Letter: Women's History Month a time to celebrate accomplishments, equal rights
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate accomplishments women have experienced in this country. It’s also a time to reflect on their journey to equity and what still needs to be done in removing any remaining socially constructed impediments that slow the pace of achieving equality.
When Mrs. Minor, who was an American citizen by birth, was denied the right to vote by the U.S. Supreme Court, the women’s movement was reinvigorated and set in high gear.
The landmark case was dubbed Minor v. Happersett where nine justices unanimously denied her the right to vote because she was a woman.
Forty-five years after the landmark case, the 19th Amendment was ratified, which now explicitly articulates that no one should be refused the right to vote on account of sex. The 1960s and '70s saw the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts. These pieces of legislation have had and continues to have profound impact on equal access to educational opportunities for women and minorities.
For example, before the Civil Rights Act, higher education enrollment was predominantly men but today women account for 50%-60% of it.
The progress women have experienced since the inception of the Civil Rights Act is based on a very simple idea: when the playing field is leveled and all the participants are given equal access, everybody strives to the limits of their ability, which inevitably translate to uplifting of society at large.
If you subscribe to the idea that human evolution will experience rapid progress if we begin to see ourselves as inextricably linked and not as disjointed entities, then we must always reject any type of unfairness or discrimination regardless of how far we are from the epicenter.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, let’s be mindful of others who are still seeking equality and justice as we’re one human family and as we’ll not rest until all vestiges of discrimination are eliminated.
Utopianism and idealism keep us hopeful.
Jerry Obiekwe, Wooster
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Letter: Women's History Month a time to unite in rejecting inequality
