer. Workers were organizing against the textile mills in Pennsylvania but had difficulty gaining traction because child labor was prevalent in the state. While there were rules against child labor, Pennsylvania had almost no enforcement and the majority of mill workers were young girls and very young children. One-sixth of children were in the labor force. Jones had a gift for dramatic storytelling and searched for a way to support the efforts of the union organizers. She encouraged wives to march in support of the union, carrying brooms and banging on pots. Then she realized that the children who worked in the mills were the most dramatic representatives of all. The March of the Mill Children was born. In 1903 Jones gathered a group of children and set out to march from Kensington, Pennsylvania to Oyster Bay, New York, the home of President Theodore Roosevelt. The plan was to hold rallies at points all along the way. Jones wanted to dramatize the plight of the children whom she claimed were denied the right to attend school so that wealthy mill owners could pay college tuition for their own children.
The marchers set out from Kensington, the heart of the mill industry, to the music of fifes and drums. They were a rag tag group, many of the young marchers having been injured and maimed in the mills. They slept in the homes of union members and sympathizers along the way. They marched through Trenton, Princeton, New Brunswick, Elizabeth, Newark, Paterson, Passaic, and finally into New York. Along the way members would drop out of the march and others would join in. Their rallies were often attended by thousands. In New York they marched up 2nd Avenue by torchlight. They spent three days pressing their case in the city. On Coney Island Jones placed some of the children in cages, to demonstrate how the mill bosses regarded their young workers. Finally, a delegation marched to Roosevelt’s home for an audience, but he refused to see them. Was it all for naught? A year later the National Child Labor Committee was formed. Pennsylvania toughened and CONTINUED ON PAGE 27
Group of Workers in Cotton Mills, October 1912. Photo credit: National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under NAID 523141.
“Whatever your fight, don’t be ladylike.” - Mother Jones
POLITICALWisdom
S
ome day the workers will take possession of your city hall, and when we do, no child will be sacrificed on the altar of profit! - MARY HARRIS JONES
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IMAGE COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
Mary G. Harris “Mother” Jones (May 1, 1837 - November 30, 1930) An Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent organized labor representative and community organizer.
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began to enforce child labor laws, although it would not be until 1938 when national laws would truly address the practice. The march may not have ended child labor, but it showed a side of America that many would have preferred to ignore. And the march inspired laborers around the country, and even may have helped the Paterson Silk Strike to win the 8-hour day in 1913. Mother Jones continued to organize throughout her life, eventually earning the title of ‘the most dangerous woman in America.’ She was imprisoned many times, but her fame and fellow workers seemed to protect her. She will always be remembered for the March of the Mill Children, sometimes called the Children’s Crusade, which did so much to address the injustice of child labor. In 2018, marchers can look back at the roots of this American tradition, born of free speech and free assembly and the right to seek redress. In many ways, we have the right to march today, because of all the marchers who preceded us. R
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“Mother” Jones and her army of striking textile workers starting out for their descent on New York. Photo credit: Library of Congress: 2015649893
The Great Philadelphia Textile Strike of 1903.
March of the Mill Children.
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SUFFRAGE CARTOONISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS Nina Allender (1872-1957): Studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; became the official National Woman’s Party cartoonist. Winsor McCay (1869-1934): A self-taught artist who made comic strips and animated cartoons; also worked as an editorial cartoonist . Ida Proper Sedgwick (1873 - 1957): Studied art at the Art Students League and in France; became the art editor of Woman Voter. Boardman Robinson (1876 - 1952): A cartoonist for the New York Tribune and the Masses; taught art at the Art Students League. Lou Rogers (1879-1952): studied art in Massachusetts and at the Art Students League; became a cartoonist and published widely in newspapers. Reprinted with permission from http://www.radford.edu
SUFFRAGE THROUGH THE EYES OF Artists
Just as the battle for suffrage attracted women who were unconventional and boldly challenging the status quo, the women who became cartoonists were likewise engaged in unconventional activities. Cartooning was considered a masculine domain. It was not decorative; it was not always pretty. It was political, and it was aggressive. However, women did become cartoonists, and the suffrage movement was the impetus for their entry into the field. Many of the women who became cartoonists had already decided to study art, subsequently transferring their styles to the political images they cartooned. Others were self-taught and their only involvement with art was through cartooning. All images courtesy of Cambridge University Library.
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IMAGES COURTESY OF TENNESSEE SECRETARY OF STATE - STATE ARCHIVES
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36 to the
TH power
TENNESSEE’S CRITICAL ROLE IN THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT BY MADELYN PENNINO AND RON WYNN
T
he Suffrage Movement was full of twists and turns – one that appeared, at times, likely to fail, and other times, destined to succeed. Women who led the fight for equal voting rights in the early 1900s were both dogged by defeat and encouraged by small triumphs. Their courage – a constant in the movement would ultimately bring them victory. Calls for universal women’s suffrage began in earnest during the 19th century with community activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony. They led the movement and rejected any notion the Declaration of Independence and Constitution’s glowing rhetoric should only apply to males, but shunned conventional wisdom that women should stay in the background, or only be wives and mothers.
Protest March Nashville, TN 1915 War of Roses.
1915 Dr. Anna Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt, Founder of the League of Women Voters.
Thanks to the extensive, on-going marching, campaigning, and demonstrating, by 1920 the 19th Amendment was not only in place, but had been ratified by 35 states. However, the approval of thirty-six states would be needed to ratify the amendment and change the United States Constitution. Suffragists saw Tennessee as their last hope for ratification before the 1920 presidential election. In August, when Governor Albert H. Roberts of Tennessee called a special session of the General Assembly to consider ratification, pro-suffrage and anti-suffrage activists descended on Nashville, determined to sway the legislature. ROSAMAG.COM
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Leading the pro-women’s suffrage forces were Nashville’s Ann Dallas Dudley, Chattanooga’s Abby Crawford, and Jackson’s Sue Shelton White. Heading the opposition were Josephine A. Pearson from Monteagle, an educator and president of the Tennessee State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, and various representatives of the Southern Woman’s League for the Rejection of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. Among black Tennessee women, none were more prominent than J. Frankie Pierce, a former slave and now the leader of Nashville’s black suffrage community. Pierce was so active and influential in the movement that eight months after Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, XX 32
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the General Assembly passed a bill creating the Tennessee Vocational School for Colored Girls, which opened two and a half years later. In the Tennessee House of Representatives, it was the vote of Harry T. Burn of Niota, who incidentally changed from con to pro, that broke a tie and led to the historic passage.
Roberts on August 24, 1920. Two days later, a proclamation was issued by United States Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby that officially declared the ratification of the 19th Amendment, making it part of the United States Constitution.
On August 18, 1920, the Tennessee General Assembly voted to approve the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
While this in theory made women’s suffrage the law, in reality for many black women, particularly those in the South, it wasn’t until the 1965 Voting Rights Act that they were truly able to exercise their right to vote.
Despite the last-ditch efforts of some antisuffrage legislators who sought to get the vote rescinded on constitutional or procedural technicalities, it was certified by Governor
Still, Tennessee was the state that put the Amendment over the top, and that legacy is celebrated today via the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Memorial located at Market Square
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in Knoxville. It was commissioned by the Suffrage Coalition, designed and created by Alan LeQuire, and unveiled August 26, 2006. Martha Craig Daughtrey, the first woman judge on both a Tennessee court of appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court, was the speaker as this statue was unveiled. The bronze sculpture depicts three women who were leading campaigners for women’s suffrage, Memphis’ Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, Knoxville’s Lizzie Crozier French, and Nashville’s Anne Dallas Dudley. On the base of the sculpture, alongside other text and quotations, is this from Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch: “All honor to women, the first disenfranchised class in history who unaided by any political party, won enfranchisement by its own effort along, and achieved the victory without the shedding of a drop of human blood.” R
Governor Albert H. Roberts signing the Tennessee certificate of ratification.
President Wilson sends telegrams to Governor Roberts suggesting a special session for the suffrage vote.
Tennessee Suffragettes. Photo credit: Tennessee Secretary of State State Archives
The Tennessee Women’s Suffrage Memorial. Photo credit: Joel Kramer.
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IMAGE COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, THE UNITED STATES CONRGESSIONAL ARCHIVES
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Photo Caption orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Alice Paul with suffragettes after the passage of the 19th Amendment..
