Adam Torres and Zakiya Thomas discuss the ERA Coalition.
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Show Notes:
The ERA Coalition was created to raise awareness and engagement about the need for the Equal Rights Amendment in the US. In this episode, Adam Torres interviews Zakiya Thomas, President & CEO at ERA Coalition & ERA Coalition Forward. Explore the ERA Coalition and the upcoming book Zakiya will be releasing with Women Connect4Good and Mission Matters.
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About Zakiya Thomas
Zakiya Thomas is President and CEO of the ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality. Zakiya is an agent for change, working to make equality a reality for all people. Using her experiences as a political strategist and nonprofit manager, Zakiya leads a diverse coalition of over 280 organizations representing 80 million people. This community of activists jointly advocates for gender, racial, and reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and much more under the unifying goal of sex equality. The Coalition’s work is to shift how people talk about their respective issues in order to reflect how all of our issues are connected and to facilitate closer collaboration. Zakiya is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law teaching a nonpartisan course on how to run for political office and volunteers on several nonprofit boards ranging from advancing reproductive rights to individual financial empowerment.
About ERA Coalition
The ERA Coalition represents nearly 100 member and lead organizations, and millions of women and men. We support and help lead the movement for passage of an equal rights amendment through public education and messaging campaigns. Our polling research shows that while 94% of Americans support constitutional equality for women and men, 80% mistakenly think it already exists. The ERA Coalition is working to close this information gap.
The ERA Coalition works with its partner organizations to provide a strong forum for all voices advocating for passage of an equal rights amendment. The Coalition actively seeks to broaden the constituencies working for such a constitutional amendment by growing a strong national, inclusive and multi-generational movement to advance this mission.
The ERA Coalition works closely with the lead sponsors of Equal Rights Amendment legislation to lobby Congress to take action and provides educational tools, advocacy training and resources to encourage constituency outreach and educate our supporters on the importance of meeting with their members of Congress.
The ERA Coalition supports all legislative strategies that aim to increase constitutional protections against discrimination. In the 115th Congress, Congresswoman Maloney has introduced language that combines the 1972 language with wording similar to Alice Paul’s first draft, adding the word “women” to the Constitution. Senator Menendez has introduced legislation that is identical to the 1972 language. Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA) and Senator Ben Cardin (MD) have introduced companion bills to remove the deadline on the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in our show, just head on over to missionmatters. com and click on be our guest to apply. All right. So did I have Zakiya Thomas on the line and she is president and CEO over at ERA Coalition and ERA Coalition Forward.
Zakiya, welcome to the show. Adam, thanks for having me. All right, Zakiya, I should, I should add this to your intro too. And, and the upcoming author in our new book that we’re doing with Dr. Nancy and Women Connect for Good. I’m so excited to, to get this book out there. So we’re going to, we’re going to have an even longer title for you going forward, Zakiya.
Looking forward to it. All right. So before I, Excited to finally get you on the show. I know you’ve been doing a lot of press, a lot of media all around the ERA coalition house to know that you had a bit of a rebrand that took place too. So we’ll talk, we’ll get into that as well. But before we do all that, let’s just start this episode the way that we start them all with what we like to call our mission matters minute.
So Zakiya, we at mission matters. We amplify stories for entrepreneurs, executives, and experts. That’s our mission. Zakiya, what mission matters to you? Well, my mission is to bring people together to change the world. And I get to do that every single day at the ERA coalition, ERA coalition forward. Cause we are a movement of movements.
We represent 300 partner organizations and over 80 million people. Working for racial, gender, economic, and reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, labor rights, and more. And it’s really a passion of mine because that’s what we need to do to bring everyone together to get the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution.
So, thank you for sharing that, and love bringing mission based individuals on the line to share why they do what they do, and really what motivates them to go out into the world to make a difference, so great having you on. And I guess just to get us kicked off, like, when did you come on board, and why, to the ERA Coalition?
So I came on board just about two years ago and I came on just before the 100th anniversary of the Equal Rights Amendment. Our organization was looking to move the Equal Rights Amendment from its current status, which means it’s, it’s met all the requirements to be in the Constitution, and move it forward to pushing public opinion such that our members of Congress would do the right thing and have the Equal Rights Amendment added to the Constitution.
