By: Susan Oser, NFBPWC Advocacy Team LGBTQIA+ Lead 

LGBTQ+ Icon of the Month:  Sally K. Ride

Why highlight? 

Sally K. Ride became the first American woman to travel into space in June 1993.   She was

 also an engineer, physicist (as well as professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego, and director of the California Space Institute.  Her mission was to get kids engaged in the sciences.  Former President Obama honored Sally with a Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.  She kept her personal life private but after she passed away in 2012, it was revealed that she was in a relationship with a woman for over 27 years, which never mattered until after her death. 

Source(s) for more information: 

• Jacket, In-Flight Suit, Shuttle, Sally Ride, STS-7 -https://tinyurl.com/y59rc9kk 

• These Queer Icons Will Be the First LGBTQ+ People Featured on U.S. Currency - https://www.them.us/story/first-lgbtq-people-featured-us-currency-sally-ride-nina-otero-warren 

• Earth to Ben Shapiro: Lesbians Have Already Been to Space -https://www.them.us/story/benshapiro-lesbians-astronauts 

Good LGBTQ+ News for May –  

• A case for the ERA: Marriage equality - https://eracoalition.org/2023/12/27/a-case-for-the-eramarriage-equality/ 

• How two legendary lesbians inspired a culinary oasis in the California desert - https://tinyurl.com/5n7wf4kp- Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein served as inspiration for Alice B., a new venture by restaurateurs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. 

• Beastie Boys paid for trans woman’s gender-affirming surgery -https://tinyurl.com/97p66d84- She kickstarted their career. They helped her start a new life. 

• Dawn Staley just won another title — and still had time to stand up for trans athletes - https://tinyurl.com/2w56nun6- South Carolina's Dawn Staley took her place among other legends of women’s sports who support trans inclusion in women’s sports. 

And now for the BAD news: 

• Trans folks are peeing in bottles & avoiding water to dodge harassment under Florida’s bathroom law -https://tinyurl.com/43xw8r3a- Residents have taken it upon themselves to police restrooms, traumatizing trans folks and often incorrectly enforcing the law. 

• Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity -https://tinyurl.com/y8t5prxf- The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20page declaration that has been in the works for five years. After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved March 25 by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication. 

If you have any news or leads on anything related to LGBTQ+ news, issues, and organizations, please contact Sue Oser at soser@nfbpwc.org  

By: Sandra Thompson, NFBPWC’s International Chair, international@nfbpwc.org  

A huge thank you to our Canadian BPW 

Sisters for allowing me to be a part of their delegation to the United Nations for the Commission on the Status of Women.  It was certainly a busy and exciting week. 

I had the privilege to attend several Parallel and Side events.   The side events were held 

inside the United Nations and parallel events in various venues outside the UN.    I also, attend virtually a Town Hall meeting with the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.  He is from Portugal. 

I attended our Parallel Event on 

Global Collaboration to Tackle Period Poverty which was co-sponsored with our Canadian BPW Sisters.  

We had a wonderful turnout.  Emily VanVleck did an outstanding job in introducing the subject and guiding the panel.  Hopefully you were able to attend.   It will be available on our website soon. 

I also attended an event put on by the International BPW Young BPWs.   The title of their event was The Role of Entrepreneurs/Professional in Addressing Poverty and Empowering Women. 

One of the speakers was our own Djenabou Bah who has started her own Travel Agency. 

Besides these two I attended several others which were most informative.  I encourage you all to attend either in person or virtually next year.  There are two weeks of many wonderful events.  All of the online events are free.  It is a great experience. 

April Highlights in US Women’s History 

• April 2, 1931 – 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell, the second woman to play baseball in the all-male minor leagues, pitches an exhibition game against the N.Y. Yankees and strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The next day, the Baseball Commissioner voided her contract, claiming baseball was too strenuous for women. The ban was not overturned until 1992 

• April 5, 1911 – 100,000 to 500,000 people march in New York City to attend the funeral of seven unidentified victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in late March 

• April 7, 1805 – Sacagawea begins helping the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter 

• April 7, 1987 – Opening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the first museum devoted to women artists 

• April 9, 1939 – Marian Anderson sings an Easter Sunday concert for more than 75,000 at Lincoln Memorial 

• April 13, 1933 – Ruth Bryan Owen is the first woman to represent the U.S. as a foreign minister when she is appointed as envoy to Denmark 

• April 16, 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel 

• April 19, 1977 – Fifteen women in the House of Representatives J^ACKIE M^ITCHELLform the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues 

• April 22 – Earth Day, honor Rachel Carson today, a woman who changed America and greatly influenced the environmental movement with her revolutionary book, Silent Spring 

• April 23 – Barbara Johns Day in Virginia. Barbara Johns as a high school  led a walk out to of Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, to protest unequal conditions. Hers was one of the cases that led to the 1954 Brown v.  Board of Education Supreme Court decision that called for integration of public schools.  

