Sisters, Sisters, There have always been devoted sisters.
Devoted to the concept of equality,
Which men sadly treated as frivolity.
Daring, Declaring, a document the men were preparing,
A blueprint for the future of democracy
A blueprint for decades of male-ocracy!
The convention, failed to mention, succumbed to gender condescension.
“Remember the Ladies” Abigail’s advice
John Adams didn’t think about that twice!
The Founding Fathers could have made one edit
And changed the world to their everlasting credit!
1848, was the date, Seneca Falls would proudly state
Sentiments proclaiming the same rights as men,
Words from Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s pen.
For eternity, without modernity, we couldn’t penetrate the fraternity.
Eloquence and reason women spoke and wrote,
Alice Paul and others rallied for the vote.
In all kinds of weather, they stuck together, their voices rang as one –
Suffered hardship, maintained their kinship, til the 19th Amendment was won!
Sojourner to Bella, women under sisterhood’s umbrella
Gloria, Hillary, Nancy – it’s no mystery,
Great women changing history.
Those who’ve seen us, know that not a thing could come between us
Many men have tried to split us up but no one can
Lord help the misters
Who come between me and my sisters
And help today’s sisters continue what Yesterday’s began!!
Lois Schwartz February, 2020
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Notes on the choices of historical references:
Abigail Adams – Wrote to her husband, John Adams, to “remember the ladies” while he participated in the Continental Congress. An excerpt from that letter in 1776:
The future First Lady wrote in part, “I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton – leading early women’s rights activist and abolitionist who wrote many of the speeches delivered by Susan B. Anthony. She composed most of The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments delivered in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848.
Alice Paul – American suffragist and activist who worked tirelessly for passage of the 19th Amendment.
Sojourner Truth – escaped slave, American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. She was the first black woman to win a court case against a white man to recover her son in 1928. Her extemporaneous speech in 1851, “Aint I A Woman?” became famous.
Bella Abzug – Battling Bella was a U.S.Representative who said “this woman’s place is in the House!” in 1970. She was a leader of the women’s rights movement in the 60s and 70s.
Gloria Steinem- leader and spokeswoman of women’s movement of 60s and 70s and co-founder of Ms. Magazine.
Hillary Clinton – as First Lady, went to Beijing in 1995 and declared “Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights.”
Nancy Pelosi – Only woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the highest ranking elected female official in our government.