Originally, we had hoped to broadcast an hour of opening remarks excerpted from the annual conference of the National Organization for Women held last weekend in Detroit. However, an unforeseen rainstorm cut short the program which unfortunately was set up Outdoors. We were able to salvage about 20 minutes of remarks from speaker such as Karen decrow of the National Organization for Women and Betty Ford an I found her and spokeswoman for the women's movement of the past decade but before broadcasting those remarks from the now convention a speech by another feminist who was in the Twin Cities on Saturday to speak to the Minnesota women's political caucus. I need a Neelam is vice chairwoman of the National Women's political caucus. She was co-chairwoman of Jimmy Carter's 51.3% committee charged with turning out the vote of American women for Carter during the presidential campaign. She talks about President Carter and what he is doing to advance women in his administration.In July of 1976 in New York City Jimmy Carter met with a group of women some elected officials a lot of caucus women some other women from all over the country to talk about what his commitment was two women into our issues as a political candidate. He was as you know, the first major political candidate to ever recognize women as a major political force in this country and in the way our political system functions in that meeting, he made four commitments to us he if he want he promised us access to him and to his cabin officers his staff. He promised us appointments. He promised us that the women's division would be staffed by feminist and we would have as much budget is all the rest of those credit divisions have in the DNC.And he promised us that he would be supportive of us on many many issues. We have we do have access to him much more so than we have ever had to any president in the past. As you know, there has been an appointment Coalition has been functioning since last November in Washington. And I think that we can say quite honestly that many of the women who were appointed would not have been appointed hadn't had it not been for that appointments Coalition. They have been very successful and I'm very proud to say that the caucus took the leadership role our staff provided the staff work for it. They did all of the organization for it. And I think that whatever credit anyone gives us we ought to deserve and Pat ourselves on the back because we really did a tremendous job with it course, we could not have done it with those other organizations and we understand and value their presents in the Coalition, but I think they'd realized that they could not have done it had it not been for the caucus and for us providing the leadership to that Coalition and so I in the with the with You have been appointed realize that as well as we talked about a little bit last night those women. R Us. They are caucus members a previous caucus members if they weren't call Cassandra's before a lot of them have joined caucus have joined the caucus since they've been appointed somebody like you take a woman like Patricia Harris who is Alsip always been a very vocal person has been very active in National politics who has not been as vocal as we would like to have seen her be on women's issues. Well Pat Harris is turned into a raving feminist. It's wonderful to see it really is wonderful to see what has happened to her since she's taking that job because I think of until you really get into and you get those appointments you have no idea how deeply rooted the sexism is and Pastor Harris. You know, she is of course. She was one of those she's one of those women who were the first the first black to be this before the woman to be this and so I think in some cases she was not insensitive, but sometimes she just never thought because she is so highly motivated and she's so intelligent and she really believes that in people in people's ability to do what they wanted to but since she's been at hot she has really changed and she's been so supportive of women on her staff and she has sought out extremely qualified women to the point where I'd say that HUD overall has the best women working there than any of the other departments because she really went out there and she hustle that she's wanting some tremendous women into that department. So we've seen a lot of that happen a lot of it happened. Of course as far as numbers go the numbers are not That much there's not that much difference forward head. 13.8% Carter has like 15.9% or something like that in terms of overall Schedule C appointment switch As far as I'm concerned, it's not good enough and we have to keep pressuring him the to make it to do better. Most of those jobs have now been filled the schedule C appointments are very few left. However, I would venture to say that there are many of those people who would not be in those jobs Beyond one year. Some people were political appointments and do not have the background to to back them up in the job. They've gotten and so I'd say within the next year we're going to see you a turnover and so it's important for us to keep up the pressure and to let him know keep showing him our list and let him know that we always have women always have women to fill any vacancy that they could ever possibly have really we do we absolutely do and believe me. We're going to continue doing that. We will just back to the access question for one moment after we had that meeting at the White House with the president and the vice president about a month ago. Now the caucus was asked to meet with Mischka Sansa who is the President's assistant