The Tennessean newspaper captures photo of passage of the 19th Amendment in the TN Senate Chamber.
Cartoon of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Photo courtesy of Tennessee Archives Henry Romeike
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THE
significance OF THE FEMALE VOTE
B BY TOM KONECNY
efore the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote in 1920, some warned it could result in the end of – get this – civilization. That’s either seriously strong hyperbole or heavy-duty propaganda... or both.
Yet almost 100 years later, the significance of the female vote has never been more necessary. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, voter turnout in non-presidential elections since 1986 has found the proportion of eligible female adults who voted exceeded the proportion of eligible male adults. In presidential election years – including 2016 – the number of female voters has exceeded the number of male voters in every one since 1964.
Poster representing antisuffragists movement.
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The original anti-suffragists insisted that women didn’t have time to vote or stay updated on politics, no expertise in political matters, and that the voting process would become too costly. But above all, anti-suffragists claimed that women simply didn’t want to vote.
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Women clearly want to vote, but more must be encouraged to visit the polls. Marches, protests and forums all serve a valid purpose, but the most effective way that women can have an impact is to use their voice by voting. While females represent half of the population, only 7 of 50 state governors are women. Out of 435 representatives in the House, just 84 are women; in the Senate, 21 of 100 are women. It may be numbers like these that have conditioned young ladies to overlook politics as a viable calling.True, politicians are elected to represent everyone, but the fact remains that women are underrepresented in American politics. If the candidate or system is cause for one’s disengagement, one must remember that a vote now could bear fruit later. The way to change the system is to vote to change the system. Only then will more female representation in government truly represent the public. R
1920: Suffragettes celebrating the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women in the US the right to vote.
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POLITICALWisdom
Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray (November 20, 1910 - July 1, 1985) American civil rights activist, women’s rights activist, lawyer, Episcopal priest, and author.
hat is often called ‘exceptional ability’ is nothing more than ‘persistent endeavor.’ ” - ANNA PAULINE “PAULI” MURRAY
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IMAGE COURTESY OF CAROLINA DIGITAL LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES
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WOMEN WHO CARRIED THE TORCH
IMAGE COURTESY OF FORTY 3 ZERO
FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
MARCHING Forward
THE WOMEN OF
CIVIL RIGHTS BY TONI MITCHELL
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hey are the unsung heroines. The ones often forgotten or rarely recognized when it comes to the history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Women played a vital a role in demanding justice and seeking equality. Not relegated to a supporting role of baking cookies and organizing teas, these women became the heart and soul of the movement. They stood strong as the voice of justice - refusing to yield.
ELLA BAKER
DAISY BATES
A fierce Civil Rights proponent with the single-minded goal of empowering AfricanAmericans to rise up in mass protest against injustice, Ella Baker spent her life fighting for change. Baker, who lived in New York, worked for the NAACP in the 1940s. She later joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and worked for a young Martin Luther King, where she organized voter registration and citizenship training drives. She eventually mentored college students who were holding sit-ins at various locations across the South and taking part in Freedom Rides.
As a young girl, Daisy Bates discovered a horrible truth that would become the catalyst for her civil rights activism. At age eight, she learned her mother had been raped and murdered by a group of white men when Bates was just a baby. The men were never brought to justice. Bates later used the injustice to fight for the cause of African-Americans. Along with owning a weekly newspaper, Bates also facilitated the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School. In 1957. Staring down hateful mobs and ignoring death threats, she ushered in nine black teenagers, who would integrate the all-white school. They are known today as the Little Rock Nine.
Top: Baker on Sept. 18, 1941. Bottom: Ella Baker at National History Day. Images courtesy of NHD.org
Daisy Bates, First Lady of Little Rock Nine. Photos courtesy of the Daisy L. Bates Museum Foundation.
Here are just a few of the numerous women across this country who dared to take a stand for freedom.
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SEPTIMA CLARK
MYRLIE EVERS
FANNIE LOU HAMER
Growing up in a household rooted in independence, Septima Clark’s life’s work armed African-Americans with the necessary educational tools they needed to demand freedom. Clark showed people how knowledge garnered power, teaching the poor to read and training teachers how to instruct others in their communities in basic politics, literacy and math so they could one day vote. In 1979, Jimmy Carter honored Clark with the Living Legend Award.
Myrlie Evers, the wife of Medgar Evers, became deeply involved in the civil rights movement in 1954. When her husband became the field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi, Mrs. Evers worked right alongside him. She helped organize voter registration drives and advocated for equal access to transportation. Medgar Evers was eventually murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in 1963. Mrs. Evers spent the next four decades fighting for justice, and later became chairwoman of the NAACP. In 2013, she delivered the invocation at Barack Obama’s second inauguration.
On August 22, 1964, with the entire nation watching, Fannie Lou Hamer posed a question to the Democratic National Convention’s Credentials Committee. Hamer petitioned the all-white delegation to integrate her own Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which helped African-Americans to vote. “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily because we want to live as decent human beings in America?” She ultimately didn’t get her wish for an integrated Mississippi delegation, but Hamer continued her fight for African-Americans’ treatment as equals. The daughter of sharecroppers on a Mississippi plantation who came from a household of 20 children, even ran an unsuccessful bid for Congress in her home state.
Top: Clark and Rosa Parks.. Mrs. Clark said the photo was of pre-bus boycott Rosa Parks getting the encouragement she needed to take the next step in her activism.. Bottom: Clark at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Images courtesy of Biography.
Top: Evers speaks at a segregation rally. Image courtesy of the Evers Institute. Bottom: Image courtesy of Biography.
Top: Hamer at the Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 1964. Images courtesy of the United States Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs division.
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CORETTA SCOTT KING
PAULI MURRAY
One of the most influential African-American leaders of her time, Coretta Scott King, continued carrying the message of nonviolence activism, even after the untimely assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights icon. Following her husband’s murder on a Memphis hotel balcony, Coretta Scott King, didn’t curl up in a ball and drown in self-pity and sorrow. Instead, she rolled up her sleeves and fought for her husband’s dream of racial, financial and judicial equality for African-Americans. King, the mother of four children, received honorary doctorates from over 60 colleges and universities; authored three books and a nationally-syndicated newspaper column. She also served on and helped found dozens of organizations, including the Black Leadership Forum, the National Black Coalition for Voter Participation, and the Black Leadership Roundtable.
Long before the sit-ins that helped define the Civil Rights Movement, Pauli Murray, a Howard University Law School student, took part in a non-violent protest in 1944. She and a group of fellow students strutted into a white cafeteria in D.C. to receive service. When the employee refused to serve her, Murray didn’t leave. She took her empty tray and sat at one of the tables with the other students, who had been denied service as well. After a peaceful, non-violent stand based on the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi, the students finally were served that day. Murray later became a civil rights attorney and penned a book called States’ Laws on Race and Color, which Thurgood Marshall once coined “the bible” of the Civil Rights Movement. Murray also became the first black woman ordained priest in the Episcopal Church.
Top: Murray 1946. Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Bottom: 1977, in her study. Image courtesy of Biography.
Top: Coretta Scott King (center) leading a segregation rally. Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Bottom: Image courtesy of Biography.
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DIANE NASH
More than a pretty face, Diane Nash, a onetime beauty pageant contestant, became a leading fixture in the sit-in demonstrations in the 1950s. A Fisk University student, Nash was one of several students who held sit-ins in downtown Nashville. Their non-violent protests ultimately forced restaurants to serve African-Americans and became the sounding board for sit-ins and demonstrations in other cities in the South. Nash, a trusted leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) later took over as the head of the famed Freedom Rides in the spring of 1961, where young black and white students traveled together on buses in some of the most racist and segregated cities in the South where they faced beatings and prison time.
Top: Nash with other civil rights activists from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Freedom Riders. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress. Bottom: Image courtesy of Bucknell University.
MARCHING Forward
ROSA PARKS
BETTY SHABAZZ
IDA B. WELLS
The spark for equal rights flickered inside Rosa Parks long before she ever sat down on a bus one blistering day in Alabama. At an early age, Parks grew up around a fair complexioned grandfather who stood up to whites; and it made a lasting impression on her. Though known for her refusal to give up her seat on a bus, Parks’ work in the Civil Rights Movement began years earlier. A mainstay in the Montgomery NAACP in the 1940s and 1950s, the slight woman with the pinned-up braid, worked tirelessly to improve the plight of African-Americans.
