In honor of Black History Month, we are sharing stories and instances which intersect Black history with our work within the voting rights space and within the League as an organization.
Before She Refused to Give Up Her Seat, Rosa Parks Had a Long History as a Voting Rights Activist
Did you know Rosa Parks had been a civil rights activist for more than a decade before that day on the bus? Parks’ family hosted Montgomery Voters’ League meetings to keep fellow Black citizens motivated to register amid so many obstacles and “without having to go to a white person and be vouched for.” Click here to read more from Time Magazine.
To Finish the Fight
In 2020, the Florida League hosted a powerful tock with the first Black president the League of Women Voters of the United States: Dr. Carolyn Jefferson Jenkins. Dr. Jefferson-Jenkins gave a powerful presentation entitled “To Finish the Fight: which focused on diversity (and the lack of diversity) within the League and her recently published book: “The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters.” Click here to watch the recorded webinar.
Enhanced Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At the 2020 Biennium LWVUS Convention, League delegates from across the nation voted to enhance our organizations commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by moving it from a resolution to a policy. This change was very significant and is a step in the right direction to deal with the historic lack of diversity our organization previously faced. Prior to this change, the only policy that the national League enforced on a governance level are our nonpartisan policy. Now, our commitment to DEI is on par with our commitment to nonpartisanship. The rationale for this adoption can be found below.
LWV is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the organization’s current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy. It is a fundamental value of the organization and belongs alongside our hallmark of nonpartisanship.
