Wash. Sq. march for ERA amendment
Virginia Vitzthum, of the protest Group Rise And Resist, gave the opening remarks.
BY BOB KRASNER
It was chilly but clear on Sunday as a
small but dedicated group gathered
in Washington Square Park for an
event organized by Rise and Resist, an
activist group that was formed in reaction
to the election of Trump in 2016.
Titled “Pass the ERA: Women Lead
the Way”, the get-together combined music,
speeches and poetry to demand that
the Equal Rights Amendment be finally
added to the U.S. Constitution, after
a long history that began when it was
originally introduced in
1923.
The pre-show featured
Mark Leydorf and his
organization ‘Sing Out,
Louise!”, who invited
attendees to sing along
with their versions of
several newly politicized
popular tunes, including
‘ America the Pitiful’,
‘God Help America’,
‘It’s My Body’ and odes
to AOC, Kamala Harris
and Governor Cuomo (
spoiler alert – that one
was not a tribute).
The always rousing
Fogo Azul, a “Brazilian
samba-reggae drum line”
group of women drummers,
got the crowd’s
attention and even had
a bunch of them dancing
prior to the opening remarks by Virginia
Vitzthum, who was an organizer of the
event.
Although scheduled
speaker Letitia James, the
NYS Attorney General,
was a no-show several
formidable women made their
viewpoints known.
Donna Lieberman, executive
director of the New York Civil Liberties
Union, noted that “there is no
deadline on inequality, it just goes on
and on.” Cathy Marino-Thomas,
an advocate for marriage equality,
stated that the ERA is “not
law because we have to demand
it, ” and called for “deeds, not
words.”
Transgender activist TS Candii
spoke on the plight of the
trans community and led several
chants as the group marched
through the city to Union
Square. They stopped along the
way at the site of the tragic 1911
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire,
which killed 146 garments workers
– 123 of which were women.
At that building, which is now
owned by NYU, Nancy Hagans
of the New York State Nurses
Association pointed out that
“women workers are critical” to
our society.
About 60 or so marchers continued
up 6th Avenue in their
own lane as the NYPD kept the
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
Transgender activist TS Candii
speaking on Sunday.
traffic away from them. Signage included
thank you’s to several notable women of
color, including Stacey Abrams. Flyers
were handed out to passersby and the
chanting continued as they approached
Union Square. Poet and activist Pamela
Sneed ended the rally there with a reading
of her own work that touched on the
Black Lives Matter movement.
We asked participant Jackie Rudin, a
long-time advocate for political causes, what
the result might be of an action such as this.
“I have no idea what effect it has,” she
said.” It might not do anything. But let the
record show that were there and we said
what we had to say.”
And what is that was said? Rudin replied,
simply, “That holding up the ERA
is insane.” For more info on upcoming
events go towww.riseandresist.org
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
The all female Brazilian Samba Reggae drum line Fogo Azul preceded the speakers
with a rousing performance.
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