WS Chronicle

North Carolina has granted progressive choice for voters

To the Editor:

In formally recognizing the Green Party as a political party, North Carolina has granted voters the choice of a progressive, anti-establishment party. Funded entirely by members and private donors, never by corporations, the Green Party works for the interests of the people.

The Green motto of “People, Planet, and Peace Over Profit” is reflected in the party’s four pillars of Ecology, Social Justice, Democracy, and Peace, as well as its 10 key values, which include Feminism and Gender Equity, Respect for Diversity, and Community-based Economics.

In organization and practice, the Green Party is a grassroots party of, by, and for the people. Not only do the Green values and platform support justice and equality, but the party structure itself represents these very principles. Decision-making is decentralized, with local chapters and state parties deciding their own direction and needs, so that power is shared and bureaucracy is minimized. Civil rights are always at the forefront for Greens, who seek gender and racial balance in leadership and membership, respect the inherent worth of all people, and confront discrimination and injustice in all its forms.

I joined the NCGP because no other party’s policies represent my views on peace, equality, and justice, and no other platform or ideology has an innate sense of collectivism and integrity at its foundation.

We are citizen activists, social justice advocates, and members of the 99 percent who care about our communities, our neighbors and our future. As a rapidly growing, grassroots organization, we welcome North Carolina’s 2.13 million unaffiliated voters, the millions of disaffected voters weary of the corruption of the three corporate parties, and progressives who seek a political home that represents their values and beliefs. We encourage you to learn more by visiting NCGreenParty.org and go Green today!

Elif Erginer, Triad Delegate, NCGP, Winston-Salem

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ERA needs to be finally ratified

To the Editor:

April 10 is Equal Pay Day. That date symbolizes how far into 2018 American women must work to get paid as much money as men did in 2017.

According to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, women make 80 cents compared to every dollar men make. But wait. That stark fact applies to all women. Black women, however, must work until August 7 to catch up with men. Latina women won’t get there until November 1.

Shockingly, the American Association of University Women concludes that at the current rate of progress in closing the gap, women won’t get pay equity until the year 2119 – a whole century.

Since many families depend on two incomes, paying women less hurts men and children, too.

Women deserve equal pay. To ensure equal pay, women need constitutional protection. The Equal Rights Amendment would provide that.

Ratification of the ERA will be considered soon in the Illinois Legislature. It will come up in North Carolina again in 2019. It’s way past time for state lawmakers to do the right thing – for women, for men, for families. It’s a matter of fairness, justice and common decency.

Roberta Madden, Co-President, ERA-NC Alliance, Black Mountain, NC