You must register and attend this virtual program: Zoom: https://wvu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtdOmgrj0tHNx6FY2ye8E25SN3LBgdOiUv
"The Equal Rights Amendment: Past, Present, and Future" on Thursday, April 8, 2021, 12pm
Panelists: Linda Coberly, chair of the ERA Coalition's legal task force; Jeri Burton: Chair of the NOW’s 28th Amendment ERA Committee; Liza Mickens, Vote Equality US Co-Founder, Intern Programs Director + Official Spokeswoman, Great, great-granddaughter of Maggie Walker
Moderator: Danielle Emerling, Congressional & Political Papers Archivist, Assistant Curator, West Virginia & Regional History Center.
Press Release
The WVU Libraries will host the virtual panel presentation “The Equal Rights Amendment: Past, Present, and Future” on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 12 p.m. The presentation is in conjunction with Undefeated: Canvas(s)ing the Politics Around Voter Suppression Since Women’s Suffrage and the West Virginia & Regional History Center’s exhibitions on women’s suffrage and voting rights.
The push for an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) began in 1923 with Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party but attempts to include women in the Constitution were unsuccessful. In 1972, Congress passed the ERA with bipartisan support. It stated that “Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
While 35 states had ratified the ERA by 1982, it was three states short of the three-quarters of states required by the Constitution. Additionally, five states have voted to rescind or otherwise withdraw their ratification of the ERA. The ERA has faced a number of political and legal challenges, but renewed interest and activism has resulted in ratification in Nevada in 2017 and Virginia in 2020, making it the 38th state to ratify the amendment. In March 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution removing the ratification deadline so the process can move forward.
Join WVU Libraries and speakers Jeri Burton, Liza Mickens, and Linda Coberly for a presentation about past and present efforts, challenges, and strategies for passing the Equal Rights Amendment.
Jeri Burton is a life-long progressive activist. She currently is President of the Nevada chapter of the National Organization for Women, (NOW), serves on the NOW National Board representing the Western Region, and is the Chair of the NOW’s 28th Amendment ERA Committee.
Liza Mickens is Vote Equality US Co-Founder, Intern Programs Director + Official Spokeswoman, and Great, great-granddaughter of Maggie Walker. Liza advocates for a more complete narrative of the story of suffrage and the fight for gender equality in America. In addition to representing her family's historical legacy for over a decade, she has been speaking out on gender equality since 2018 and now leads the VoteEqualityUS intern program. A 2019 graduate from JMU, she has a keen interest in the fashion industry which she balances with her work to change the world for future generations.
Linda Coberly is the chair of Winston & Strawn’s Appellate & Critical Motions Practice and serves as Managing Partner of the firm’s oldest and largest office. She provides advice on strategic legal issues at all stages of litigation, informed by her time as a clerk for Justice Stephen G. Breyer and for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg on the D.C. Circuit. She has argued more than 50 appeals in federal and state appellate courts across the country. Ms. Coberly serves as Chair of the ERA Coalition’s Legal Task Force and leads the firm’s pro bono efforts to support ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. She is a director and immediate past chair of the board of Heartland Alliance (the Midwest’s largest human rights and anti-poverty organization), serves on the Board of the United Way for Metro Chicago and as Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Chicago’s Goodman Theater, and is a member of the Chicago Network, an organization of women at the top of their organizations in business, law, academia, government, and the arts. She holds an A.B. from Princeton and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Sign language interpreting and captioning services are available by request for participants who are deaf or hard of hearing. To request an interpreter or captioner, contact Jason.Kapcala@mail.wvu.edu at least three business days prior to the event.
