Statewide meeting focuses on ‘Women’s Power NOW’
By Tori P. Haynesworth
For The Chronicle
The North Carolina National Organization of Women (NOW) had its state conference on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Parkway United Church of Christ at 2151 Silas Creek Pkwy. The all-day conference consisted of business agendas, food, fellowship and panel discussions based on this year’s theme “Focusing Women’s Power NOW”.
“We want to motivate to change bad policies and bills, and encourage good ones,” said Gailya Paliga, president of NC NOW. “We’re willing to educate and protest as needed.”
Several speakers led the conference that were focused on the six core issues in North Carolina : Reproductive Rights; Economic Right (including pay equity); ending Violence Against Women; Racial Justice; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, Ally (LGBTQIAA) Rights; and Constitutional Equality through the Equal Rights Amendment.
The keynote speaker was U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, who spoke about how she got where she is now in her career and talked “sister to sister” to the audience.
“Together we’ve worked to enforce some bonds and build some bridges. And we need to continue to do that,” said Adams. “It’s absolutely necessary that women are players at the tables, from the classroom, to the board rooms, from the state house, to the United States house, and in 2016, all the way to the White House.”
Mini Timmaraju, national women’s outreach director for the “Hillary for America” campaign, and one of the keynote speakers, told the audience:
“It’s personally really critical to me that when we’re reaching out to women across the country, we’re talking about all American women of every generation.”
Timmaraju pointed out Clinton’s experience of working for women, children and the middle class. The NOW Political Action Committee (PAC) has recently endorsed the campaign. There are “Latinos for Hillary” and “African-Americans for Hillary” alongside the “Women for Hillary” mottos. She also mentioned of how technology, especially emails, are essential of getting more people involved for support.
During the session of panel discussions, Madeline Coffey, junior at Wake Forest University spoke about the younger generation and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I really think it’s important that we start focusing more on people of color and supporting black rights and Black Lives Matter, and move toward focusing on Millenials and working with Millenials,” said Coffey.
NOW is pushing for North Carolina, as well as other states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment was written by suffragist leader Alice Paul, and was first proposed and introduced in U.S. Congress in 1923. It was passed by Congress in 1972, and on June 30, 1982, ERA received only 35 of the 38 state ratifications.
For more information or to join NOW, go to www.triadnow.org. To learn more about the Equal Rights Amendment, visit www.NC4ERA.org or email info@nc4era.org.
