The ERA Summit on July 16th at the Biennial Conference has been rated a success.

Prior to the summit, a small but mighty group consisting of Barbara J. Davis, Juliann Doyle, Denise Robinson, Sher Singh, Kathy Telban, and Nancy Werner created the signs for members to carry during the march to the Capitol building.

Arlaine Rockey, legal advisor for Equal means Equal, the most effective ERA advocacy organization in the US, was the keynote speaker. She shared her experience using the Equal Rights Amendment as the base of her arguments for women in custody disputes. She provided each attendee a copy of the US Constitution so we have our rights at our fingertips. To learn more about Arlaine go to arlainerockey

Attendees were lead through a variety of questions about advocating for the ERA, engaging younger people in the movement, key talking points, and what stakeholders need to be engaged in to push the ERA forward. Each group reported the results of their discussion and time was provided to attendees for self-reflection and action planning.

The Advocacy Committee had selected North Carolina Senator Natalie Murdock and North Carolina Representative Julie von Haefen as ERA Champions for 2026. Josh Watkins represented von Haefen’s office to accept her award. He joined in the table discussions and spent time talking with attendees and accepting messages to take back to Representative von Haefen.

The Women’s Declaration of Independence p34 was read at the close of the meeting, followed by the singing of America is Beautiful with the ERA p33.

Many members then picked up the signs and walked to the State Capitol, where they read the Women’s Declaration of Independence and sang America is Beautiful with the ERA.

Members committed to reading the Women’s Declaration of Independence in their communities at City Council meetings, at State Capitol buildings, at school meetings, at BPW meetings, and at meetings of other civil organizations. Please read them at your meetings and post them on your social media sites as part of our ongoing campaign.

Appreciation for organizing this event goes to Barbara Bozeman, Barbara J. Davis, Emily VanVleck, and Nancy Werner. Thank you also goes to Kathy Telban for the scrolls including the Women’s Declaration of Independence and the song. And a special thank you to Nancy Werner for providing all the supplies for the sign-making crew.

Lyrics by Carol A. Bouldin on behalf of the ERA Publication Task Force

Original lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates Music composed by Samuel A. Ward