for special groups or something like that her title is and we meet with her on a weekly basis to talk about what's going on in the Coalition what we want what we don't like that. He did the week before and those sorts of things and so that has been very important for us because Mitch if any if any of you know me, you know that she doesn't back down to anybody and she has enough guts to tell Hamilton and everybody else including Jimmy Carter when she thinks that he is wrong and so I think that we are very fortunate to have some Unlike Mitch. They are in the White House defending our issues. But we also have several other women who are working there quite a few caucus members who are working in the White House a bunny Mitchell used to chair Rd Secaucus is a special assistant to the president. Let me see Ronnie fight was there she's no longer there, but she'll be doing something else with the government. Janet Oliver will probably become a permanent assistant. She's now working on Personnel. So our interests are very well represented within the White House staff and they understand that some of the men who are on the present staff are not as sensitive as they might be and so they continually harassed Landon Butler who is Hamilton's assistant and Hamilton himself and you know, they keep on Jody Powell's case and you know, when they screw up something when they say something that's wrong they let them know and that's what we have to do. It's a good Annual education process never have to you can't ever stop even when they start telling your pain in the rear end forgetting this radio in Hamilton. And believe me Hamilton when I work on the campaign and I had some really Royal battles about different things because Hamilton is one of those people who very interesting he will listen to you. He will listen to anything that you have to say at any time as a matter fact, he will come and he sought me out at least two or three times a week. I need a how are you doing what's going on? But that's all he does and you get the impression, you know initially when you deal with anything call. Well, you know, he's really going to do something. He really understands not a damn thing to the point that we had been constantly telling the people in charge that the Jimmy was in trouble with women. Between the ages of a say 30 and fifty whose family income was in the 15 in the $10,000 range and up who were who were catholic particularly, but generally women and not but very but predominantly Catholic women. Okay for everything, I went to the campaign the last week in August and we consistently every week in a memo told him that he's in trouble with women. He's in trouble with women two days before the last debate The Wiz kid pack Adele. Did a Paul they finally got around to polling women. Okay. Now, you know when the last debate was in October was in late October. Well, the poll showed that Jimmy wasn't trouble with women 30 to 50 years old predominantly Catholic. It's okay. Can you hear me the back? You can't hear me in the back? No, you can't hear me. Okay, can you hear me now? All right. But anyway the polls show that he was in trouble with the exact same group that we had been telling him about for 2 months. So Jodi Powell and Pat Caddell and Hamilton start calling all over the country looking for me because I was I was in Wisconsin doing some campaigning or something. I need I need of the pole came out in the shows were in trouble. What are we going to do? Give us a statement and what did she say about women at the debate? I couldn't believe it. I really I went into total shock. Is it what what do you mean to give you a statement? What do you think we've been doing for two months? So it finally worked out we got this big statement written up. Of course the turkey didn't use it, but it did give us a little bit more credibility and Hamilton size. He thought what maybe those women are so dumb after all so that was that was kind of an interesting experience. It happened during the campaign is one thing. I think that I will probably never forget 1971. I went to Mobile Alabama for a southern black leadership conference and it was it was over weekend and the conference was over Sunday and we went all went out to the airport and everybody else was heading toward Washington and New York. I was going to Grambling Louisiana to organize something and I had to wait everybody else left in there was just me and his little white boy from it. Atlanta in sitting in the Dodge House Restaurant eating and we were just sitting there talking minding our business and all of a sudden I noticed it was very quiet in the restaurant. So I was sitting at the counter there all these tables behind me. So I turned around and I looked and nobody was eating nobody was talking everybody was staring at us. I don't think they even breathing. I got very worried about it after why. And so, you know, we kind of look Terminus. It's by us the waitress. Is there something the matter and she got really upset. She apologized and said she didn't know what to do. I still don't worry about it. Well, I decided that I was just going to sit there and finish my meal and take as long as I wanted because I had two more hours before my plane was going to come before what I was Irene. I was 19 years old. Cuz I must have been crazy really this little white boy got scared. He got up and he left so I'm sitting in there all by myself and I stayed there another 45 minutes and I swore that I would never go back to Alabama if it killed me. I just said that is the most awful place in the country. Nobody with any sense would ever want to go to those