Witnessing the cold-blooded execution of her activist husband, Malcolm X, could have left Betty Shabazz angry, bitter and isolated. Instead, Shabazz threw herself into providing for her six children, while continuing the legacy of her famed Muslim husband. The widow accepted speaking engagements at colleges and universities, speaking on the Black Nationalist Movement; as well as her role as wife and mother. Shabazz later befriended Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers, and Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. The women quickly bonded having the common experience of losing their activist husbands and raising their children as single mothers. The press came to refer to the three, who made numerous joint public appearances, as the “Movement widows.”
A slight framed woman, with a fiery passion for equality, Ida B. Wells, a journalist and activist, used the power of the pen to cast a spotlight on the injustices facing black people. She became co-owner of a small weekly newspaper in Memphis, Free Speech, in which she investigated and wrote about the lynching of black men in the South. Wells became a strong voice in the anti-lynching movement, and eventually, founded the National Association of Colored Women.
Images courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center - Chicago Library..
THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING Top: Rosa Parks, 1955 Images courtesy of Biography..
Top: Betty Shabazz leaving a city morgue after identifying the body of her husband, Malcolm X, after he was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965. Images courtesy of Biography..
While the work of the men behind the Civil Rights Movement should not be diminished, the women who stood on the firing line for justice also should never be overlooked. These women – many of whom were mothers and wives – risked their lives to fight for the fair treatment of African-Americans. It is their oftentimes unheralded sacrifice that affords many with the rights they enjoy today. R ROSAMAG.COM
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THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
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BY JONI DAHLSTROM
he Women’s March took Washington D.C. and the world by storm. On January 21, 2017, the march changed everything in politics. While marches were common enough in American political history, never before had over 5 million people around the world participated in a single march.
The initial impetus may have been general concern over the election of President Donald Trump; however, the march quickly evolved into a forum for discussion of issues that had long been of concern to women around the country. It energized the country in a way which hadn’t been seen in decades. While women had long nursed concerns and grievances, there had been little done to give voice to those concerns. With the march came an outpouring of energy, bonding, and knowledge. It created a sense that women had tremendous potential, a power that they had as yet failed to fully realize was their own.The spark has been lit, let the fireworks begin. To get involved go to womensmarch.com.
TAMIKA MALLORY THE MODERN MOTHER JONES? Tamika Mallory is co-president of the Women’s March, along with Bob Bland and Carmen Perez. Mallory has a long history of activism. She has worked on campaigns for civil rights, womens rights, against gun violence, and against police brutality.
IMAGE CREDIT
She helped organize the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington as well as Justice or Else. She is founder of Mallory Consulting, a strategic planning firm in New York City.
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WOMEN to
Watch BY JONI DALHSTROM
In recent years, women have been running for public office, and serving in the judiciary in greater numbers than ever before. And they are leaving their mark, changing the way our communities and government work and
Photo credit: Orhan Cam Photography
how we view our society. The following women come from all walks of life and varying political perspectives, but they are working together to establish a new dialogue and create a brighter future for all Americans.
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Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin. Photo credit: United States Congress.
“We need more consensus builders, we need people who will listen more, who are less ego-driven and partisan. I really believe if you had 51 percent women in Congress, the whole dynamic would change.” –Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
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TAMMY BALDWIN U.S. Senate - Wisconsin
SAIRA BLAIR West Virginia House of Delegates
Baldwin is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin and the first openly gay senator in history. She won her seat in 2012, defeating former governor Tommy Thompson. Baldwin’s history as an elected representative in Washington D.C. extends back to 1998 when she became the first congresswoman from Wisconsin. Throughout her tenure in Washington she has been an advocate for the middle class and an economic system that provides opportunity for all people.
Blair ran for her seat in 2014 and won. She was only 18 at the time of the November election, making her the youngest person to win a state or federal election in history. Blair describes herself as very conservative. She is staunchly pro-life and pro-family, as she puts it. She is also a defender of the second amendment. As a fiscal conservative, she cast the only “no” vote to end a teachers strike with a 5% pay increase in early March.
DIANE BLACK U.S. House of Representatives - Tennessee Black won her seat in the House of Representatives in 2010 and continues to serve. She believes she brings a unique multi-faceted point of view to the house, because she is a registered nurse, former educator, and small business owner. Black is a conservative and as chairman of the House Budget Committee she has sought to root out waste. She is also a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
KATHERINE “KATE” BROWN Governor of Oregon As Governor of Oregon since 2015, Brown has balanced on a tightrope between the twin goals of providing public services and fiscal restraint. She is currently supporting plans to apply more funding to childcare services, in part to support a poorly performing foster care system and a child services department that is severely understaffed. She has spoken out in favor of gun control and net neutrality.
Saira Blair
MARIA CANTWELL U.S. Senate - Washington Cantwell is the second woman to serve in the senate from Washington. Most recently she introduced legislation to increase fines on opioid manufacturers for failure to report unusual sales. She has also issued statements against reducing the royalty fees for offshore drilling, calling it a “giveaway.” SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO U.S. Senate - West Virginia Capito is the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate in West Virginia history, and she achieved it in a landslide victory. Capito won more than 62% of the vote and swept all 55 counties. She is regarded as a moderate and a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership. She supports rural development plans, such as broadband access. ELAINE CHAO U.S. Secretary of Transportation Chao was nominated to her current position by President Trump in 2016 shortly after the election, and approved in January 2017. Chao has a background in transportation financing in the private sector. As secretary she has been engaged in reforming and streamlining regulations for driverless cars and drones. She is currently working with the administration to create a long-term infrastructure plan with public private partnerships. SUSAN COLLINS U.S. Senator, Maine Collins was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. In the 20 years since that time, she has never missed a vote. She is the 15th most senior member of the Senate, and the highest ranking Republican woman. Collins is regarded as relatively moderate and has lent her support to health care issues like diabetes and Alzheimer’s. she is the Chairwoman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Saira Blair, the youngest person in history to win a state or federal election. Photo credit: West Virginia University.
Elaine Chao. Photo credit: Department of Transportation.
TAMMY DUCKWORTH U.S. Senate - Illinois Duckworth won a seat in the senate in 2016. She will soon become the first senator to give birth while holding office. She had a child previously while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, which was also a first. Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran, who served as a helicopter pilot and lost both of her legs in combat. She is an advocate for veterans’ and women’s’ rights.
Elaine Chao
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Joni Ernst
Joni Ernst Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Photo credit: Gage Skidmore.
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JONI ERNST U.S. Senate - Iowa Ernst is the first woman to serve as a U.S. Senator from Iowa and the first woman combat veteran to service in the Senate. Ernst is a strong defender of conservative causes, like a strong national defense and balancing the budget through efficiency and elimination of wasteful spending. As a Senator from Iowa she supports agriculture and small business. She recently came out in support of increasing treatment for mental illness as the most appropriate means to end gun violence. MARY FALLIN Governor of Oklahoma Fallin is the first woman governor of Oklahoma. Her agenda is all about jobs and economic prosperity. She calls her policy initiatives the “Oklahoma comeback.” To that effort she cut taxes, eliminated regulations, and revamped the state worker’s compensation system. Significantly, she refused to expand the state Medicaid system under Obama care. Her efforts have led to a fiscal surplus and rebuilt the state’s rainy day fund. She is currently head of the National Governor’s Association and supports initiatives to provide workers’ education and training. She has also sponsored prison reforms while continuing to support the death penalty. DEBRA FISCHER U.S. Senator - Nebraska Fischer, who is known to her constituents as “Deb,” won her seat in the senate in 2012. She describes herself as a “staunch conservative” or “true conservative.” Many of her votes and actions prove this to be true. Fisher regularly stands with the conservative movement, supporting a balanced budget amendment and signing onto Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge. She has an A+ rating from the NRA, and is “proud” to be prolife. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND U.S. Senate- New York Gillibrand took up Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat when the latter entered the Obama administration in 2009. In 2010 Gillibrand ran for the seat and won the election handily. She is a leader in the movement against sexual assault, having run inquiries into military and campus sexual assault. In February 2018 she announced that she would no longer accept campaign funds from corporate PACS, making her one of the first senators to publicly announce concern over the “corrosive influence” of corporate money in politics. Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand. Photo credit: U.S. Congress
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ROSA Magazine Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Photo credit: United States Federal Government
JENEAN HAMPTON Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Hampton is the first African-American to hold any statewide office in Kentucky. She won her seat in 2015 having been selected as the running mate for Matt Bevin. She is a long-time activist and has been part of the Tea Party Movement. She served in the military and was deployed to Iraq in Operation Desert Storm, thus it is no surprise that she is involved in a number of veterans groups and causes.
