Episode 176: ERA All The Way
You may think the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which states “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex,” is already the law of the land, maybe, kind of. And it is, but it is complicated. To explain the history of the ERA of and what is happening now so we can get engaged, L. Joy brings Carol Jenkins, CEO of ERA Coalition, to the front of the class. But first, L. Joy gives us the primer we need on how we amend the Constitution and brings Vote Mama Candidate Spotlight Jen Jordan to the front of the class.
Homework:
Check out action items around ERA on the ERA Coalition website https://www.eracoalition.org/
Find out what local and state races are happening in your area and get involved, now.
Vote Mama Candidate Spotlight:
Democratic State Senator Jen Jordan (pronounced Jer-Dun) has spent her legal career fighting for Georgians. Jen grew up in Dodge County, the oldest child of a single mother who worked as a hairdresser and who taught her daughters the value of hard work and perseverance. As a girl, Jen learned those lessons, and benefitted from the support that Georgia offers determined students, going to Georgia Southern University on the encouragement of her public-school teachers and a HOPE scholarship, and then working her way through law school at the University of Georgia. It was in law school that Jen found her voice and came to believe deeply that the courthouse should be a place where everyone is treated equally and that the law can be a powerful tool for justice.
Jen’s small-town background informs her approach to the law and public service. Put simply, she believes in helping people when they need it the most. Jen has put those beliefs into practice throughout her career: fighting to protect Georgians’ right to vote, to prevent plants from polluting Georgia’s air and water with cancer-causing chemicals, and to protect children from predators, and keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Because of her real-life experience in the courtroom and out of it, Jen knows that now, more than ever, we need an Attorney General who will take a stand and fight for the rights of each and every Georgian. That’s why Jen is running for Attorney General—to fight for the people of Georgia.
Our Guest:
Carol Jenkins is the President and CEO of the ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality, sister organizations dedicated to the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment. She is also founding president of The Women’s Media Center, and former chair and current board member of Amref Health Africa USA. As a pioneering African American television reporter, Jenkins was an anchor and correspondent for WNBC TV in New York for nearly 25 years. Ms. Jenkins is also an author, the three-time NY Emmy-nominated host of Black America on CUNY TV, the executive producer, writer and documentary correspondent of an award-winning film, a podcast host, and co-anchor of CUNY TV’s live election night coverage.