people are lunatics. Well in October, I was invited to speak at a fundraiser in Alabama. And I said, I don't want to do this. I really don't want to do this. Okay, this is crazy those people and Luna text but then I found out who the other speaker was and it made me realize just what Jimmy Carter has done for the country. The other person on at the barbecue was Cornelia wallet. Now that's a long way. Okay the long way for me for somebody like me to 5 years later come back to a place where I sell my life was in danger and maybe was in somebody's mind perhaps but who knows what could have happened and then to come back to this day five or six years later to speak with the wife of the governor who was responsible for a lot of those sorts of attitudes and we experienced a lot of those a lot of those sorts of things. They were coalition's built because of that campaign that before then you would never have even thought about it would never in a million years have crossed my mind to do anything ever with Cornelia Wallace ever. But I went and I tell you we were really good team. Take me to come back to El spend the rest of the campaign in Alabama. Go across the street and campaign with her. That's that that's a bit much lady. But that was I think that that's something that I will probably never forget out of the out of that campaign. It's it's it's been interesting for all of us. I think as a transplant at Southern even been interesting because he really bought the South back into the union and that was something you know, people have real biases against the South and it was something that I never really thought much about until I move to, Kentucky but It's it's a very real it's a very real thing a lot of people's heads because of the the racism and the way women are still kept on a pedestal more there than other areas of the country people have an idea of the South that is you know, they're very backwards in there, you know, 50 years behind the rest of the country and it's not really true. The South has been incredibly Progressive since the Civil Rights Movement started and much more Progressive perhaps than other areas of the countries. I think was very aptly demonstrated by what happened in Boston when they when they had their busing situation. Nobody would be the Cradle of Liberty who would have ever thought what happened could have happened nobody. Desegregation situation has been accepted much easier and which with less violence and was controversy in the South and in other areas of the country, but people didn't realize that in and that's one thing that you me Carter has done for us is he really bought us back in its kind of it's funny, you know people he go to New York from New York originally and I get papers occasionally and I like to read the society called stuff like that to see who's doing what and after he won their all of these charity fundraisers and people were serving stuff like black eyed peas and rice with fried chicken. You know what the it's very fashionable now to eat southern food sent it to talk with a Southern accent and to use Southern Expressions. The very is very popular. I don't think it's going to last for a long as things go get boring. But I think that that's important for all of us that he has that he has done that and and it's making of I think a big difference and how this country is going to move over the next eight years. I hope eight years do not want to give the impression that I think Jimmy Carter is the most wonderful person on Earth because I don't I did not even support Jimmy Carter until after he selected Fritz Mondale as his running mate, and that's the truth and heading not selected Fritz Mondale. I would not have worked for him because Fritz was the only acceptable candidate to to me into I think people like me only because because of you because we knew that you had access to him and that Is very important for us those other turkeys that cardi talk to would never talk to us in a day ever ever talk to us and it was important to be able to have women who could talk to him who had dealt with him with imported him politically and he knew that he owed you something and I and I think that it indicated to me that Carter had some good judgment someplace really. This is hope for the benefit selects Fritz Mondale. He had some political sense and I and that was important. I do think again and it's important to keep the pressure on him. He is you realize is a is a political animal. He is motivated by. What will get him elected in many cases? He's motivated by what right do I don't think he would ever do anything that was quote morally wrong whatever that is, but he is a man who pays very careful attention to poles and follows them and that's one of the reasons he was elected. I mean pack Adele is one of the biggest Texas in the country, but pack Adele is also one of the best posters in the country and he gave Jimmy a good prescription and Jimmy Fallon with it and consequently he was elected. So Connor is motivated. Of course, you know, I think that we can someone say that he has some good political judgment because he chose to deal with that when those other candidates would not deal with us and I think that's also something that's in his favor. He realizes that we're not going to disappear and be swept off into the corner someplace that women are here to stay and that they're going to have to be dealt with in a political manner. You just can't smile and be nice and pleasant say okay girls anything you want and expect us to believe it real. Harder than that we're tougher than that were smarter than that. We know better. We're not going