Maggie Hassan
Ginsburg is known for dedication to civil rights and a color/gender blind court system. While she has a history of legal activism, she surprised many with a case she brought and won before the Supreme Court in the 1970s, claiming that Social Security was biased toward females. She argued that widows received survivor benefits while widowers did not. She spent many years with the American Civil Liberties Union before joining the bench, and brought six cases to the Supreme Court, five of which she won. NIMATRA “NIKKI” HALEY U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Haley was appointed ambassador in 2016 by President Trump and has represented U.S. policy through a tumultuous period. Most recently, controversy has emerged as she defends the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Haley was the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, the state’s first female governor and only the second governor of Indian heritage in the U.S. 52
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Kamala D. Harris
Hassan was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, after having served three terms as the Governor of New Hampshire. She is an advocate for the inclusion and support of children with discathy mabilities, a concern which she claims comes from her experience raising her son who is a special needs child. She also supports maintaining social security and has recently been in the news for her support of legislation to regulate “predatory” monetization in video games.
KAMALA D. HARRIS U.S. Senate - California
HEIDI HEITKAMP U.S. Senate - North Dakota
Harris was sworn into the Senate in 2017 and she has been making waves ever since, authoring a bill to fund a statue of Shirley Chisholm for the Capitol and using her talents honed as District Attorney for San Francisco to shed light on hearings surrounding Russian election interference. She introduced legislation to raise wages for working people, expand childcare for working families, and reform the criminal justice system.
Heitkamp was elected to the senate in 2012 and became the first woman senator from North Dakota. Heitkamp is regarded as moderately liberal although she is from a very conservative state. Given the importance of agriculture in North Dakota, she is an advocate for farmers and ranchers. She also supports insuring that Indian children have the resources they need to succeed. Heitkamp has worked to protect small businesses and reform financial institutions.
IMAGES COURTESY OF UNITED STATES CONGRESS - U.S. SENATE PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO
MAGGIE HASSAN U.S. Senate - New Hampshire
RUTH BADER GINSBURG Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
MAZIE KEIKO HIRONO U.S. Senate - Hawaii Hirono has a number of “firsts” to claim. She is the first woman senator elected from Hawaii as well as the first Asian-American. She is also the first senator born in Japan, and the first Buddhist in the senate. She has introduced a bill to guarantee legal representation to unaccompanied minor immigrants, known as the “Fair Day in Court Act.” KAY IVEY Governor of Alabama Ivey became governor in 2017 when her predecessor Robert Bentley was forced to resign. Ivey had served as his lieutenant since they won the 2010 election. She faces a stiff challenge from the opposition in 2018. Ivey is an unapologetic conservative. She has signed into law a bill to speed up the prosecution of death penalty cases, a bill protecting Confederate monuments from removal or renaming, and a bill that allows faith organizations to reject adoption requests from gay couples.
Kay Ivey. Photo credit: State of Alabama, Jamie Martin.
Mazie Hirono addresses the National Guard Association of the United States 138th General Conference in Baltimore, MD. Photo credit: Sgt. 1st Class Jim Greenhill.
Kay Ivey
Mazie Hirono
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“It’s a long time until the next election, but it starts now. And if you truly want to see things change in the direction that our country is headed, you have to stay involved. You cannot quit now.” –Senator Debbie Fischer
REBECCA KLEEFISCH Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
SUSANA MARTINEZ Governor of New Mexico
Kleefisch ran for her office along with Scott Walker. They intended to cut spending and reform the economy and their plans almost immediately sparked a recall effort. That effort failed and Kleefisch remains in office. She is an outspoken advocate for jobs and business in Wisconsin, working the phones and traveling in the U.S. and internationally to invite businesses to come to Wisconsin. She was born in Wisconsin in 1975. She competed in beauty pageants prior to graduating from the University of WisconsinMadison. She was a news reporter and news anchor prior to entering politics.
Martinez was elected governor in 2010, the first woman to hold that role in New Mexico and the first Hispanic woman governor in the United States. In 2013 Time Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. During her tenure she has created a budget surplus and reduced business taxes, while maintaining services like education. She also reformed taxes on exports from New Mexico, taking the state from 38th to number one in the nation in export growth in 2012.
AMY KLOBUCHAR U.S. Senator - Minnesota Klobuchar is known for getting things done. In the 114th congress, she passed more legislation than any other senator, according to GovTrack. Congress.gov says that as of January 2018 she has successfully sponsored or co-sponsored 98 laws. She favors universal healthcare, and is pro-choice. She is also an advocate for outdoor recreation.
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO U.S. Senate- Nevada Cortez Masto won her senate seat in 2016. She recently made news headlines for her support of the DREAMERS. She implored her fellow senators to meet with people who had protective status, many of whom worked in the Pentagon and at the Capitol. Cortez Masto also introduced legislation to ban bump stocks in the wake of recent school shootings. CLAIRE MCCASKILL U.S. Senator - Missouri McCaskill is the second woman to serve as a senator from Missouri and the first to be elected to the position. She has served in this position since 2006. McCaskill is regarded as a moderate Democrat, defending her pro-choice stance and working to provide jobs and training opportunities to her constituency. She is facing a stiff election battle in 2018. LISA MURKOWSKI U.S. Senate - Alaska Murkowski was appointed to the senate in 2002. The appointment was seen as controversial because her father made the appointment to the senate seat he had vacated to become governor. Many in the state regarded it as overt nepotism. Nevertheless, Murkowski herself has been elected to the seat three times since then, in 2010 she won as a write-in candidate over the Tea Party opposition. She believes in development of public lands and natural resources, which has created controversy within the state, although she has also suggested that Republicans need to address climate change.
Catherine Cortez
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Catherine Cortez Masto. Photo credit: Library of Congress - U.S. Senate Photographic Studio.
Ilhan Omar
CORNELIA “NINA” PILLARD United States Circuit Judge
Ilhan Omar speaking at the University of Minnesota. Photo credit: Lorie Shaull.
Nancy Pelosi. Photo credit: United States Congress.
ILHAN OMAR Minnesota House Representatives Nancy Pelosi
Omar is a Somali-American politician elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, making her the first Somali-American Muslim legislator elected to office in the United States. Ilhan is the Assistant Minority Leader, with assignments to three house committees; Civic Law & Data Practices Policy, Higher Education & Career Readiness Policy and Finance, and State Government Finance. Born in Somalia, Ilhan and her family fled the country’s civil war when she was eight. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States. She is the Director of Policy and Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network.
NANCY PELOSI Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives From 2007 to 2011, Pelosi was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the first and only woman to serve in this role in history. She is currently Minority Leader of the House. She serves for California’s 12th congressional district which covers most of San Francisco. In 2013, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, the home of the suffragette movement. Pelosi’s greatest legacy may be ushering the Affordable Care Act through congress under President Obama.
Pillard has been in the news recently over her opinion regarding the independence of the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, often referred to as the C.F.P.B. Pillard agreed that there was a public interest benefit in insulating the C.F.P.B. from political winds. As a Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia, she is no stranger to constitutional controversies. In fact, she has argued nine cases and briefed 25 cases before the Supreme Court. BETSY PRICE Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas Price won the mayoral seat in Fort Worth in 2010. She has since been elected for three more consecutive two year terms. She is perhaps best known for her Rolling Town Halls in which she invites citizens to join her as she bikes around the city, often doing more than 20 miles at one time. She also holds Walking Town Halls. She has worked hard to modernize the city’s infrastructure and improve public transportation. ROSAMAG.COM
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Cathy McMorris Rodgers
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CATHERINE PUGH Mayor of Baltimore
CONDELEEZA RICE Former U.S. Secretary of State
Pugh has been involved in Baltimore politics since 1999 when she joined the city council, which she served on through 2004. In 2016 she won the election to become mayor with 57% of the popular vote. As mayor she has promoted a number of initiatives, with jobs and economic development among her top priorities. She is an avid runner, and has promoted healthy lifestyles through policy, example, and two children’s books. She seeks to engage the community on issues like policing, job training, and arts programs for youth.
