August 26 Marks TWO Important Milestones for Women

    CHICAGO, IL August 10, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On August 26, 2020, women from coast to coast will celebrate 100 years of having the right to vote.

But August 26 is also significant for another important reason. On August 26, 1970 – to commemorate 50th anniversary of women's suffrage - Betty Friedan called for a Women's Strike for Equality. And, with that, the "second wave" of the women's movement blazed its way into public view. Hundreds of thousands of women across the country marched and rallied to proclaim that the vote wasn't enough. Women still did not have equal rights in so many other areas.

Those women in the streets that day were determined to change things. In small towns and major cities across the country, they marched, they protested, they lobbied, they argued, they wrote, they fought, they demanded, they sued. And they changed the world.

The Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) is an organization composed of those activists. VFA was created to ensure that the history of the women's movement of the '60s and '70s is preserved. The VFA Pioneer Histories Project - a collection of first-person stories - is the vehicle for recording that history.

The goal is to feature oral histories of as many Second Wave feminists as possible. Many of these stories have never been told. Many of them are from people who are unknown except in their local areas. They are women of every race, every age, every sexual orientation. And all of them had a role in changing the world for future generations.

The Pioneer Histories Project is housed on the VFA website: www.veteranfeministsofamerica.org. Each featured activist has her own page that includes a link to her interview, transcript, photos and a list of resources to learn more about her.

As you are covering the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, we urge you to include the equally important story and stories of the 50th anniversary of women's rights. Perhaps you would like to interview Muriel Fox.

Muriel Fox, VFA's board chair and a leading Second Wave feminist activist, was one of the co-founders of the National Organization for Women in 1966. She can discuss August 26, 1970, the history of the movement, the VFA Pioneer Histories Project and the progress made for women in the last 50 years.

VFA is a non-profit organization for supporters and veterans of the Second Wave of the feminist revolution. Its purpose is to honor, record and preserve the history of the accomplishments of the feminist movement; to educate the public on the importance of the changes brought about by the women's movement; and to preserve the movement's history for future generations.

For further information, or to arrange an interview, contact Contact: Kathy Rand, [email protected]

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