DC’s Mayor Bowser officially proclaims “Equal Rights Amendment Day” will be recognized on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 in the nation’s capital.
Advocacy efforts supporting the ERA are intensifying in DC and across the nation as civil rights groups push for President Biden to publish the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Washington, DC – December 8th, 2024 - Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued a ceremonial proclamation recognizing Tuesday, December 10, 2024, as "Equal Rights Amendment Day" in the District of Columbia. The date commemorates the 101 anniversary of its introduction in Congress, and is soon expected to become the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was drafted in 1923 by suffragists to guarantee that sex would not be a basis for discrimination in any legal matters. It reads, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The ERA is the only proposed constitutional amendment that has met the clear requirements of Article V but has not been certified and published. Mayor Bowser’s proclamation aligns her with 46 U.S senators who signed a letter to President Biden requesting he certify and publish the ERA by directing the Archivist of the United States to take action; the title is currently held by Dr. Colleen J. Shogan who is the first woman to serve in the role.
The historic proclamation supports a modern campaign led by an alliance of non-partisan groups who demand President Biden push the ERA over the finish line before he leaves office. The intersectional movement includes lawyers, historians, students, and even small business owners like Kaitlin Calogera who founded A Tour Of Her Own, DC’s first tourism company to focus exclusively on women’s history. Calogera said, “The Equal Rights Amendment could help constitutionally safeguard nearly 700,000 residents in Washington, D.C., who, without statehood, are more vulnerable to the federal government interfering in our local laws and attacking the rights of women and the LGBTQ community. For over a century, the ERA movement has been rooted in DC because we are the heartbeat of the country. Our leaders like Mayor Bowser and Congresswoman Norton know that to represent the district is to be a champion for all Americans in the ongoing fight for constitutional equality.”
Recognition of this historic anniversary will continue all month long with special events like the Relay 4 Rights in DC on Tuesday, December 10th hosted by VoteEquality. Ongoing campaigns include phone banking, postcard writing, and virtual town halls. More information is available at this link.
WHEREAS, Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Day commemorates December 10, 1923, the day the ERA was first introduced in the U.S.Congress as a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the ERA text reading "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex," was drafted to guarantee that sex would not be a basis for discrimination in any legal matters; and
WHEREAS, the ERA amendment proposal was passed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress in 1972 and, in January 2020, received the required ratification by three-fourths of U.S. states, but has not become part of the U.S. Constitution; and
WHEREAS, Equal Rights Amendment Day honors Beverly Bond, Dorothy Height, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mary Church Terrell, Betty Friedan, and other trailblazing Washingtonians who have fought for constitutional equality for American women and girls:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, THE MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, DC do hereby proclaim December 10, 2024, as "EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT DAY" in Washington, DC.
The 1978 Equal Rights Amendment March took place on July 9th in Washington, DC. Approximately 90,000 participants lined up on Constitution Avenue and proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol. From left to right: Patricia Roberts Harris, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Bella Abzug, girl, Gloria Steinem, Dick Gregory, Betty Friedan. Photographer and Source: Chuck Aaron
DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton speaks alongside other national ERA advocates stating “Now that women’s long recognized right to abortion has been obliterated by the Supreme Court, other rights that provide for greater equality for women specifically may unfortunately soon follow… It is long past time for women to be constitutionally guaranteed equal rights.” Photo by Chrisi West, ERA Coalition, Ms. Magazine.com December 8th, 2022
The #NotOneMore March in December 2024 recognized the 100th anniversary. The march began in front of the White House at Lafayette Park where the message was clear according to The ERA Coalition, “The ask for the Executive Branch of government was simple: Do everything in your power to ensure publication of the Equal Rights Amendment.” Photo by Kaitlin Calogera.
The marchers stopped in front of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offices to talk about the need for the Archivist of the US, Dr. Colleen Shogan, to publish the Equal Rights Amendment. Signs read ”It’s been 100 years, not one more.” Photo by Kaitlin Calogera.
Muriel Bowser speaks onstage during the Women’s March on Washington in 2017. “I want to welcome you all to your nation’s capital in the best city in the world and soon to be the 51st state.” (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Mary Church Terrell was featured in Mayor Bowser’s proclamation as being a trailblazing Washingtonian. Here, A Tour Of Her Own founder Kaitlin Calogera leads a walking tour stopping at “Terrell Place” in DC’s Gallery Place neighborhood. Terrell was born in 1863 the daughter of formerly enslaved parents. She would go on to have an active career in the DC and address Congress in March 1948 stating, “Gentlemen of the Judiciary Committee, when you consider the Equal Rights Amendment this new year, I appeal to you in the name of Justice to make a favorable report.”