History is repeating itself.
We weren’t the first. That is what Alice Paul told FFL co-founder Pat Goltz when they met. She explained that the suffragists were also feminists for life.
Now we learn from National Geographic that we were not the first feminists to work during a pandemic.
That’s right: The suffragists almost lost their most cherished dream as the Spanish Flu killed over 650,000 in 1918.
Like you and me, they “socially distanced,” and many worked to serve, protect, or cure the most vulnerable. Like FFL’s campus events, their rallies were cancelled, too. And the government shut down, which meant reaching the number of states needed to pass the 19th Amendment was at real risk as the clock was ticking.
Today, we serve well over 100,000 caregivers, many who are mothers or pregnant themselves and are getting the help they need from our Women Deserve Better helpsite.
This #GivingTuesday, we ask that you consider your role as a philanthropist, as a feminist. If you feel able, please contribute to our helpsite, WomenDeserveBetter.com, or our advocacy and education efforts through feministsforlife.org.
Either way, as you give, you walk in the footsteps of our first wave feminist foremothers who overcame the flu, won rights for women, and protected the most vulnerable. Stay strong.
Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President
Feminists for Life of America
Editor-In-Chief
Women Deserve Better & The American Feminist
P.S. If you can give a portion of your tax refund or $1,200 payment during the pandemic, we would be really grateful. Better yet, start or increase your monthly gift, and it will be doubled by a small group of women who know how important FFL is to the next generation! Thank you.