to accept except that any longer. So he's learned. I think he's learned an awful lot from all of us. I think that he has a lot more that he can't but he can learn but again, it's the pressure you have to always keep the pressure on we went to the White House. We have been given 10 minutes to make a presentation to him and we had six women who made presentations down to the Liars to the last 30 seconds. Which Bella had to wrap up. She did it in 29. We don't tell me we're not good manager. But when he finished listening to the presentations he got up and he said that wonderful. It was to see us and all this kind of stuff and how he had supported the era and nobody had worked harder for era than him and Rose when and his daughter was going out camping VRA and he was calling this person and Ruben ask you had promised me. I was going to pass in Florida. You must have felt like a dummy last week, but he said all of those things but I said not have something very serious. I want to talk to you. And he said my cabinet officers are giving me a lot of trouble because the women won't get off at their backs me to buy Berkeley gives you care for me and you still want us back. So he and Joe califano Joe califano is really trying but if you're not going to be nicer to him nicer to him, then it's going to be very difficult for you to get what you want and just he was saying you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. And so he ended up by saying when Joe is this something nice call him and say Joe you did good when Bob do something nice call him and say Bob your wonderful. We love you for Cal form. And thank you. Let me kiss your hem something. You know, how do you say in that way? You'll get those guys to cooperate with you. He laughed we didn't get to say anything in response. He just kind of so he had to say and you know by ladies. I'll see you next week kind of thing, but Am I thought that it was interesting that he said that for a lot of reasons but one of the reasons is that the president is not as powerful as we all think he is. It's it's really interesting because that's what went through. My mind is if you're committed to having more women in these type jobs. Why don't you just tell Joe and Bob to have more job. I mean, what is this business? They're not going to do it and let's do it unless you tell us women to get off of their back when you were who is running the country. So we all just kind of chuckled bad and stop what he's really off to be. But you have to but we just really ignored what he said. I mean he made one good point. It is important to tell those people if they do something good. Okay by Brooklyn did take a lot of crap and still does take a lot of crap about Carol form in a ride and we appreciate it. But she's only one woman in the whole department of Agriculture. Now, he's got to be named another one last week to do something but that's ridiculous because I have a couch is one of the biggest departments in the country. It doesn't make any sense and how long can we thank him for 1 appointment. Really? How long can we thank him califano is another one califano gave us two women one Hispanic one black. And he gave us a couple he gave us one or two man already men, but he's also screwing us to death. Why am I want to kill him? I do really I mean, you know how to be thankful that those women were willing to take the very good job that they had before to come work for the government which wasn't paying that much more. He ought to be thankful that there are women who are qualified it much more qualified than those men. He wanted to hire Arabella Martinez and Mary Berry are going to be two superb assistant secretaries. He want to thank God for giving their name, but we have to thank them. Okay, so will thank him once but that's the that's all so Carter has a lot to learn he has to understand what the balance of power is. I think I mean after all he is the boss and I can understand him, you know wanting to give his cabin offices someone time to me. I like to do that for people who were talking to me too. But when you make a decision you make a decision and if you want more women and jobs and damage you want my women and jobs and that's that He hasn't gotten to that point yet, but I would imagine that The Showdown is going to come very soon. It's going to be interesting to see who comes out of the fracas. I would say confidential you understand the Joe califano. It's not going to last night. Really? But we will get him out a lot sooner if we continue telling everybody how crappy he is really if we just let him alone and Carter will think. Oh, well, you know, maybe it's not so bad. So we constantly again the pressure the pressure is so important. You've got to keep the pressure up all of us. It just can't come from Washington. They pay attention to those letters that come into the White House. They really do it's important when you get concerned about something. If you dislike something is important to write it's also important for somebody like harder to tell him when he's doing something good. Okay, and he does do good things occasionally he does. But he's going to let you know they had this image this man on his staff feel. The only time they ever hear from us is when they're screwing up and that's been true in the past. It has been true. So we have to do some positive reinforcement for those people. So when we call them on the carpet, they just can't ignore it because we will have been supportive of some of the things that they want and that they need to get through Congress and in other places. I want just wanted to show you this last and last