So over the last few years we’ve really thought hard about where we stand in our movement and in the movements that we are a part of and what is our role to play. So we bring people together and we convene them. Convene these partner organizations in order to move all of us forward. Hmm. I don’t want to assume that everybody watching this or listening to this kind of know what’s going on around ERA.
So maybe just give us a quick primer on that one and let us know, let us know the issue. Sure. So the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in Congress just over 100 years ago. And around 50 years ago, it was passed by both houses of Congress with bipartisan support. Then it was sent to the states for ratification.
You need 38 states to ratify a constitutional amendment in order for it to be added to the Constitution. So fast forward to 2020 and the final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, Virginia, my home state, thank you Virginia, got us over the finish line. So all that needs to be happen now is to have the Equal Rights Amendment published into the Constitution.
Hmm. And so what does this next phase look like? Like, and, and why is the ERA coalition so important to like, to get us to the end? So we know that the Equal Rights Amendment has met all the criteria, as I just mentioned. And so now we really need public opinion to push our, to urge our leadership. in the, in the Congress to do the right thing to get it into the Constitution.
There was a time limit that was imposed on the on the amendment in the 70s. Congress then extended that time limit and then we’re saying now you can extend that time limit once more to make sure that the Equal Rights Amendment is in the Constitution. It’s so frustrating that we’ve done all this work, we’ve gotten this far, and it should be there.
But it’s not there yet. So right now we need public opinion to push this forward and let everyone tell their members of Congress that this is something we need to have and now’s the time. It’s been a hundred years, not one more. Yeah. And you and you’ve used that word forward to push it forward. So I do have to, I mean, I think that’s a good little a good little place for me to interject this.
So there was recently a rebrand ERA coalition forward. Tell us a little bit about that. So we used to be the Fund for Women’s Equality, but we realized that the work that we do isn’t just for women. It’s about everyone, just like the Equal Rights Amendment is for everyone. So we wanted our new name to show the movement that we’re doing, which is forward, forging ahead, and also that this is inclusive, it’s for everyone.
Everyone will be protected by the Equal Rights Amendment. We need to make sure everyone’s reflected in the movement as well. Yeah. So to sit at the helm of, I mean, you have over 300 partner organizations. I mean, 80 million advocates, like that’s a lot of that’s a lot to manage. How do you do it? Like, that’s a lot.
We have a small but mighty team. And the wonderful part about our work is everyone’s coming together, regardless of what aspect of equality you’re focusing on. We know that without having that constitutional protection of equal rights in our constitution, we’ll have true equality. So we need the Equal Rights Amendment to bolster the existing rights that we have, but also to enshrine equality based on sex in our Constitution.
Right now, you would think that men and women can’t be treated differently, but it’s not true. I mean, you ask a six year old, and like, what? That doesn’t make sense. Because it doesn’t make sense. It should be in our Constitution, and it’s up to us to make that happen. What are some of the hurdles or challenges are you facing in this, in this movement to getting things moved forward?
Like, what are some of the challenges? So the main challenge really is more people, most people think that we already have an equal rights amendment. They think that it’s done. We don’t, that it’s already there. We don’t have to do anything. And the fact that they don’t know that we have to act to make it happen is really the stumbling block that starts us off because we need more people to understand that they need to be engaged and engage their members of Congress, their state representatives and others to make sure that they recognize that the equal rights amendment has met all the criteria.
We have two bills in Congress right now that are, that are working. just towards that effort. And so we really need more people engaged and excited about the work that we’re doing and the, the promise that the Equal Rights Amendment has for all of us. Would you say, and I don’t want to like get too far off of ERA, but now that you, I mean, you’ve been in at the helm, you know, over two years or two years, Would you say that civic engagement overall is a little bit down or like, like, cause this idea of, and there’ll be some people that are watching this, they’re like, how do they get involved?
What do they do? Like, how, what would you say about like civic engagement overall? So civic engagement goes in ebbs and flows. Right now we’re seeing a lot of folks are burnt out because it’s been so intense for so long, but we continue to push. We need to bring more people to the table. to the polls. We need to make sure that we’re we’re expanding people’s rights and not limiting them, making sure that we’re not disenfranchising people because the more people understand the importance of their vote, the more they’re going to go out and do it.