Rice was National Security Adviser from 2001 to 2005, and Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009 under George W. Bush. She is currently a professor at Stanford where she is also the Denning Professor of Global Business and the Economy, and the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. She recently participated in the release of a documentary called American Creed, which tells the story of a friendship between two Stanford professors that crosses race, gender, and party lines.
KIM REYNOLDS Governor of Iowa
CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS U.S. House of Representatives - Washington
Reynolds is the first woman Governor of Iowa. She assumed the position in 2017 when the sitting governor was appointed Ambassador to China. In 2018 she faces her first election challenge for a full term. Reynolds is an advocate of reducing taxes and simplifying the tax code. She also calls for sensible gun legislation.
Rodgers was elected to the House in 2004, from a district in eastern Washington. She is the longest serving Republican woman in Congress and the highest ranking woman as Chair of the House Republican Conference. She was a cochair for the Trump Transition Team. Rodgers’ driving issues are support for military and their families, strong defense, fiscal responsibility, and rural development through better use of natural resources. She is facing challenger Lisa Brown in the 2018 election.
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Cathy McMorris Rodgers speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Photo credit: Gage Skidmore.
Condeleeza Rice. Photo credit: Highpoint.Edu
Condeleeza Rice
ELISE STEFANIK U.S. House of Representatives - New York
ELIZABETH ANN WARREN U.S. Senator Massachusetts
Stefanik made news in 2014 as the youngest woman to be elected to congress in history. She was just 30 years old. However, Stefanik was no stranger to Capitol Hill politics, she had worked for Joshua Bolten under Bush, as well as for Tim Pawlenty in his 2012 campaign. She had also helped to prep Paul Ryan for his 2012 debates. Stefanik’s voting record is largely along party lines, with the exception of climate change and net neutrality, on which she broke ranks.
Warren came to prominence during the mortgage crisis of 2008, calling for reforms and actions to regulate financial institutions and protect homeowners. She has continued to call for regulations and transparency in banking and the business. Recently she called out business, for “non-poaching” agreements, in which businesses agree to refrain from hiring employees from other companies in the agreement. Warren claims these agreements unfairly hurt workers. She has also called on financial firms to address sexual harassment. She continues to be an advocate for consumer protection and financial industry reform.
Elise Stefanik
Elise Stefanik. Photo credit: United States Congress.
“It is important that we have women in the United States Senate. Strong women - women who are there to advance an agenda that is important to women.” –Senator Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren. Photo credit: United States Congress.
ERIN STEWART Mayor of New Britain, Connecticut Stewart made news back in 2013 when she ousted incumbent Mayor Tim O’Brien. She was only 26 years old and was the youngest woman mayor ever for a town the size of New Britain. Since then she has been re-elected twice. She is regarded as fiscally conservative and socially moderate. She restored fiscal responsibility to the budget and earned the city a 3-point upgrade from Standard & Poor’s. She also promotes green energy and is pushing for solar power. Stewart is running for governor in 2018 in a crowded field with Republican contenders as well as a number of Democrats. MARY TAYLOR Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Taylor is the current Lieutenant Governor, serving under John Kasich who cannot run again due to term limits.Taylor is running for the position but is facing opposition in the primary from fellow Republicans. The state party has endorsed other candidates forcing Taylor to run as an outsider. She is a supporter of tax cuts as job creators and believes that the Affordable Care Act is unworkable. Elizabeth Warren
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HAPPY TO SEE ALLRED BY C AMMY PEDROJA, PHD
Legendary Women’s Rights Lawyer, Gloria Allred, made a career of defending victims of sexual violence and prejudice before it was en vogue. Will the strength of the #MeToo movement become her legacy?
Gloria Allred: Not only are women speaking out [about sexual violence] on the internet using #MeToo, and feeling empowered because they did, many more women than before are also reaching out to me and other attorneys to find out if they have any legal rights they can assert, and if they are still within the time period set by law to assert those rights.
Now, in a moment that many are calling a “tipping point,” for women’s rights, Allred talks accountability and shifting power dynamics with ROSA Magazine.
GA: More women are saying, well, do I have any rights? Instead of sitting there shaking in fear and thinking if I speak out something bad will happen to me, they’re reaching out to find out their rights. Knowledge is power, and the more information a victim has about what their options are, the better. So, I believe there will be an increase of legal actions as result of the #MeToo movement.
ROSA Magazine: Much of your work over the last 40 years has been paving the way for the #MeToo and Women’s March movements. Where should all this gathered momentum go next?
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RM: Which is a big change from suffering in silence?
IMAGE COURTESY OF GLORIA ALLRED
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or over four decades, attorney, Gloria Allred has been a leader for women’s rights fighting for women, and representing them against high-profile defendants like O.J. Simpson, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein. She’s currently representing Summer Zervos in her defamation case against President Trump.
RM: So, an increased culture of accountability. GA: That’s the key word - accountability - and I use it every day because that’s what this is all about. Making the wrongdoer accountable in some way. What we’re seeing is a shift from victim-blaming and victim-shaming, to the accused being shamed and blamed. So, the power dynamic has shifted… So, a lot of [victims] want to know more about what action they can take, including legal action - in other words, beyond just speaking out (which does have risks and benefits), the women themselves are thinking - well, can I sue? Do I have legal rights? RM: Speaking of legal accountability - now you’ve been calling for lawmakers to finally pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Now that more women than ever are running for political office, do you think that will happen before the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage? GA: What we can hope for is the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the election of a feminist, female president. Need I say anything more? That would be a double whammy. That would be wonderful. And that would be a real affirmation of the empowerment of women. Because the ERA would guarantee their rights under the United States Constitution, where our rights are not secured right now, because even any law statute that might be passed to guarantee equal rights could be repealed by a Congress easily. But an amendment is very hard to repeal. So that would be a true guarantee of equality, and then of course, to have a woman president.
IMAGE COURTESY OF NETFLIX
This is all about our daughters. And I think [through these movements] there are more men now who are supporting the rights of their daughters to be free from gender violence, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. And I think [men] have a better understanding that they have quite a bit at stake as well, in this movement of change. It’s an inch forward politically that there are more women running for office. I think that’s part of the empowerment of women. So now we’d like to see the 2018 and 2020 election results demonstrate that the voters want that as well. R
SEEING ALLRED documentary by NETFLIX provides a candid look at one of the most public crusaders against the war on women.
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PAGE BORDER COURTESY OF SIMBOS. IMAGE COURTESY OF SAKURA VECTOR
Thank you for this...
NOW, LET’S DO THIS.
POLITICALWisdom
Geraldine Anne “Gerry” Ferraro (August 26, 1935 - March 26, 2011) American attorney, a politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives.
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very time a woman runs, women win.
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- GERALDINE FERRARO
DECISION 2020 FIGHTING FOR OUR FUTURE
“SHE’S RUNNING” A CONVERSATION WITH EMILY JACKSON BY C AMMY PEDROJA
As the host of the “She’s Running Podcast,” each week, Jackson interviews a female candidate running for political office. We spoke with Jackson to find out what she has learned from interviewing over forty strong women willing to show up and run in their communities.
Here in Texas, we have a very popular, young male candidate running for Senate and he’s going all over the state and having mini-town halls. They’re popular, well-received, and he’s really energizing young voters. But his main focus is still talking to people rather than listening to them. RM: What challenges are they facing that might be unique to female candidates?
Emily Jackson: Like many, I was spurred into action after the 2016 election. The idea for a podcast came after some creative thinking about what I could do to help the most women with their campaigns. I love getting people to tell me their stories and I have a serious knack for computers, so I eventually stumbled on the idea for a podcast.
EJ: Unfortunately, female candidates today still face the same “who’s going to take care of the household” questions that they have since women first started running for office. Any identifier that a female candidate has — single, LGBTQ, stay-at-home-mom — can and will be used as ammunition. My advice? Embrace it. Kathy Tran ran for Delegate in Virginia with her daughter, Elise in a [baby carrier] on her chest nearly the entire time. After she won, Elise came to the state house with her. Know who you are and don’t let [detractors] make you turn your best traits into something you feel like you have to defend.
RM: What are some of your guests’ reasons for running?