week's issue of US News & World Report. They had their annual survey every year. They send out a survey to the top elected officials of our country top business people in our country top everything in the country almost always men these people. I mean they have added some women because they realized they just can't ignore us anymore. But very few of us really get to take part in the survey. But anyway, Last week was there with the issue and the title of it is who runs America. I want to take a look at who runs America y'all see that. 10 white males. Okay. Now out of the 30 people they rank the top 1st 10 2nd 10 3rd 10 to women May 31st Graham came in number 15, Roseland Carter came in number 21, and that's all. Okay. And then what they do, these are the people I'm really surprised Jimmy Carter even made it. These are the people who the most influential Americans Jimmy Carter Arthur Burns Warren Burger George. Meany Tip O'Neill bird lands Cyrus Vance Robert Byrd Walter Cronkite Walter Cronkite and Michael Blumenthal Okay. Now one two, three, four five six of those people had just come on the scene in the last since the election case. They really went up there fast. And then what they do is they do it by category. They've got about 12 categories that they use law labor education mayor television industry US Senate publishing Finance House of Representatives advertising religion Health Agriculture, and I guess I said labor the only woman who made that again was Katharine Graham, she was at the top of the list in publishing. The top of the list then they did decide they did have a women's category. Okay, they had women's category and let me see they had a black category as well. Okay women who ranked highest Katharine Graham again. She was at the top. Let's see Rose and cardi came in second Barbara Jordan came in third and then we have Juanita craps pettiford Barbara Walters Pat Harris Bella made it. Anne Armstrong and Margaret Mead in all fifty two women were nominated 52 women. Do you know how many men were nominated for those positions? Have you any idea? now this is serious folks when I saw this article, I got really upset as I'm sure you must get upset as well because it indicates to me that no matter what Jimmy Carter says no matter what Fritz Mondale says They only have so much power. There are always other people who run things who we have never heard of and we have no access to for example, there is a man named. Where is he I've lost him. I'd love to lose him a man out here. He is Irving Shapiro. Who is the chairman of Dupont & Company now in Washington, there is an organization called the round table, which is a group of 50 of the most influential businesses in the country and they decided several years ago that they were the business was not getting his fair share of it with whatever the country has to give out and that they needed a lobbying organization. So they form the round table and each of these companies contribute a certain amount of dollars and a certain amount of staff time to operate this lobbying organization and its cheered by one of the one of the business heads what you can imagine how much money they have to operate that mean their budget is 20 times. What our budget is this year Mr. Shapiro is a chair the Round Table And as such he has access whenever he wants to President Carter, he has been named to several panels that were screening various people for the Department of Treasury in those financial positions. He sat on those screening panels. He was appointed by Carter and he had a lot to say about who became the head of Treasury who was at the export-import bank. Not only at the top level it but it all those other jobs now somehow We have got to work our way into all of these areas. We have got to get some of that power to I'm not sure that we're ever going to crack the business world for a long time because we just don't have the money but we're working there and we have to begin to get to those women who have those position the power just noticed, you know Pat Harris vacated at IBM spot the woman who took her place on IBM's board is a Carla Hills. There's a very select. Yes interesting. Isn't it? The very select group of people of women who get to pointed it get to those boards and those those ports that makes the decisions about really who runs this country and it's something that we have to begin to think about politics just isn't enough. We've got to get more women up there and labor. Okay, we've got to get more women up there in an agriculture. There are so many women who know about agriculture in this country. It is amazing. I met so many Farm women who could run agriculture better than Bob Berkman can I mean these women have lived it all their lives? They are managers cuz they manage their own homes. They manage their own Farms. They can do it just as well as he hand can but they don't have the access the whole off the whole lot situation. We've got to get more women up there. We have been very fortunate. We've gotten some really terrific. Women appointed to jobs in the in the justice department, but you know, we've got to keep pushing them and we've got to get more women in there. even religion these people like Billy Graham NC. Hertzberg, they even mentioned Jimmy Carter got mentioned in the religion category. By the way, you really you know, I think it's Billy Graham and I want to laugh but Billy Graham has a lot of power in this country because he can come in public attention. Okay, and so we've got to get more women into all of these categories education is the area almost consistently belong to us, but are there any women in