Soaring

Women have the Suffragettes to thank for being allowed to vote in national elections. After the 19th amendment was passed, many activists participated in the Civil Rights Movement and the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, which remains one state short of success.

Though The Water Factor demonstrates how corporations steal water and raise rates, the book asks you to consider what moves a person to action. It follows the awakening of a non-political eighteen-year-old playboy and the experiences that turned him into a fighter for social justice. But after seeing the Broadway musical Suffs in New York, I was impressed by how long it takes to bring about change. The road is usually rocky, with proponents forming factions around opposing tactics.

The story inspiring the play was the seventy-two-year fight to give women the vote. From the beginning, there were two rival organizations. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. It was a conservative group that included men in leadership positions. NWSA was focused on changing state laws. The territory of Wyoming was the first to do so, allowing women to vote in all elections.

Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson started the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) that same year. The AWSA advocated for a constitutional amendment and addressed other political issues, including divorce laws and temperance. Its message was spread through its publication, The Revolution, and organized lecture circuits promoting women’s rights to education, divorce, work equality, governance, and voting. AWSA spurred the formation of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 to ensure that the amendment included equality for women of color.

In 1890, the two factions merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). (After the 19th Amendment was ratified, it became the League of Women Voters.) As a child, Alice Paul joined her Quaker mother at NAWSA rallies. In her twenties, she decided the organization was too conservative and slow to take action. Desiring more militant tactics, she organized a groundbreaking parade in Washington, D.C., in 1913, and a half-million people attended, giving her the impetus to establish The National Women’s Party three years later. Paul led followers who were willing to take risks in the fight for equal rights. Though arrested seven times and jailed three times, the group’s response was non-violent, with acts that included boycotts, picketing the White House, and hunger strikes. After women gained the right to vote in 1924, Alex Paul returned to college for a law degree and lobbied to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

Though united for a cause, activists are often divided on how to get the job done. The Civil Rights Movement that started in 1954 was a drawn-out fight to abolish legalized Jim Crow laws and fight racial segregation, discrimination, socioeconomic inequality, and disenfranchisement. Still alive, Alice Paul was instrumental in adding protection for women in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Like the women’s movement, it, too, had factions. Nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience tactics espoused by Martin Luther King formed the basis of the early marches, bus rides, restaurant counter sit-ins, school integration, etc. His work spurred the more militant Black Power movement of the 1960s and 70s. Malcolm X, Stokely Carmickan, and Angela Davis were among those leading the way. The Black Lives Matter Movement started in 1913 and was created by three female Black organizers. However, its decentralized leadership continues to carry the torch for racial equality.

I mentioned the Civil Rights Movement and the Suffragettes partly because 2024 is the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Movement and partly because both movements inspire me to consider what type of person becomes an activist. Civil disobedience takes courage, resolve, and patience. Marching, lobbying, and lecturing takes time. Some people are naturally empathetic to the plight of those experiencing injustices. Their situation doesn’t align with their notion of democracy. Others feel guilty about being born privileged while others suffer. More than a few are personally affected or have witnessed harm done to others. Fear also drives the fight for change, as seen by those experiencing fires, hurricanes, and floods that wipe out communities. Experiencing temperature and weather extremes has added fuel to the Environmental Movement. To impact the nation, however, a charismatic leader has to step forth, who can overcome hesitancy and rally voters to the cause.

When you read The Water Factor, consider why Hokama Byrne formed an underground group of activists. Do you think he has gone too far or not done enough to return water rights to their original owners?

I look forward to your comments below.

According to the UN, water is at the center of the climate crisis. THE WATER FACTOR, A RIGHTFULLY MINE NOVEL, is your chance to peer into the near future to a time of water scarcity controls by corporate criminals. The story is a gripping tale of water scarcity and corporate wrongdoing. It is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, and as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes

Art is always for sale.  Soaring is mixed media on canvas. It is a 38” x 49” framed painting, available for $895. For further information, contact marilynne@eichingerfineart.com

References:

Website of American Bar Association. Women’s Suffrage Timeline. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/programs/19th-amendment-centennial/toolkit/suffrage-timeline/

The Library of Congress website. The Civil Rights Movement. retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/post-war-united-states-1945-1968/civil-rights-movement/

Website of National Archives. African American Heritage: Black Power. retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power#:~:tex

SPLC website. Seeking justice: Timeline of Landmark Cases. retrieved from https://www.splcenter.org/seeking-justice

Website of The Commons: Social Change Library. retrieved from https://commonslibrary.org/what-motivates-us-to-engage-in-activism/#:~:text