by KCDW Editorial Writer Linda Willet
The year 2024 has been a tumultuous year politically. The attack on Israel and the war in Gaza have brought about protests and division in our nation. This was followed by the debate and calls for President Biden to resign. And two weeks ago, the unthinkable happened with the assassination attempt on former President Trump. A week later, President Biden agreed to stop his re-election campaign and not run for a second term. There is division in our party, and we need to come together and put aside our differences now. Watching the Republican Convention and the choice of J.D. Vance for vice president is a wake-up call for Democrats everywhere to unite. The Republican Party’s agreement to “tone down” the rhetoric only lasted a few days. We have to fight their rhetoric by telling the truth about what they are doing. We cannot be silent.
Our country has faced attacks on the very foundation of democracy in the past, but fortunately, the nation’s laws and the courage of some individuals have helped us to endure and continue to fight for not only our democracy but also for the rights of women. However, some of those laws have been thrown aside recently by the branch of government that should be enforcing them: the judicial system. Just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents could not be “held criminally liable for official acts.” The court did not define “official acts,” which gives past and future presidents the opportunity to break the law and redefine democracy. And last week, Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the classified documents case against Trump with the reasoning that the appointment of the special counsel did not follow the Constitution. We must appeal these decisions and hold the Supreme Court accountable.
We can learn from history. In the 1930s, people throughout the world questioned whether American democracy could survive. W.E.B. DuBois stated that American democracy would not endure if “it is going to use this power to force the world into color prejudice and race antagonism; if it is going to use it to manufacture millionaires, increase the rule of wealth, … if it is going increasingly to stand for reaction, fascism, white supremacy, and imperialism, … then America will go the way of the Roman Empire.” Unfortunately, democracy is facing the same crisis with the upcoming election. Are we going to support equal rights and fair elections and programs that support social and economic equality, or are we choosing “to go the way of the Roman Empire”?
In the 1933 election, Americans elected Franklin Roosevelt and chose programs that supported social and economic equality. The New Deal saved American democracy, and the movement for equal rights gained an advocate in Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor was criticized for her forthright opinions; however, she continued to hold press conferences, write newspaper columns, host a weekly radio show, and give speeches at the national party convention. Eleanor advocated for broader roles for women in the workplace, civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and rights of World War I refugees. She was not afraid to speak the truth.
The fight for civil rights, women’s rights, and workers’ rights continued in the mid- 1900s with Dolores Huerta, who fought tirelessly for better wages and working conditions for immigrants, workers, and women. She founded the Agricultural Workers Association and set up voter registration drives, teaching immigrants that their votes counted and could influence legislators. Her work with Cesar Chavez led to the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which gave California farm workers the right to organize and bargain for higher wages and better working conditions.
While protesting in NYC, Dolores met Gloria Steinem, a leader of the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The feminist movement rallied around Dolores, and she began to focus on eradicating gender discrimination and obtaining equal rights and social justice for all. Her friend, Gloria Steinem became a champion of birth control and reproductive rights for women and gained fame as a feminist leader. In 1970, Gloria campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding passage of the amendment.
One of the most famous heroes of the feminist movement is the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg who served on the Supreme Court from 1993 until her death on September 18, 2020. Ginsburg worked for gender equality and women’s rights throughout her career, advocating for equal pay and equal opportunity for women and arguing six gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court in her early legal career in the 1970s. (She won five of those cases.) During Ruth’s later years as a Supreme Court justice, an NYU law student labeled her as the notorious R.B.G. to emphasize how Ruth fought against what she considered to be unjust decisions by writing brilliant dissenting opinions that called for legislative change. The nickname stuck, and Ruth became a hero and a symbol of social justice for both young and old.
The actions of all these women helped to lead our country to the election of the first female vice-president of the U.S., Kamala Harris, who is also the first African American and Asian American vice president. Vice President Harris has led the fight for women’s right to choose and the protection of IVF. President Biden and leading Democrats, including governors and members of Congress, have endorsed Vice President Harris as their choice for the Democratic candidate for president, but the final choice will be made virtually by the votes of delegates before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. Biden does not need “to release” his delegates. Since 1984, Democratic delegates have been free to vote for whomever they want with the instructions to “in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.” It’s important for us to campaign for Vice President Harris and make our views known to our Democratic legislators and delegates.
Vice President Harris stands on the shoulders of two other women who paved the way for her, Shirley Chisholm, who in 1972 was the first Black woman to run for president for a major party, and Hilary Clinton, who is the only woman who ran for president of the United States as a major-party nominee.
All of these women are heroes who stood up for democracy and equal rights, and America needs each of us to stand up as they did. It begins with working for our candidates and making sure that all Democrats vote. We can talk to our relatives and friends. And we need to make our vote count by voting all the way down the ballot. Take a look at the candidates on the ballot. Do they represent your values and the direction you believe the nation should take? Look at the past and present records of the candidates. They may be saying one thing but doing the opposite. Be an informed voter. Your vote may be the vote that saves democracy.