the top five it is no, And there won't be because we we consistently let them show us off to be teachers rather than principals. add to beat counselors rather than head to those various departments that that are in this Department of Education and we can't allow that to happen television television is perhaps the biggest influence on all of our lives, but there are no women in an executive role at CBS or ABC or NBC. There are no women there. And as long as there are no women there were always going to be scrapped. And so we've got to become more Universal in our in our thinking Jimmy Carter is giving us an opportunity to come and talk with him on more than just quote women's issues when he spoke in our fundraiser. He talked about the help that he needed from us on energy and on foreign policy. I believe that we have a big role to play in the in the country and in the Affairs of of our country. I think that he is opening the door for us. It's just a crack but we've got to push it all the way open. Okay, we may never get a chance like this again, right the man for whatever reasons political because he thinks women have been discriminated against whatever the reason is. He has open the door for us a little bit. But if we don't push it then it's just going to stay open to little bit. You know, you just never know how long anybody is going to occupy a position mean anything could happen to Jimmy Carter. God forbid Anything could happen, you know, the type the sort of world we live in so we've got to start today. We've got to start right now. We can't wait until next week or next month or next year or anything else every minute that we lose valuable time that we may never get back again. So just you know, think about that. I know sometimes you know, we think what we're not in Washington and we can't we can't really do anything, you know, but that's not really true because the president if he does nothing else can set the tone or does set the tone for for the country and we have found a Kentucky that it's very helpful to quote Jimmy Carter and certain things and to talk about how he sees women and the role that women play in in in the country and in the world and that It has worked with our elected officials there for some strange reason. I don't know but it has worked and so we've got to start pushing it all these levels at the local level at the state level. We've got to start pushing our congressman and push them right out of office. We got start pushing we do we have really got to start pushing the people my congressman. Is it is on his third term and he's one of those people who will get elected no matter what he does. Okay, but he's going to retire one of these days and we're going to have women ready to move into that spot. Okay, and we're not just going to pluck somebody I the air one day. I'll write and say okay you run for Congress. They're building their base now and it's going to be a choice all of us are working on it. Okay, we're running them for other offices. Even if they don't have a chance to win we're running them because it's giving them public recognition and they're beginning to attract people to them who who feel the same about their political philosophy. And so when the time comes and she can make the big race we're going to be ready. We'll have the money we'll have the people to run a good race. So the time is now we can't wait any longer. We've got a big job ahead of us and we can do it. We can do it like Betsy said this morning, although there's so much strength. There's so much strength within us. Sometimes we only realize how much but I believe that that that our cause is just and because of that we will we will eventually win but it's not going to happen if if we just sit at home, sometimes we think that because we're on the right side of an issue that it's going to it's going to win era. He already it's not going to get past because we think it's the right side of the issue is going to pass because we're going to get rid of those 5 legislators have been blocking us across the country next year. That's why you're always going to pass. We've got to get out there and start scrapping right at the bottom the way all those other people too because that's the only way we can sit around and have esoteric talks and I love to talk as you can see. I love having good discussions. I love two BS with the folks. I do. It's good fun. Okay, but that's not where the boats are. You got to keep in there. You got to push you got to push. You got to keep up the pressure. You got to keep talking. You can never give up because the minute you give out. They think they've got a little bit of the foot-in-the-door and they're going to just push us right out again, and I for one am not going to let that happen. So I hope that when I come back to Minnesota soon that you will have your six women the city council. I believe that you will I know that you will we're working toward that Kentucky real little bit slower than you folks. Are we going to get three on this time? But that's but that's how you got to do. It. Just got to keep in their keep on sucking doesn't mean you get nasty with them don't get nasty because they use it against us. You don't have to get emotional with him. We just have to keep in their keep stating up points know that we are on the right side and things are going to come out. Okay, I believe that. Thank you. I need a Neelam Vice chairwoman of the National Women's political caucus she spoke about Jimmy Carter and his commitment to provide opportunity for women in his administration. The next portion of today's. Midday is opening remarks from the