• April 26, 1777 – American Revolution heroine Sybil Ludington, 16 years old, rides 40 miles on horseback in the middle of the night to warn the American militia that the British were invading 

• April 28, 1993 – First “Take Our Daughters to Work” Day, sponsored by the Ms. Foundation, in 2003 it became “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work” Day 

(Source:  https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/april/)

By: Suzette Cotto 

NFBPWC Public Relations Chair

Engage with NFBPWC on Social Media

Organization Page:   https://www.facebook.com/NatlFedBPWC/

Group Page: https://www.facebook.com/NatlFedBPWC/

Organization Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nfbpwc

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2l_ciIxLyvbu1dbBOsV9Tg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfbpwc_usa/

By: Susan E. Oser, NFBPWC Rapid Response Committee Chair

Issues that will need your attention and need to be addressed. 

As Rapid Response chair, it is my job to keep my ear to the ground and eyes to the screen or otherwise on issues that I feel should not only be an issue for us personally but also for your locals to discuss or have a special educational presentation on.  The following are a few that I recommend (please note that these are my opinions and do not necessarily represent NFBPWC views or advocacy platform) we all need to pay attention to…especially during this election year: 

Voting Rights –  

With primaries, local elections and local issues already being voted on, some places have already had issues.  This will be of big concern during our key presidential election this year.   There are also issues with gerrymandering and changing voting districts.  Some of these have already seen court dates with more to come. 

Reproductive Rights – 

We have already seen in Alabama the concern of what life is defined as and how this issue affects IVF treatment.  There have been calls on various fronts to block access to abortion rights, IVF, and other reproductive health care that if passed can have detrimental consequences to women’s health.  Reproductive Freedom is a hot issue that is bringing out the vote and should be a hot issue bringing our voices to the table. 

LGBTQIA+ Issues – 

The LGBTQIA+ community has become the latest political football and excuse to discriminate for no reason, other than political points from one side of the aisle. This is especially true of our transgender brothers and sisters.  The recent news of Nex Benedict’s tragedy and the over 300+ anti-trans legislation laws should give us pause to not only educate ourselves but also support a community that has really faced a lot within the last year. 

Please connect with Sue Oser at rapidresponse@nfbpwc.org if you have any ideas on topics that should be focused on and discussed as we get into the big election cycle or you feel have not been addressed in this article.  In future articles, I’ll be focusing on each of these (and any others suggested by you) for a better understanding and education of the issues.)

Keri Hess Laursen, NFBPWC Health Committee Chair, Downtown Sacramento Member Health@NFBPWC.org 

The Health Committee is seeking a co-chair, no experience required! 

The Health Committee currently meets the 2nd Monday of each month at 5pm PDT.   

Please email Keri at:  health@nfbpwc.org to inquire about serving as co-chair or to get on the Health Committee listserv.   

By: Sher Singh, NFBPWC’s JDEI Chair, dei@nfbpwc.org  

This Report covers all that this committee has done so far. The JDEI committee has met every month in 2023 with two workshops. We have had meeting and presentations in 2024 also listed below: 

• February 2, 2023, Resilience: Conflict Resolution, Financial & Security in Life.  

• Then we began the series of presentations using the acronym JDEI one letter at a time. We did - JUSTICE: Violence Against Women – Under the Light of Justice. 

• August 28, 2023, we did – Looking at the D in Diversity – The Pillars of Diversity. 

• January 11, 2024, Equity for Women in the Workplace. 

• February 2, 2024, we did a workshop on Grief – No Time Limit – Stages are Phases of Acceptance and Hope. 

• May 9, 2024, we plan to present our final letter in the acronym Inclusion - (to be named) 

• June 4, 2024, will be our JDEI final presentation – A celebration of Committees. 

By: Trudy Waldroop, Bylaws & Resolutions Chair, NFBPWC 2022-2024 (Email: ILoveBPW@yahoo.com) Bylaws@NFBPWC.org  

B Y L A W S Part 3 

What is the difference between bylaws amendments and a bylaws revision? 

Amendments 

Amendments are the changes made to words or sentences, or entire paragraphs, sections or an Article in your organization’s bylaws. 

There is a separate Article in every organization’s bylaws titled Amendments.  In it are the procedures to propose a bylaws change, who can propose a change, at what meeting they will be voted upon, how many days before they are to be voted upon, to whom the proposed change goes to, and that every member must directly receive a copy of the proposed change along with the rationale. 

