More Than A Magazine, A Movement
On Friday, April 5, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will issue a commemorative Forever stamp and hold an event to celebrate the life and legacy of Betty Ford, who served as first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977.
As first lady and wife of a Republican president, Betty Ford carved out a role for herself that included advocating for issues she cared about—including ratification of the ERA.
From calling attention to the endless labor performed by women in the home, to being the first magazine to put the first female speaker on its cover, Ms. covers allowed the magazine to make a statement on newsstands—and bring feminist conversations into the mainstream.
In honor of Women’s History Month, here are our picks of 10 of the magazine’s most impactful covers.
At the Radical Optimism Conference on Jan. 26, hosted by former U.S. Rep Carolyn Maloney, political activists from around the state rallied for recognition of the federal ERA, made plans for securing a New York state constitutional amendment, plotted strategies for the 2024 elections and committed themselves to showing strong support by recruiting signers for the national ERA petition, Sign4ERA.org.
“In 2024, women’s rights will be on the ballot,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority.
“If equality and the Equal Rights Amendment, in particular, weren’t so important, they wouldn’t be fighting so hard to keep it from us,” said Zakiya Thomas, president of the ERA Coalition.
(This essay is part of “The ERA Is Essential to Democracy” Women & Democracy collection.)
Penny Harrington—the chief of the Portland, Oregon Police Bureau in the mid-’80s and the first woman to lead a major U.S. city’s police department—died at her home in Morro Bay, Calif., on September 15, 2021, at the age of 79.
Harrington became a police officer in 1964 in Portland and headed the Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Center for Women and Policing at its founding in 1995. Harrington served in Portland in the Women’s Protective Division and began to challenge discriminatory policies after a few years in the force. She became chief of police in 1985 and was the first woman in America to lead a police department in a major city.
Today, the U.S. House passed the Senate version of the American Rescue Plan Act, which will provide economic relief to millions of Americans suffering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The passage of the American Rescue Plan today is a victory for women,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms.
“Her work for gender equality will live forever,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority.
“It is time to hear what the voters have to say. Any efforts to pack the Supreme Court and ignore the will of the American people will be extremely costly to the GOP,” said Kathy Spillar, executive director of the Feminist Majority.
“If Senate leadership truly wishes to pay tribute to Representative Lewis, they will restore the Voting Rights Act by passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
“Feminist Majority Foundation and Feminist Majority are proud to stand with Planned Parenthood in the face of these repeated attacks by the Trump administration on reproductive rights and justice for all people.”
The Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.) launched an ad campaign today that exposes the threats facing abortion providers across the country and asks the question, “When did the right to […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation’s 10th annual Global Women’s Rights Awards on May 18 were a star-studded affair. Actors from Grey’s Anatomy, Orange Is the New Black, Scandal, How To Get Away […]