convention of the National Organization for Women held this past weekend in Detroit. The topic was how to win the final three states needed for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The moderator is Karen decrow the outgoing president of now. Wilma Scott Heidi our past president to come to this rally but she is has a speaking engagements somewhere else. However, she did send greeting which they impart quote will have the era by March 22nd, 1979 or begin all over on March 23rd 1979. The question is not if the era only when and how another person to wave at you and get clapped for is the current Secretary of now's board. Jean Conger. Eddie Van Horn of the UAW International staff organizing and Jessica would have been impossible without her. Karen hey, hey. I just want to stay for 200,000 women members of the United Automobile Workers Union. and for George meany head of the AFL-CIO that were asking me if Avail CIO not to hold any national conventions in non ratified States. You know, the last mile is always the toughest in any race in any contest that last mile is always rough, but we know and we're all working women and working women know that those who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment opposed jobs and full employment and we know that those who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment proposed National Health physics comprehensive plan for this country. We know that those who opposed grar anti-union. I just want to thank Karen and now for calling their National Convention in Detroit the automobile capital of the world. And I just want to say that this is one of the greatest moments of my life after having walked picket lines and demonstrated all over this country. Having worked in Florida having worked in Indiana having Health Care non UAW Union women on this critical issue. We're going to move into, Illinois. And do a better job than we ever did before we made some mistakes. We didn't have enough union women involved. We're going to get them involved and we're going to do it by March 22nd. And we're going to have era and we're going to have equal rights, and we're going to have full rights for working women everywhere. Thank you. Before I introduce the next speaker, I would like to say as you probably noticed. The president of the United States has decreed this week as Energy emergency week. I think we should call Claire next week, er a emergency wait. The next speaker is my friend, Gloria Steinem. You're very courageous standing there in the rain. I feel very courageous up here too, but we are not alone the majority of the people in this country support the Equal Rights Amendment the majority of people in Florida supported the Equal Rights Amendment by three to one they supported it. The majority of women of man of all religious groups of all racial groups supportive. What is on trial in this country is not the Equal Rights Amendment. It is a democracy of our state legislatures. And we stand here not only for the Equal Rights Amendment not only in our own name, but in the names of all the women in this country who struggle with two jobs when men have one of all the women who have unequal pay of all the women who have been laughed at and ridiculed when they try to be serious of all the women who are on welfare and there are more and more of the unemployed women in this country who grow better educated every year. Of all the racial minorities in this country the women who have to burdens to Bare of all the women in our paths who have struggled so hard and then out in the women of the women's house movement particularly at this moment, Carol Downer who has been arrested in the State of Florida along with other people from the women's health movement. We found here for the women of the past who had no names. For our grandmothers who had no identities. For the women who were called witches and gypsies because they were our first Freedom Fighters. This is just one wave of a movement that has gone on for thousands of years. It will not stop if cannot stuff is the greatest and deepest movement in the world for it is part of those twin movements against cast against sex and race and towards humanism. We are not alone even in this world as we stand here. There are women in every country now organizing across National boundaries for feminism. It is a worldwide Revolution. We are part of us and that makes your courage today part of a chain of Courage around the world that will overthrow or human eye. You can pick your verb depending on the state of your patients the patriarchy Thank you. If you think that they stop burning witches in this country, you should have been listening to the debate in Tallahassee and has an engine. Epic time when political wives were supposed to be sweet and demure and always smile at everything that anyone in their husbands party said Helen Millican was an outspoken advocate of a woman's right to choose and the era we are very pleased to have her address us today. Thank you, Karen. We have just walked six blocks in the rain here for this era rally but Susan B Anthony walked for 40 years to try and Achieve suffrage for women. Women still have not achieved their right in this just and Equitable Society. It is time for women in the labor market to receive equal pay for equal work. It is time. We tried to do something for older women over 65 who exist in their poverty. It is time. We recognized women's contributions in the Arts and the humanities. It is time. We had women at all levels elected in government. It is time that we recognize the worth and dignity of every individual man or woman and that's