Revision 

A revision is a major change in bylaws.  Preparation of a proposed revision is ordered by an organization when the amendments needed are so extensive that they warrant redo of a major portion of, or all of, the bylaws.  Consideration of the committee’s proposed revision requires the same notice that amendments do.  Everything in the proposed revision is subject to amendment by the assembly.  The amended proposal, if adopted, replaces the “old” bylaws. 

Bylaw amendments can be found in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised sec 57, page 560. 

Reminder:  

Deadline to submit proposed amendment/s to the NF Bylaws is May 20, 2024  

Also amendments to the Policy and Procedures Manual are due by May 20, 2024.  

Send to the Bylaws Chair Trudy Waldroop at (ILoveBPW@yahoo.com) 

By: Nancy Werner, NFBPWC Advocacy Team ERA Lead 
EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT  100^th ANNIVERSARY MARCH  

Advocacy –Equal Rights Amendment.  “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex” needs to be placed into our Constitution. While most states have laws prohibiting discrimination of any kind based on sex, proponents of the E.R.A. say laws can be reversed or eliminated. Having a Constitutional Amendment would cement those rights.  

The latest news on the Equal Rights Amendment would be with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand-D New York. She has placed into the Senate bills - SJRes 39 calling for the Archivist to publish the ERA. On March 3, she spoke at a luncheon for the need for the ERA because of its ability to protect repro rights. She was wearing the “Biden Publish the ERA” button for the second half of the luncheon. 

She has shared that she is working very carefully to have President Biden instruct the Archivist to publish. Publication needs to happen ASAP to stem the flood of cases rolling back women’s rights. 

The Archivist is Collen Joy Shogan, and she took office on May 17, 2023. She succeeds Mr. Ferrerio upon his retirement in 2022. We need to be sending our messages to our President Biden encouraging him to tell our Archivist to sign the ERA amendment as our 28^th amendment to the Constitution. 

SIGN4ERA– May I encourage you AGAIN to take the time 

RIGHT NOW to sign onto this link. http://www.sign4ERA.org When you visit this site, there is much information given to you from the history to the current work and why it is so important to all of us. 

I just received my correspondence from this group as they share the urgency of telling all our families, neighbors, coworkers to sign on. Presently there are 91,000 signatures but we need more! Lots more. 

Please keep in touch with your Senators using the NFBPWC “One Click.”   

 

By: Susan Oser, NFBPWC Advocacy Team LGBTQIA+ Lead 
LGBTQ+ Icon of the Month:  Dorian CoreyWhy highlight? 

Dorian Corey was a prominent black fashion designer in the 1970s and 80s.  She was drag

queen who sought to find a way to bring the drag queen style to what we know of it today: big, bold, and beautiful.  She was infamously known for using feathers, beads, and sequins in her designs.  As result, these designs inspired other women’s fashion that are seen as big and bold on the runway today.  Her message was that it’s ok to create a story with your fashion no matter who you are and if you are performing in front of the crowd or not. 

 

Source(s): 

This trans drag ball superstar revolutionized queer fashion.  She also hid a body in her closet. - https://tinyurl.com/yfy73yjy 

Sh!t Dorian Corey Says - Paris is Burning -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CXj9_Z_mk 

A Famous Drag Queen, a Mummy in the Closet, and a Baffling Mystery @atlasobscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-famous-drag-queen-a-mummy-in-the-closet-and-a-bafflingmystery 

Good LGBTQ+ News for April -  

• 'Don't Say Gay' settlement allows Florida students and teachers discuss sexual orientation, gender ID - https://tinyurl.com/8x9fb8cb 

• Three Years Ago, Detroit Techno Icon DJ Minx Came Out. Now, She's Living a Life She Never Thought She Could. -https://tinyurl.com/42x32kru 

• Massive Defeat For Anti-Trans And Anti-LGBTQ+ Riders In Spending Bill As Dems Hold Firm, by @ErinInTheMorn -https://tinyurl.com/bdheeywb And now for the BAD news: 

• Debunked: This misleading NYT anti-trans column relies on pseudoscience -  https://www.advocate.com/transgender/nyt-trans-article-debunked 

• LGBTQ+ activists are fighting a Manhattan school district's plan to ban trans athletes - LGBTQ Nation -https://tinyurl.com/y96ke2k 

• Southern States Pushing Forward With Bills Ending Legal Recognition For Trans People, by @ErinInTheMorn -https://tinyurl.com/4jb5zwx9 

• Statement from The Trevor Project in response to Nex Benedict https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/statement-from-the-trevor-project-in-response-to-nexbenedict/ 

If you have any news or leads on anything related to LGBTQ+ news, issues, and organizations, please contact Sue Oser at soser@nfbpwc.org