Florida NOW

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

I have been amazed by the record-breaking participation by women in races at all levels across the country this midterm season. Now more than ever, women are poised to disrupt local, state, and federal elections and reach an all-time high of representation in elected office. As we celebrate these incredible achievements, it is important to remember and honor the sacrifices of our foremothers who paved the way for women today. Women like Shirley Chisholm, the first black candidate for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

A former educator, Shirley Chisholm worked her way up from State Legislator in New York to Member of the U.S. House of Representatives to Presidential Primary Candidate. Shirley Chisholm truly practiced what she preached. During her seven terms in Congress, Chisholm hired an all-female staff, half of whom were Black women. While serving in Congress she supported civil rights, women’s rights, social welfare programs and spoke out against the Vietnam War. She worked hard to support women’s rights to choose during pregnancy and sought to uplift women, especially Black women, up from restrictive gendered roles.

Chisholm started her Presidential campaign in 1972 and ran on a progressive platform that centered on prison reform, gun control, police brutality, and civil rights. It was an uphill battle, and despite her years of service to feminism and civil rights movement, she found little political support from white women or Black men. Many people were uncomfortable with the idea of supporting a Black woman candidate and her campaign was marred by racism and sexism. Despite these challenges, Chisholm did not let it dissuade her. While she would ultimately lose the election, she still garnered 152 delegates before withdrawing from the race. Chisholm continued to fight for equal rights in the House until her retirement in 1982.

Shirley Chisholm broke down racial and gender barriers in American politics and serves as an inspiration to the thousands of women running for office this year. Chisholm’s achievements were historic and paved the way for more people living at the intersections of several identities to find the courage to run for office. She is emblematic of the power that can be found in giving a voice to a diversity of people. We can honor Chisholm’s memory this election season by exercising our right to vote and supporting progressive candidates who, like Chisholm, want to create a better future by empowering women, people of color, LGBTQ people, low-income people, and immigrants.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON — The National Organization for Women stands in solidarity with Pittsburgh’s Jewish community following the horrific attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue. Eleven worshippers were gunned down by a vicious anti-Semite who felt free to express his hatred towards Jews, even as he was being arrested.

Our sadness today makes us even more determined to show that hate speech, hate crimes, racism, sexism, and cruelty disguised as political conservatism has no place in American life.

The Pittsburgh shooter’s social media posts on GAB, an alternative platform expressly created to give haven and comfort to racists, shows that hate speech is being welcomed by online communities, political networks, and supporters of politicians who preach hatred and division.

A few days before the massacre in Pittsburgh, a gunman killed two African American shoppers at a Kentucky grocery store, after failing to gain entry into a nearby black church. Local media reported that when a white man who was himself armed confronted the shooter in the store to try and stop him, the gunman said, “whites don’t kill whites” and moved on.

NOW condemns not only these violent acts but also the environment that fosters, sustains and encourages them. We have an opportunity as a nation to send a message on Election Day that intolerance and bigotry have no place in our politics, our communities, or in the White House.

On Tuesday, October 30, exactly one week before the midterm election, NOW will join a national telephone town hall to mobilize a progressive response to these events. Sign up here to join the call and take a stand with us against hate. Some are calling this a “new normal,” but in fact this is the same hatred that has plagued us for centuries. It is a backlash against the 53% of Americans who voted for a liberal feminist for President, and the two electoral majorities won by our first black President. Racists and anti-Semites feel they are losing their positions of power, and they are acting, enabling and sanctioning acts of violence and terror to preserve their privilege.

A few hours after the shooting, Donald Trump suggested he might have to cancel his evening political rally because standing in the rain while making a statement to the press about Pittsburgh was causing him to have a bad hair day. It never occurred to him to cancel his plans in order to show presidential leadership or human compassion.

We have a way of speaking out against such indifference and intolerance. Our vote is our voice—and on November 6, we will use it.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

The Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering a radical rollback of Obama-era decisions that recognized gender largely as an individual’s choice and not determined by the sex assigned at birth. This right-wing, extremist policy is designed to deprive transgender people of recognition and protection under civil rights law. It is clear that the administration intends to use this attack on trans persons as a message to energize their right-wing supporters prior to the mid-term election.

NOW unequivocally condemns the Trump Administration’s latest attack on transgender Americans. Over the course of the last two years, the Trump Administration has attacked the rights of transgender citizens. These attacks have been systematic and we must not only remain vigilant against further actions, but also seek to widen protections for non-binary people, trans people, and gender non-conforming individuals.

Earlier this year, the Department of Education rescinded an Obama Era guidance that recommended schools respect the rights of transgender students by allowing them to access gender affirming spaces including programs and bathrooms. As anti-bathroom laws proliferated across the United States, the rescinding of this guidance was a blow to the securing federal protections for transgender students.

The Department of Education rebuffed criticism to the decision and said that transgender students were still protected against discrimination and harassment under civil rights laws. The HHS’s new proposal to narrowly define sex discrimination as either female or male, unchangeable and determined by genitals proves that the Department had no intention of keeping this promise.

For the Trump Administration to remove civil rights protections against trans people will further exacerbate violence against them. Transphobic violence and harassment has been increasing in recent years and Trump’s unethical and harmful policies do nothing but legitimize anti-trans rhetoric. Transphobic violence and harassment disproportionately affect trans women and trans women of color and Trump’s policies will greatly affect their livelihoods.

Trump’s treatment of trans-Americans is indicative of his core beliefs. Human rights, dignity, and federal support will only be afforded to those who look, act, and think like him. We have a simple message for the Trump Administration: Trans people will not be erased. Not from history, not from civil rights, and not from our country. NOW stands with trans people and reaffirms our commitment to supporting and promoting policies that protect and uplift trans and non-binary people.

When voters go to the polls in the midterms, they should ask themselves if they want to support candidates who believe in restricting or eliminating civil rights protections or expanding them. Our vote is our voice—and we intend to use it.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669