time is now. The last time that I saw our next speaker before today, I saw her on National Television. She was busy trying to explain to a male anti era legislator in Florida why he could help make history. He was not smart enough to take her advice 34th and needs no introduction. I am come back from those Sunny battlefields of Florida and I am angry as you are angry. I saw how the women of Florida wannabe era 3 to 1:41. Want the era and I saw naked reactionary power twist the arm back room deals. I've been elected to the state senate in commitments to the women into the ER a and something very powerful went on there to make them switched and Ric Flair go suicide at the last minute and because I dared you ask what is economic power what political power even when he is trying to prevent lemons will ensure equality with all the economic benefits of equality. They were terribly defensive didn't want any questions asked and I say to you we will not only continued to ask those questions, but we are going to match reactionary power with human. dad catches we have the part. We don't have the millions of the billions of the John Birch political forces the carpet forces that don't want to pay equal pay pension benefits equal wages maternity benefits. We don't even have them functions of the church hierarchy, but we have our bodies we have ourselves. We have two women and a man and the whole bunch of future generations. And I invoke today the power of every woman who has a better job with a better job for hopes for a better job because of the women's movement for equality. I invoke the power of the grandmothers and granddaughters granddaughters who will be able to Go to law school because of the women's movement for the quality. I am golf the power of women who are married and women who are divorced and women who are fearful and women and women who have never 7 + women who were where were they after 10 years of marching ants having to struggle and I safe from the Girl Scouts. the League of Women Voters to adopt anything sweet and a husband that I love her than our sons and our daughter are going to have to do what needs to be done in the next year and we are going to have to boycott forward orange juice on Georgia Peaches if we need to. Is a w on a General Motors or to the Ford Motor Company for the President Jimmy Carter? And I say to all of you my sisters in now or militancy energy or ability of June 4th. Nobody's offered possible reason a whole generation to generation 2 women He is the reason against us that we will not. Bad energy fat building. We was given up to no one until we have CRA ratified and I pledge to you. After the speeches were concluded Betty Ford and spoke with a public radio reporter in Detroit the National Organization for Women. Welcome to Betty Ford and it's nice to have you here buddy today. You were in Florida right all yes. I spent nearly two weeks there and I went all over the state requests from an ice cream social on the way to the beach in the a Palm Beach area to A League of Women Voters luncheon in Sarasota and condominiums in Miami. So, I preached a sermon at Temple Israel in Miami and I I got and then I went up to Tallahassee and I got the impression in doubles of what we depose also showed that there was an enormous support for the ER. One support for the Tallahassee, you found it to let the women who were being so dumb lady like his date had more than the 20 votes needed committed to support ratification the era and you find your power actually being used almost naked leaked to use all sorts of force and pressure get those men to to change their bows and it was it was amazing thing to see it was amazing as we did. It was it was quite an experience that I said here. The final vote in Era with extremely close in Florida. What was it 22 119 21 and 19 cubic all those Saturday going to be like in commitment for era from from Miami and places like that to you know, the demand the governor is for the legislature as he did on capital punishment Rio severe economic expansion like you boycotting orange juice, Florida, we're asking me when I was down there. We just can't take this lying down. I'll get the era ratified in Florida before it's over. We got to learn from their lesson. What we do this is a national issue. This is not an issue for women over to the next day. So I know that one of the options or the tactics I should say that was mentioned by you and Florida right was this idea of economic boycott. What are the reasons I'm here at the convention of now is because I read it for me now as for Everyone Else singing riding electric. I want to get on the other question, but I can't do that really until he already has ratified. I know that they're not to mention is going to seriously consider. I've been we've been talking about it this year. We we realized that something more has to be done in and then we have done and in terms of strategy and we are convinced economically and politically among the women and men are committed and we have to find some way to make it visible and there was a picture of me in the paper that looks like I was crying I wasn't crying. I was just curious where they bury what we do when we're going to have to come up with something something specific some actions. Everyone can take you know, everyone could the baby to get whatever organization gone to the never have another meeting in Florida or in Las Vegas. Together here and where to come up with it ready for Dan discussing the future of the era with public radio reporters in Detroit site of the 1977 Conference of the National Organization for Women. I'm Nielsen Anthony.