On January 21, 2017, America had already forgotten about Trump’s tiny inauguration. For most of our nation’s people, it was just another sad day in America’s history. The event on the 21st was epic and was a declaration of war. Women had been treated as second and even third class citizens for 241 years. On that day the streets of Washington and many other cities across America were filled with millions of women and the men who support them. They are no longer asking for equality; they are taking it.
Women will no longer accept the old, white men in Washington who have ignored them for decades. Millions of women have become activists. At the top of their list is voter registration and ending Republican voter suppression. More women are running for public office at local, state, and federal levels than at any other time in history. They are changing America.
One group of women who seem to be forgotten are minorities. On average, all women are paid 80-81 cents on the dollar compared to men in the same profession. There is a large variation based on ethnicity. Asian American women are the highest paid at 85 cents on the dollar. White women earn 77 cents on the dollar, and black women 61 cents.
The right-wing is racist. They would like us to believe that racism is not a big problem in America and some pretend it doesn’t exist. Donald Trump’s illegitimate presidency has exposed the truth. Out from the shadows, from under rocks, and slithering out of the slime in swamps have come thousands if not millions of white supremacists. They have become emboldened by the fact that they have a leader defiling the White House.
Things are changing. The efforts of black women in Alabama were critical to the defeat of Roy Moore. In Georgia, the 2018 gubernatorial election remains controversial. Black women rallied and Stacey Abrams nearly became the first black, female governor. The new Governor, Brian Kemp, has been accused of election fraud.
Across the nation women of all races, colors, and economic levels are demanding equality; they’re no longer asking.
Tell everyone “the truth lives here.”
Op-ed by James Turnage
Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey
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