ERA-NC Alliance condemns racial injustice, pledges to fight for equality for all
We want to say loud and clear that Black Lives Matter. Now more than ever this statement cannot be ignored. The ERA-NC Alliance stands with our Black sisters and brothers in denouncing the brutality and oppression that far too many have endured. The recent events have shown that not acknowledging and glossing over systemic racism has created a perfect storm of incidents where Black lives have been lost, only to end with little to no justice.
Throughout our country’s history, racism and sexism have gone hand in hand. Some of the most vocal abolitionists were women who saw the parallels in their fight against slavery with the lack of their own rights. As the civil rights movement erupted in the 60s, so did the Second Wave women’s movement’s fight for equality. Racism and sexism are so deeply embedded in our culture that we are unaware of them until a spark ignites a flame of anger and protest.
Every parent of a Black child in this country has reason to fear for their children’s lives. The #SayHerName campaign has highlighted Black girls as young as 7 and Black women as old as 93 who have been killed by the police.
Black women have been the backbone of the women’s movement, despite the frustrations expressed by many that their issues have not been in the forefront of concern.
The women’s movement has been passive and complicit for far too long, and we intend to be on the right side of history. We must fight for equality for all Americans if we are to truly achieve equality for all women. For all to be free, the fight against racism and sexism must be interconnected. Our nation is not a democracy until ALL of our citizens are treated equally in the eyes of the law. Regardless of our race, our ethnicity, our gender, our religion or our sexuality, every one of us should have the same rights and laws protecting us as do those who seek to govern us.
The ERA-NC Alliance condemns ALL forms of racism and injustice. We pledge to be inclusive in the fight for equality for all marginalized communities. We stand together in this fight.
Please join the national ERA Coalition’s virtual Town Hall on the Equal Rights Amendment and its impact on girls and women of color at 5 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, June 18. You can register HERE.
Lori Bunton
Co-president, ERA-NC Alliance
and
The Executive Council, ERA-NC Alliance