If our vote wasn’t so important, there wouldn’t be so much work and energy put into keeping their vote from us. So we have to go out there and exercise it just like any other muscle we would have. And so we need people to vote. We need people to get their networks to vote and to be informed about who their candidates are.
We are not a political, we’re not a partisan organization, but we are political in the sense that we want people to engage politically because that’s how we make change happen. And what would you say explain that you’re not a partisan organization and you want everyone to get out and to be engaged, like explain that.
Cause I feel like sometimes some issues can be polarizing in certain ways, but for this, like you said, you asked a six year old, right? Like you would think. So explain that. Yeah. So the equal rights amendment there’s a misconception that the equal rights amendment is just to protect women against discrimination.
But the, the ironic fact is most of the litigation that’s been used around this kind of discrimination is based on, is, are cases that men have brought on their behalf. It’s not about women’s equality. It’s about equality across. And so we really want people to understand the importance of having this as a foundation in our constitution to make sure that we are not discriminated against across the board.
And so we’re saying that we’re not partisan because this shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Equality under the law should not be a partisan issue. But some people are trying to make it so. I mean, we talk, look at the organizations that are trying to push back against our Equal Rights Amendment. And it’s the same folks who are pushing back against LGBTQ plus rights, voting rights, and more.
And so we need people to understand that this is an investment that we all have to make in our country. to make it better for ourselves and for future generations. Hmm. When you think about like a movement or when you think about getting attention and raising awareness like how do you feel that the like, like that continues around this issue?
Like, how do you, how do we continue to like push the, push the ante, so to speak, on raising awareness around this? So it’s unfortunately it’s really hard to break through the news this cycle these days in general. So for us to make that happen, we really have to use our people power because we know that there are forces out there that are mounted against us.
They’re funded in the billions when we’re funded in the millions. And so we need to use our people power in order to make our voices heard. And that’s what we do. We mobilize these 80 million people, advocates across the country to talk to folks in their community, to put letters to the editor in their papers, to go out there and, and tell people about the importance of the Equal Rights Amendment and show them why it’s important and what it could do in their lives.
Is there, is there, when I, when I say this question, is there progress being made? I don’t mean like specifically, I mean, are we getting closer? Is that your, your feeling? Or? We’re closer than we’ve ever been in this 100 years. So it’s met all the criteria to be in the Constitution. It just needs to be there.
And it’s ridiculous that it’s not in the Constitution right now. There was a Justice Department memo that prevented it from happening from going into the Constitution once it was ratified. And But we need to make sure that, that that barrier is removed and that we actually just make sure that the equal rights amendment is in the constitution.
We can do it if we have the political will to do so. And that’s really what we’re trying to push is to get more people engaged around this issue to understand the importance of it and what it could do for them. And so the the sister organization, so to speak the ERA coalition forward, like how does this work into it?
Yeah. So ERA coalition forward is our education arm of the organization. So the ERA coalition forward is really works with our partners, works with the communities to raise awareness and elevate the issue amongst the populace to get more people engaged and involved in this movement and understanding the importance of it.
So the two organizations really work together to Raise the issue to inform voters and to get members of Congress to do what we want them to do. And how do you go about educating the masses for this? You meet people where they are. So if you’re trying to connect with younger people, you go to TikTok, right?
If you follow our social media, you’ll see a lot of you’ll see our TikTok platform. You’ll see us on Instagram. You’ll see us on Facebook for older social media users. So we’re trying to meet people where they are in that respect. And also to just get on new platforms like such as the one we’re on right now to spread the word to new audiences.
The more we get people talking about this, the more it’s going to resonate and people will have that light bulb moment that says we need to do this and we can do it right now. So you’ve been you’ve been, you know, an advocate in fighting this fight for now, now over two years, is there anything that you’ve, that you’ve learned along the way so far, that’s kind of surprised you like you went into, I know, like you have an un, I’ll say you have a lot, a lot of pressure.
It’s a highly visible, it’s a big, a big job and a big task you have. So I think about just myself in the, you know, when I first started a job, let’s just say back in the day then I get in the seat and then I always learn something new and I’m like, I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect that.
Is there anything that just kind of surprised you that, that along the way up to this point that you didn’t expect? So one of the things that I didn’t expect or that I didn’t quite see the connection to is how the amendment itself. could uplift and bolster other amendments we have in the constitution.
