MLICCI's Child Care Organizer Jearlean Osborne shares her thoughts ahead of the centennial of women's voting rights in the U.S.

Jearlean Osborne, MLICCI's Child Care Organizer
Women voters are critical to protecting the rights and ensuring the stability of families. It's important for women to exercise their right to vote because many issues that plague families today are understood best by women. The absence of women voices and votes on major issues result in the unraveling of the fabric of our communities, our families, and our society.
We, as women, must stand together in solidarity in order to transform inequitable systems. We must honor the struggle of our ancestors by acting responsibly to ensure a more equitable future for generations to come.
The ratification of the 19th Amendment serves as a reminder to us of our civic duty to keep the flames of democracy burning.
About 25 years ago, I participated in a commemorative march of the Women’s Suffrage Movement along with my 7-year-old granddaughter. As we marched, I explained to her the importance of voting and the story of the brave women that were willing to fight and/or die for their constitutional right to vote. Our young people must see us valuing our role as registered voters so they can grow up valuing their own role and voice in this democracy. Many of our ancestors died to give us an opportunity to exercise our right to vote. We owe it to them as well as ourselves to not let their struggles, victories and deaths be in vain.
Fannie Lou Hamer said it best in this quote, “Actually, the world and America is upset and the only way to bring about a change is to upset it more.” The time to “upset it more” is now!
“Actually, the world and America is upset and the only way to bring about a change is to upset it more.” Fannie Lou Hamer, civil rights activist
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