RM: How do your guests break down along party lines?
EJ: Overwhelmingly, when I ask women why they’re running for office, their answer has to do with their community. Even in a campaign which is literally focused on getting one person into a job, they’re doing it for the good of other people. Many of these women are in the midst of phenomenal careers—teachers, lawyers, scientists—and they’re giving that up to serve their community, to make their school, their town, or their state better.
EJ: The show is nonpartisan… [and] the overwhelming majority of the candidates that I talk to are less concerned about party politics and are more focused on the issues. I think that we’ll see more and more of that as Millennials are becoming more viable, mainstream candidates.
ROSA Magazine: What gave you the idea to start “She’s Running?”
RM: Is there a pattern among their key issues and platforms? EJ: Several of the candidates I’ve interviewed are doing listening tours in their towns or districts. I find this so interesting because they want their campaigns to be influenced by their constituents. This is so dramatically different from the way many male candidates campaign.
RM: What resources are these female candidates tapping into? EJ: There are so many resources for women who are running for office. She Should Run, Emerge America, Rise to Run, Run for Something, Vote Run Lead, Project 100, Latinas Represent… And that’s not even mentioning the state and local organizations. You can catch the show at shesrunningpod.com, or subscribe via the ITunes store.
IMAGES COURTESY OF BRAILESCU CRISTIAN (LEFT) AND SHE’S RUNNING PODCAST (RIGHT)
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mily Jackson isn’t a politician. Rather, she has a mission to connect women who are running for office (most for the first time) with the people who care about their stories.
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DECISION 2020
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright notably said, “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” Today, in 2018, record numbers of women are running for office in a widespread effort to better their communities and make their voices heard. Now, the important questions seem to be: how can we as women help each other develop our voices? How can we support each other as we rise to meet the challenge of a future defined by female leadership?
What do you think? Rosa wants to know!
IMAGE COURTESY OF UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND MARRIS HUANNA ILLUSTRATIONS
Email writers@ROSAmag.com with your thoughts.
IMAGES COURTESY OF SEAN LOCKE PHOTOGRAPHY AND EMBER STUDIOS
DECISION 2020
With presidential campaigns kicking off sooner and sooner each term and mid-term elections right around the corner, we should expect the 2020 race to begin at any time. And now more than ever, female politicians are grabbing the national spotlight. Questions and speculations about the next big race have already begun.
Will Hillary run again? Will Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) be a top contender like the pundits are predicting? And, for heaven’s sake, what about Oprah? Here’s a list of some of America’s most powerful political females, and factors that will (or won’t) drive them to enter the race for president, thereby answering the question on everyone’s minds...
WILL SHE, OR WON’T SHE? BY MADELYN PENNINO
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OPRAH WINFREY: JSTONE STUDIO. CARLY FIORNIA: CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, SARAH PALIN:BIOGRAPHY. ALL OTHERS COURTESY OF U.S. CONGRESS BIOGRAPHY DIRECTORY
DECISION 2020
DECISION 2020
KAMALA HARRIS If Harris runs, she would have both a strong California fundraising and activist base – along with the fact that’s she’s the second African American female senator and the first Indian American which makes her appealing. Speculators also suggest Harris’ growing list of national public speaking engagements and co-fundraising efforts may be a signal that she is running for higher office.
MAGGIE HASSAN HILLARY CLINTON Some politicos believe Hillary Clinton can’t be ruled out for another 2020 bid for the White House. If she runs, the question remains whether Clinton will have the same support she had in 2016. Many of the lingering problems that plagued Clinton during her campaign have not been forgotten by her critics. On the other hand, she is part of a powerful political dynasty that has the ability to reinvent and rebrand her image.
TAMMY DUCKWORTH Duckworth, a junior U.S. Senator from Illinois, has a compelling personal story that appeals to the public. A retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, Duckworth lost both of her legs when a helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down during the Iraq war in November 2004. She previously served as the Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans affairs and has a family history of military and government service. Another plus for Duckwork is her hometown roots in Illinois, a traditionally democratic state which boasts a strong fundraising base.
CARLY FIORINA Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, has publicly stated she would consider another run at the White House after her bid during the Republican primary in 2016. Fiorina, who is touted as one of the most powerful business woman in corporate America today, said she will consider launching another presidential campaign if the right opportunity arises.
KIRSTIN GILLIBRAND Gillibrand was appointed to Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat in 2009 and since has won re-election easily, proving that she is one of the most adept fundraisers for the Democratic Party and able to harness the resources necessary to run a costly campaign. An outspoken politician, Gillibrand didn’t refrain from calling for the resignation of Minnesota Senator Al Fraken for alleged sexual misconduct. She also called for President Trump’s resignation for similar allegations in December, which created a widely publicized Twitter feud between Gillibrand and Trump.
IMAGES COURTESY OF EMBER STUDIOS
NIKKI HALEY Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017. She was governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and was the first female and Indian-American to serve in this capacity. As a U.S. ambassador, she is solidifying her foreign policy credentials while earning a reputation as a no-nonsense leader.
The newly-elected senator from New Hampshire ran a successful campaign against incumbent Kelly Ayotte. Hassan, who was the governor of New Hampshire from 2013 until 2017, is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Pundits say her biggest challenge is being from a small northeastern state, which could prove to be one obstacle in winning a presidential nomination.
SARAH PALIN Political commentators think Sarah Palin, the vice presidential candidate in 2008 and daughter of the Tea Party, may be contemplating a run for the Oval Office. While some believe she should have run in the 2012 presidential election, which many believe had a weak candidate pool. Pundits say don’t count her out.
ELIZABETH WARREN All eyes are on Elizabeth Warren as speculation grows over whether she will run for president in 2020. A nationallyknown political figure, Warren has an enormous fundraising base. She has directed her own research team to take a look at her political life under the microscope in order to look for inconsistencies or vulnerabilities - a move, experts say, indicates she is focused on a national bid.
OPRAH WINFREY After her powerful speech on the #MeToo movement at the Golden Globe Awards in January, a possible Winfrey 2020 run dominated media outlets for days. After the speech, individuals close to Winfrey said she “was actively thinking” about running for president. Winfrey, a media mogul worth nearly $3 billion, has the resources and connections that are imperative to build an enormous fundraising base. Winfrey, however has repeatedly downplayed the media attention and said she has no interest in running stating that it is “not in her DNA.”
7
QUESTIONS
TO ASK YOURSELF IF YOU’RE THINKING OF
RUNNING FOR OFFICE
BY C AMMY PEDROJA
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American Women and Politics, to She Should Run, an online incubator designed to help women prep for public service, you can find the support you need. But, before you jump in and announce your candidacy, you should ask yourself these seven questions inspired by the intrepid female public servants who have been there, done that.
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IMAGES COURTESY OF BRAILESCU CRISTIAN (LEFT) LIGHTSPRING (RIGHT)
If you’re a woman thinking of running for political office, you’re sure to face a slew of challenges. But, the good news is there are more resources than ever for budding female civic leaders who are ready to invite themselves to the table. From organizations like Ready to Run, a non-partisan campaign boot camp from the Rutgers Center for
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DECISION 2020
CAN YOU LET GO OF ANY NEED TO BE LIKED?
“The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right, when it is unpopular, is a true test of moral character.” — Margaret Chase Smith (Fmr. R-Maine)
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CAN YOU ARTICULATE WHY RUNNING FOR OFFICE FEELS ESSENTIAL TO YOU?
“I think it’s always important to be clear about why this feels like a calling. The first question you have to be able to answer is, why are you running for X? And if you can’t come up with a very concise answer, there’s a problem. So that’s where I’d start. But secondly, just jump in there and get experience, expose yourself to the process, and figure out if it’s for you that way.” —Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) “Be an innovator. Don’t just parrot the same old things. That’s what has the American public so frustrated, I think, is we all say the same things. What does that mean? When I sometimes talk to people who are thinking about running, I say, ‘Well, why do you want to have this job?’ And they’ll go, ‘Well, I really want to give back,” and I go, ‘Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ I don’t know what that means. Be specific. What are you going to do with the job?” — Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)
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CAN YOU SPEAK UP EVEN WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID?