So say the 14th amendment. So having this and learning the lessons that we learned from previous amendments and what happened subsequent to them is really going to help us move this forward. But also realizing that so many people don’t know that this is an issue to begin with is really, really the, the, the motivating factor right now.
The more I hear people say, Wow, I thought I knew this, but clearly I don’t. I didn’t learn about this in school. And so now it’s our job to let folks know that you can, let’s talk about this. Let’s talk about the importance of it and how we get more people to the table. Yeah. How have you been? I’m just curious, whether it’s on TikTok or otherwise, like the younger voters, how have they been receiving the information and the content?
So we actually have a number of young advocacy groups in our coalition, and so they’re gung ho. They see that this is a foundation, and so they want to continue to do the work. And so they’re some of the most passionate and active members of our coalition because they see the importance of this for themselves and for future generations, and they want to get it done.
It seems to me that the people, the, the biggest, or, or one of the big the big challenges here are just, are, it really is the disengaged individuals and maybe the lack of, of knowledge around it. Am I, am I off on that? No, you’re exactly right. It’s just like what we see in in the electoral, in the, in our elections in general.
There are some folks who just don’t get engaged unless it’s a presidential election. And even then, they don’t think their voice is heard. And so they don’t go out to the polls. So we need to meet those folks where they are and encourage them to vote and encourage them to vote for their own interest.
Too often people vote against their own interests and we need to make sure that they understand the stakes. So, so 300 partner organizations, you mentioned a lot of business owners, a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of executives that watch this how do organizations get involved? So we’re actually doing a number of activities and events this year, and you can follow us on Facebook Instagram, Tik TOK Twitter, and to learn more about the work that we do go to era coalition.
org. Era coalition dot era coalition forward that or to learn more about the work that we do, but also get engaged on the local level because we have so many organizations in your community that are working towards this issue that want to be supported. We love corporations and businesses that want to do the right thing and see the Equal Rights Amendment as the path forward.
And we, we, we ask them to join us and support us in this effort as we move the Equal Rights Amendment forward. Yeah, yeah, I see that and 300 is impressive, but I feel like there’s room for that to grow. There’s a lot of other leaders out there that are in a position that are aligned that that want to make that happen.
Yeah. No, definitely. So we’ve, we’re actually, we have some of our largest partners, our corporations and others that we’re trying to get connections with and they see the value and the importance of this because as we see some social issues out there. Do make a difference for for individuals, but this is really an economic issue The equal rights amendment is founded in an economic argument to make sure that everyone can earn the same and be treated the same and one of the things that i’ll bring up to everybody watching is We talked a little bit about this in the beginning of the interview that zakiya will be participating in the upcoming book that we’re launching With dr.
Nancy and women connect for good So other partners in this, on this mission together. But just to let you know, we’re not going to talk too much about the book today, and that’s intentional. That’s what you call a cliffhanger or a teaser, because we will be bringing Zakiya back on the show once the book is out and live.
So don’t, don’t worry about that, but I just don’t want to keep people hanging on that one. So we’re going to be bringing Zakiya on for part, part two of this interview. As well, but for today’s Zakiya, I just want to say say I want you to please let people know how they can get involved and leave that website again, because I want people to definitely reach out.
I want people to get involved. So you can join us at era coalition. org or era coalition forward. org and join the community of 80 million advocates that we have. It’s really important to connect this year in particular, because it is an election year and we want to make sure our voices are heard. And that is specific, specifically for our issue, the Equal Rights Amendment, that people understand and it’s, it’s involved and brought into the conversation.
So join us at eracoalition. org, eracoalitionforward. org. And be part of this movement and donate today, join, sign up for our newsletter and join us. Fantastic. Well, Zakiya again, thank you for coming on the show today. And and also participate in the book. Of course, we have so, so much more work to do together and excited to continue to work with you and your organization and to the audience as always.
Hey, thank you for tuning in. And if this is your first time listening to a mission matters episode, this Definitely hit that subscribe button. We have many more episodes and and great guests coming up on the line, of course, and don’t want you to miss a thing. Zakiya again, thank you so much for your time today and appreciate it.
Thanks Adam.
