GUEST BLOG: Belan Yeshigeta of Generation Ratify
The best part of this passion project of ours is getting to meet strong women that are taking charge, adding their voice to our nation’s political conversation and bringing about change.
One of the most impressive and inspirational groups of women we’ve met are the young warriors of Generation Ratify. We’re privileged to have one of their team’s founding members as our guest blogger today.
So, grab a cup of coffee, learn about this incredible group of young women, and revel in the strength, intellect and female empowerment that is our future.
----
Belan Yeshigeta, Generation Ratify
Barely a month into 2020, and it's already been a whirlwind! The Equal Rights Amendment is just days away from Virginia ratification and entering the national arena! You might not know what the Equal Rights Amendment is, because, in all honesty, not many people do.
This amendment was introduced nearly a hundred years ago by Alice Paul and since then, it has gone through undulating tides of popular support and media coverage. The last time this amendment really attracted attention was in the 1970’s when the ERA finally found it’s away out of Congress and made it into the hands of state legislatures. The amendment, which initially had strong bipartisan support, has since become a dividing issue that’s been plagued with partisan bickering and, sadly, lies.
Eventually, this amendment was all but forgotten by mainstream media, and, therefore, went unknown by many. But that’s where we come in!
Generation Ratify is the youth-led movement to ratify the ERA and increase ERA awareness. We first started out as a handful of teens that were shocked that gender-based discrimination was not explicitly prohibited by our Constitution, and even more shocked to learn that there was an amendment meant to resolve just that but was yet to be ratified! And perhaps the biggest shock was that no one ever mentioned it.
Obviously, being the meddling teens that we are, we took it upon ourselves to ensure the ERA’s ratification and make sure that our generation knows what the ERA is and what it stands for.
Six months after our launch and we’ve accomplished things that we never realized were possible. Most importantly, we were able to work with other dedicated grassroots organizations to flip the Virginia legislature and secure the final ratification needed for the ERA.
Fully youth-led and youth-powered, Generation Ratify had grown beyond its home state of Virginia, and spread its wings nationwide! Now that the ERA is soon to be en route to DC, we are mobilizing youth across the country to urge their representatives to vote in support of this amendment and remove the deadline that has been placed upon it. We are also working in several states and counting to advance gender-equality legislation and pursue ERA ratification in all 50 states!
As you can imagine, this is hefty work, but it’s no match for an entire generation of youth dedicated to gender equality! We have definitely learned lessons, big and small, from our activism; how to coordinate statewide canvasses, how to manage our time (still working on this one actually), and even how to breakthrough our generation’s 8-second attention span (a fact, not an exaggeration), and make a movement worth fighting for! Since the beginning, we dreamt of creating a movement that would be all-inclusive and put the voices of youth and marginalized groups at the forefront. Although we knew that what we were doing was right, we couldn’t help our fear of the unknown. By far, the most important lesson we’ve learned is that it's alright to be scared, but you must take that leap of faith and trust that you can see your mission through. We are lucky to be able to join the ranks of gen z activists, and shape a more equitable world, that we can all live in.
If you would like to learn more about Generation Ratify and get involved, visit us at generationratify.org! Want to help fund our fight? Check out our donation page!