“I have often been the only woman in the room, and I thought to myself, ‘Well, I don’t think I’ll say anything today because it will sound stupid. And then some man says it, and everybody thinks it’s brilliant and you think, ‘Why didn’t I talk?’ If we are in a meeting we are there for a reason.The bottom line is: If you are only there not speaking, you kind of create the impression that you’re not prepared to be there.” — Madeleine Albright (Fmr. Sec. of State)
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CAN YOU GET GOOD PEOPLE ON YOUR SIDE AND THEN DELEGATE?
“The biggest piece of advice I have for a woman who is thinking of running is this: do it, but don’t do it alone. You will kill yourself trying to run a campaign yourself… You have a tribe of people who are waiting for you to reach out to them. You’ll be surprised who steps up and says, “Heck yes, I’ll help you!” Reach out, ask for help, and then accept the help that’s offered.” — Emily Jackson (Activist and host of “She’s Running” podcast)
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DO YOU TRULY WANT TO SERVE AND REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OVER PERSONAL INTERESTS?
“You can’t make everyone happy, and while it’s okay to grow and evolve, you must never waiver from your principles. I learned early on that regardless of how hard you work, or how prudent the decisions you make are, there will always be a group of people who disagree with you. In a representative democracy, that is bound to happen, but it stings at first. If you stay true to your principles, and the core values on which you campaigned, you can rest easy knowing that you are doing your job.” — Mimi Walters (R-CA)
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CAN YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR WORTH AND ABILITIES EVEN WHEN OTHERS DON’T?
“You can do anything. Sometimes, people will try to exclude you because they don’t think you belong somewhere or don’t have something to contribute. Don’t listen. Never let anyone tell you that your voice doesn’t matter, and show everyone what you can do. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the United States Congress, liked to say, ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.’ Those are words to live by.” — Kamala Harris (D-CA)
“We need more consensus-builders, we need people who will listen more, who are less egodriven and partisan. I really believe if you had 51 percent women in Congress, the whole dynamic would change.” — Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
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Are you ready to prop other women up and be a role model?
“Every additional step you take to make your voice heard, as a mayor, a state Senator, or a CEO, not only helps bring more women to the table today, it also shows the next generation they can step up and make sure their values are being represented, too. That brings me to my next point, which is that one of the most important ways we can expand opportunity for women is to help each other succeed.” — Patty Murray (D-WA) ROSAMAG.COM
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2018... COULD THIS BE THE YEAR OF THE INDEPENDENT? BY MARIANNE MESSINA
This year in politics, attention is being cast on the rise of the independent candidate or non-party politician with a centrist viewpoint. With an eye on the mid-term elections, the nation waits to see if independents take center stage.
This year, Hayes is running for governor in the state of Maine, and she’s running as an independent. Historically, independent candidates have had to go it alone, without the benefit of party coffers to call on. They also have trouble getting exposure, especially in the national races where they have been barred from the most widely televised debates. With the added procedural hurdles a non-party candidate incurs, independents are at a huge disadvantage. But things may be different in 2020, and they may start to turn in 2018. Non-partisan activist organizations expressing frustration with two-party partisanship, “the duopoly,” are mobilizing and even fundraising to support solution-oriented independent candidates. Among these, women to watch include Cara McCormick, the expert election researcher turned activist who helped bring ranked choice voting to Maine elections. McCormick has served as advisor to Maine’s independent senator Angus King and has led research teams for John Kerry and Joe Biden. As CEO of Level the Playing Field (LPF), McCormick is leading the challenge, now working its way through legal processes, to the shut-out practices of the Presidential Debate Committee.The goal of the challenge is to force the Committee to open its nationally televised events to include independent candidates. This would mark a big sea change for independents. More recently, McCormick’s challenge team has
been joined in its three-year effort by another activist organization, the Independent Voting Project, which has filed two amicus briefs in support of the LPF case. It seems this case has served to energize a movement to break the hold of the two-party system. Groups that have been working in local or regional pushes around the country have begun to coalesce, and they’re taking aim at the national elections. In January, 2018, McCormick and the IVP joined eight other organizations, such as Unite America, to concert that effort in a collaborative organization, the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR). The NANR is based in Colorado, but it pools from groups spanning the country that have spearheaded successful electoral changes. The organization seeks to take aim at a whole historical accumulation of legal and electoral instruments designed to enforce two-party entrenchment. In addition to members focusing on legal and electoral challenges, NANR members like Unite America (uniteamerica.org) have been hard at work raising money and mobilizing volunteers. Unite America aims to solve the uphill funding battle all independent candidates face. Founded by Dartmouth economics professor, Charles Wheelan, this organization’s mission is about “building the grassroots community, donor network, and electoral infrastructure to help independent candidates run winning campaigns.” The group’s “Fulcrum Strategy” would like to see independents as a game-changing force in Congress. They can leverage their un-affiliated status to pull extreme partisans to the middle, where, statistics show, most Americans dwell.
IMAGES COURTESY OF BRAILESCU CRISTIAN (LEFT) AND LIGHTSPRING (RIGHT)
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n January, Maine Treasurer Terry Hayes came down hard on Congress for the government shutdown. “This is what happens when the two parties never stop campaigning,” Hayes said in a statement, “they never transition to governing.”
ROSA Magazine
MORE INDEPENDENTS TAKE THE PLUNGE The 2018 elections will see two other independent candidates for governor along with Hayes in Maine: Greg Orman in Kansas and Bill Walker, the only current independent governor, up for re-election in Alaska. In senatorial races, the independent candidates are Neal Simon in Maryland and Craig O’Dear, in Missouri. Republicans would like to see O’Dear spoil the senate bid of pro-choice Democrat Claire McCaskill, especially if it allows their candidate to slip in. For this reason, McCaskill is another woman to watch in 2018. The Missouri election will test a popular fear that drives many voters to hold their nose and vote party: the spoiler vote.
Terry Hayes knows the spoiler effect well. In the last election cycle, an independent candidate drew just enough electoral “wiggle room” from the Democrat to elect an unlikely candidate, Paul LePage, the Republican governor that Treasurer Hayes now serves. A recent Gallup poll showed that 44% of Americans self-identify as independents. Many of the groups working to elect independents say that their time has come. Could the twoparty system be going the way of landlines and desktop computers? The 2018 elections will give us a clue. After a year of government shut-downs and legislative shut-outs, maybe the electorate has had enough. R
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POLITICAL Briefs
Note: Apps can be downloaded from both iTunes and/or Google Play Store.
I
n an ever-changing and increasinglycomplex political landscape, it’s not always easy staying in the know. Here’s four top political apps that give users unprecedented access to Washington.
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iCitizen (icitizen.com) This app allows users to engage with politicians within the app. Users can call and email them or take daily opinion polls that are delivered to their representative. Countable (countable.com) Countable uses location technology to link users to their personal representatives.
Congress+ (congressinyourpocket.com) This app offers a one stop source for information on each of the 535 members of Congress. Political Tracker (politicaltracker.com) Can track - or untrack - bills or get the latest political buzz from news channels.
IMAGE COURTESY OF MAKSIM KABAKOU
POLITICAL APPTITUDE
POLITICAL Briefing
“ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL” THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE FAMOUS STATEMENT
O BY RON WYNN
ne of the more misunderstood, often misquoted statements in political history concerns what longtime Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill meant when he said, “all politics is local.”
One of the reasons so much confusion exists around the statement relates to the context or situation when it was first used. Contrary to myths, O’Neill did not first say it to Ronald Reagan, nor did the origin come in a bitter 1982 re-election campaign between O’Neill and challenger Massachusetts attorney Frank McNamera. O’Neill actually made that statement in 1935, following a defeat while running for the Cambridge City Council.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ROGER ASHFORD
His exact quote came after the only defeat in his career:“During the [1935] campaign, my father had left me to my own devices, but when it was over, he pointed out that I had taken my own neighborhood for granted. I had received a tremendous vote in the other sections of the city, but I hadn’t worked hard enough in my own backyard. ‘Let me tell you something I learned years ago,’ he said. ‘All politics is local.’ ” Although the statement originated with his father, O’Neill was emphasizing the importance of never overlooking or neglecting your base; that first, ensure you have their support before trying to expand outside of your core. O’Neill was referencing the need for politicians to identify and focus on issues most important to their immediate electorate. If a politician knows his or her turnout will be low, it is even more important to identify a core group of supporters and galvanize (then maintain) their support before trying to attract enough voters from outside the base to win a general campaign.
