Debra Bowen for California Secretary of State - Marking a Victory, Pushing a New Cause

Marking a Victory, Pushing a New Cause

Sacramento Be
Aug 27, 2006
By Deepa Ranganathan Wearing everything from roller skates to vintage Victorian hoop skirts, about 500 women paraded through downtown Sacramento on Saturday morning to urge other women to vote -- and to call for a national holiday of their own. The first Women's Equality Day Commemorative Parade honored the women who fought for voting rights, enduring jail terms and even force-feeding along the way. The battle for suffrage ended in 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment. "We have to build up momentum so everyone remembers this struggle," said Carol Norberg, an Oakland resident and a regional coordinator for the California Women's Agenda, one of 13 organizations that helped plan the parade. "Everybody else has a day for one thing or another, and we women don't." The parade, which started at Southside Park and ended with a rally on the west steps of the Capitol, drew women -- and a handful of men -- from all over the state. Period outfits were everywhere, from high-necked Victorian blouses to flapper fringe. Norberg, along with Diana Madoshi of Rocklin, came up with the idea for the march after they watched "Iron Jawed Angels," a recent HBO movie detailing sacrifices made by suffragettes. "I looked at Carol, and she looked at me, and we were thinking the same thing: We've got to have a parade," said Madoshi, also a coordinator for the state Women's Agenda. The planners chose Aug. 26, designated as Women's Equality Day by Congress in 1971, for the march. As the crowd set out for the Capitol at 10 a.m., Eighth Street was awash in white and purple -- the colors worn by suffragettes during a historic 1913 march that helped bring the nation around to their cause. Many parade participants sported sashes proclaiming, "VOTE." Only 65 percent of women of voting age cast ballots in the 2004 presidential election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It was the first time in 20 years that a higher percentage of women voted than men -- but 45 million women didn't show up. That's a problem especially for organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. In the last two presidential elections, polls showed most women voters favored the Democratic nominee. "I think women oftentimes don't realize it's been only 86 years we've had the vote," said Kimberly Salter, president of California National Organization for Women, a cosponsor of the event. "We're going to lose it if we don't do something with it." Some of the marchers said electing more women to public office could make the world a gentler place. "Women are generally the peacemakers and the caregivers. We think about what's good for the group, rather than just what's good for me," said Robin Norberg, Carol Norberg's daughter-in-law. An Air Force veteran, she wore fatigues as she marched. Others were there to promote specific causes. Many wore green sashes bearing the words "NO ON 85" -- referring to the November ballot initiative that would require parental notification before a minor could receive an abortion. And a band of women on roller skates -- the newly formed Sac City Rollers -- said they wanted more public support for women's sports. Team member Jennifer Calvin, 32, said feminism continues among her generation -- even among young women who don't identify with the movement. "We've got women who've been strippers, and now they're starting their own businesses," said Calvin, cruising along on pink-and-white skates. "They probably wouldn't say they're feminists, but they're walking the walk." Paradegoers said a lot of work remains if the march is to become an annual event. Sidewalks along the parade route were empty of spectators, and few racial minorities were among the marchers. "We have to keep bringing more people into the movement," said Susan Longworth of Santa Rosa, dressed in a long, turn-of-the-century cotton dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat. At the Capitol, elected officials told the crowd to encourage their neighbors to vote. State Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, who's running for California secretary of state, pointed out that the state ballot initiative that granted women the vote in 1911 won by a thin margin of one vote per precinct. "Talk to all those good men you know," she said, "because their one vote makes a big difference, too." http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14309635p-15203879c.html

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