What the most successful candidates do, whether running for national, statewide, or city offices, is operate on some variation of the O’Neill paradigm. They find a way to make themselves and their message resonate with an identified base. They persuade those voters that they have their interests at heart and will be the most effective spokesperson for the issues that mean the most to them.
Tip O’Neill and friend President Gerald Ford meeting at the White House, Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of the US Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs division.
Perhaps the ultimate irony is, the run for the Presidency always gets the lion share of voter turnout, despite the fact that it actually has far less day-to-day impact on the lives of voters than campaigns for mayor, city council or the city school board. Another major problem in American politics is the fact that local elections seldom draw a plurality of participants. According to a recent (2016) report on the City Lab website, in 15 of the 30 largest American cities less than 20 percent of the registered voters participated in the most recent mayoral elections. Still, every winning candidate finds a way to make politics local - or at least appear local. Ronald Reagan took an antibig government stance with “I feel your pain;” Clinton used slogans such as “Keep It Simple, Stupid; Obama talked about a new day of bi-partisan cooperation, and simply stated,“Yes We Can.” All were operating on the premise they were speaking to and for the ordinary, everyday voter. This was also evident in Donald Trump’s campaign that focused on portraying him as someone neither attuned nor beholding to the Washington establishment – thus able to speak for the common person. Whether historians and political pundits think any or all of these stances to be legitimate, they all proved effective. No matter the office, any political candidate would be smart to understand the O’Neill principle that “all politics is local.” R ROSAMAG.COM
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SOCIAL SIDE of Politics
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BY MARIANNE MESSINA
n a fractured political climate, language has become suspect and everyone seems to be speaking, and listening, in code.
“Your moral worldview defines for you what the world should be like,” says linguistic and cognitive scientist George Lakoff. And from this starting place, we judge (or filter) what goes on around us. For many years, Lakoff has been discussing how metaphor shapes our politics. He holds that we tend to draw on family metaphors when we think about government – founding fathers, for example.The political parties are able to take opposite meanings from the same facts because they come from two very different metaphorical families. In a recent blog, Lakoff put it like this: ”The conservative and progressive worldviews dividing our country are encapsulated in two very different common forms of family life: The Nurturant Parent family (progressive) and the Strict Father family (conservative).” Either model comes with a vocabulary all its own, and as we espouse one model or the other, we access a cascade of coded language. Lakoff points out that President Obama tended to see the role of government as a Nurturant Parent. But when the president started using Nurturant Parent language – code words such as “empathy,”“aiding,” and “empowering” – it would set conservative teeth to gnashing. For a conservative thinker who approaches governance as a Strict Father, these words are jarring. As Lakoff presents it, the Strict Father model equates discipline with strength and obedience with doing what’s right. Obeying Strict Father leads to prosperity. “What if they don’t prosper?” Lakoff proposes. “That means they are not disciplined, and therefore cannot be moral, and so deserve their poverty.” House Speaker Paul Ryan once revealed in an interviewer that his single mom continually told him, “Suck it up, deal with it.” This means that Ryan’s childhood was awash in Strict Father language. And today, you can hear it in his speeches. Ryan was the center of attention in 2014 when a public outcry called him out for coded racial stereotyping, or as it was called in the media, Dog Whistle Politics (the title of a book by Ian Haney López). ”We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular,” Ryan said, “of men not working, and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, so there’s a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.”
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Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Photo credit:: Christopher Hallora.
American linguist George Lakoff. Photo credit: Mikethelinguist (Own work).
According to his research, Trump uses the language of “winners.” For millions of viewers, Trump was not as unelectable as pundits claimed. For years, Trump’s signature line, “You’re fired!” had positioned him as a manat-the-top, not just a winner, but a tough judge of other people’s worth. Trump and Speaker Ryan don’t speak the same language. The winner’s world is not quite the Strict Father world of disciplined self-denial. Ryan’s code words – responsible and disciplined – are almost diametrically opposed to Trump’s often-unrestrained language of challenge – “little” and “cowards” and “my button is bigger.”
As it turns out, the Winner and the Strict Father do share some vocabulary: the language of toughness. It plays well for President Trump: “We have to harden our schools,” he said after the Lakeland shooting. “Be tougher on immigration.” “Teresa Mae is not tough enough.”Trump even squirmed free from his disparagement of African nations by redubbing his comments “tough language.”
President-Elect Donald Trump looks left toward the crowd as he delivers a speech at a “Thank You Tour” rally held at the Giant Center. Photo credit: Evan El-Amin.
With upcoming elections, it will be interesting to watch the metaphors interact and the code words fly. Will the language escalate or exhaust itself by voting time? Will Trump’s fellow Republicans come to echo his language by Election 2018? And how will Democrats respond? R Stay tuned for our special coverage of Rhetoric:The Art of Persuasion - Fall 2018.
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SOCIAL SIDE of Politics
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WONDER WOMAN AND THE ENTERTAINMENT OF POLITICS BY TOM KONECNY
he convergence of entertainment and politics has never been more pronounced.
In the past we witnessed Ronald Reagan successfully transition from Hollywood to government, yet today we know that’s becoming the norm. In this modern political landscape it takes a celebrity of Oprah-like caliber to make serious runs at big-time offices. Kanye West, Dwayne Johnson, Mark Cuban, Mark Zuckerberg – these are names who have flirted with presidential dreams. Famous stars have built-in advantages most archetypal or rising politicians don’t: we already know them, we’re generally united in admiration of them and their deep pockets didn’t come from fundraising or lobbyists. Unlike Reagan, today’s stars also have social media, which afford them a daily platform to share their political views. Those past generations were dependent on mainstream news just to get their message out, and limited by the exposure each offered.
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As such, entertainers have a unique role in this political landscape. But we can take this a step further, because it’s also their movies and characters that shape public perception. All of it influences the way we look at politicians. And more than ever, females are at the forefront. Observe the rise of strong female characters in Hunger Games, Star Wars, Wonder Woman and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – all a window into, or more like a mirror of, how the modern world operates. Truth be told, the world has operated this way for a while; entertainment is simply catching up. Take a look at the recent Black Panther, where its fictionalized Wakanda presents a political system jointly controlled by both men and women. While T’Challa is king, his team is comprised of equally competent female leaders, and accompanied by other Wakanda tribes all led by women.
Gal Gadot at the Los Angeles Premiere of DC Comics’ “Wonder Woman” at the Pantages Theater on May 25, 2017. Photo credit: Kathy Hutchins Photography.
Lupita Nyong’o at the World premiere of Marvel’s “Black Panther” held at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, USA on January 29, 2018. Photo credit: Tinseltown Photography.
The equally praised Wonder Woman begins on an Amazonian-filled island whose warrior women were created by Zeus to protect humans. Still peppered with traditional feminine elements you’d expect – beauty and romance – the film ultimately succeeds with an ingenious superhero role reversal as male audiences cheered at the reality of a woman saving them.
IMAGES COURTESY OF ARAK RATTANAWIJITTAKORN
It is films like these – with plenty more on the way – which shape public perception of female politicians. Here we begin to see assertive, independent, active leaders. We begin to accept this new fantasy as reality, and of course, it is reality. Alas, even in entertainment, we are seeing more females in leadership roles. Today’s successful female characters don’t politicize, sexualize or diminish their gender, they just lead. As we continue to see this as the norm, we’ll see fewer journalists ask female candidates inappropriate questions they wouldn’t ask men.We’ll see less media focus on what she’s wearing and more on her policies. No female should have to show her masculine side, because there’s a way to be completely feminine and lead even if you’re sponsoring new legislation or saving the world from nasty, evil villains... And, if you’re a politician, sometimes you have to do both. R ROSAMAG.COM
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UPCOMING SUMMER 2018 ALL ABOUT THE ISSUES Legislative Wrap-Up FALL 2018 WHEN WOMEN RUN The Campaign Issue WINTER 2018 ELECTION RECAP 2020 Forward
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SPRING 2018 WOMEN IN POLITICS Past, Present & Future
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INAUGURAL ISSUE
We are proud to present ROSA Magazine and stories about women in power and politics. Our intention is to honor our past, reflecting on those who have come before, as well as looking to the future for the women who will lead. We hope our stories inspire you to par ticipate in the political process, whether in your communities or on a national stage. Women must be in the political arena to make great change in the world. R
You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.
- Rosa Parks