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September 6, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – “Women didn’t get the right to vote. Women earned the right to vote. Women fought for the right to vote and got it.”

That was one of many messages that women’s rights activist Lisa Maatz brought to the crowded Common Room of Weber Retreat and Conference Center on August 27, 2024, – the day after the 104th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, granting white women the right to vote.

Lisa’s talk on the day after Women’s Equality Day was sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion. Kevin Hofmann, director of the office, in his welcome, noted that “we’ve come a long way” toward women’s rights, “but we’re not done.”

Lisa’s long-time activism for women’s rights included serving as Vice President of Government Relations and Advocacy for the American Association of University Women, spearheading a campaign that ultimately led to the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. She represented women’s advocacy groups on Capitol Hill and is now a national consultant focusing on gender issues, grassroots advocacy, and nonprofit organizations.

Lisa began her advocacy when she was still in elementary school. She and her classmates discovered that, while they had no doors on their bathroom stalls, the boys did. “I’m not sure if I thought it was a gender issue, but I felt it was a fairness issue,” she recalled. After the principal rejected her personal request for stall doors, she started a petition drive which ultimately garnered 200 signatures. “We got doors two weeks later,” she recalled.

“When we think about women’s rights today, you have to remember where we’ve been and how long social change can take,” Lisa said. She noted that the fight for women’s right to vote in the United States began in 1848 with a Women’s Rights Conference in Seneca Falls, New York, but it took until 1920 for the 19th Amendment to pass. “It was a long time in the making,” she said. The suffragettes who marched in Washington, D.C., suffered for their efforts. “These women were getting stoned, getting fruit thrown on them, getting pushed and shoved as they were walking,” she said.

It took U.S. women of color 40 more years to get the vote. Still, many marched with the white women in Washington, D.C., despite being told that they couldn’t join them. “They walked anyway,” Lisa said. “Indeed, their presence was part of what made that march so momentous.”

Once the 19th Amendment was passed, the women’s movement spent “40 years in the desert … conflicted about what they should do and the next issues,” Lisa said. They agreed on only one issue: passing the Equal Rights Amendment, stating that rights should not be abridged on account of sex. 

“To this day, we don’t have an Equal Rights Amendment” due to technicalities, Lisa said. Only 35 states had ratified the 28th Amendment by 1977, but 38 were required. Virginia was the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020, but the deadline had passed and other states had since rescinded their ratification. “There’s a new, energetic movement to get the ERA passed,” Lisa added.

Another key issue today is the pay gap between men and women who perform approximately the same work and the even greater pay gap suffered by women of color. Lisa led a coalition that helped to bring about the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The 2007 Supreme Court decision, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., set a 180-day statute of limitations, starting with the employer’s pay decision. The bill sets the statute of limitations to begin with each new paycheck, allowing women more time to file a complaint. 

In recent years, Lisa said, the women’s movement has expanded. “It comes down to intersectionality,” addressing the various identities of women, including gender, race, and class. “We work with any group that also cares about our issues,” she said. “If your group cares about violence against women but doesn’t take the stance I like on Title IX, I’ll still work with you.”

Lisa had final piece of advice for both women and men: “Never take voting for granted.” She cautioned that, while the vote is fairly well protected in Michigan, the Secretary of State in some states perform regular purges of voter registrations. “Check to make sure your registration is still valid.” In addition, she said, “Anything you can do to register new voters can make a difference.”

Watch the entire presentation.

 

Caption for above photo: Lisa Maatz, women's rights advocate, speaks at the podium during a presentation sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion.

November 7, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – How do four Black students experience life in the United States and, specifically, in the predominantly white Siena Heights University? A host of experiences, perceptions, and hopes came from a panel discussion, “The World as We See It,” held October 19, 2023, on the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse campus next door to the university.

The event was part of a series of presentations offered by Kevin Hofmann, Director of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion. The series brings speakers of backgrounds different from those of most of the Sisters and Associates – people of different races, ethnic groups, faith traditions, and experiences of gender – to shed light on a variety of perspectives.

Panelists were Bobby Lindsey, a sophomore from Belleville, Michigan, majoring in musical theater; Toni Brown, an exercise science major from Detroit and Livonia, Michigan; Tichina Jones, a former international student from Windsor, Ontario, in her final semester as a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling; and Thomas Lindsey, an art major from Detroit. 

While the students generally agreed that Siena Heights is a welcoming school, they entered into a heartfelt discussion about the challenges they face among peers who are predominantly white. Much of the discussion centered around concerns they regularly face, of which many of their peers were unaware. 

For example, Toni noted her struggle to find hair-care products made for her hair type. Tichina affirmed the struggle. “As a woman, you want to feel beautiful [and] build your self-esteem,” she said. Not having the right products to help Black women feel their best is a challenge that white people need to be “more mindful of,” she said. “It’s really important to us and how we interact in our community.”

Others spoke of the risks they felt in everyday activities. “Even to this day, any time I buy something, even if it’s just bubblegum, I’m always walking with the receipt” to avoid being accused of shoplifting,” Tichina said.

Thomas spoke of learning from his father about protecting himself as a Black man. “If I ever get pulled over [by the police] I always have two hands on the wheel” to avoid a situation in which he can be shot. “It’s pretty tough to be an African-American because you always have to be aware of your surroundings.”

Bobby noted the same experience of always needing to be alert, especially when entering a store or a predominantly white area. “I don’t want to look like I’m doing something wrong or be accused that I’m doing something wrong,” he said. “I’m always aware of that stereotype … so I always keep it in the back of my mind.”

The students also spoke of the burden they carry as representatives of their race – and their struggles to make sure that they are perceived in a positive way. Bobby said that when he attends certain events, “there are certain things that I can’t wear to them or wouldn’t wear to them because I don’t want to be perceived as less professional or less intelligent than my peers. Sometimes, you have to double-check or triple-check what you wear on campus.” 

Tichina said living like this is exhausting. “You have to really think two or three times about how people perceive you on campus, especially if they don’t know you – whatever stereotypes or assumptions they have about Black people. Do I want to confirm these thoughts?” 

However, other students spoke of the positive aspects of being a representative and a role model. “I want to make a difference,” Thomas said. “I want to be the first [in my family] to go to college. I want to show not just my younger family but others – my friends and other groups of people – just keep going, keep looking forward, and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it, you won’t do it, or you’ll never do it.”

Toni said she loves representing her people and her family in particular. “I’m representing my family by making them proud that I can make it through four years of college,” she said. “I love making my people proud, and I love watching my peers proud of themselves – and it makes me happy seeing Black people happy.” 

The students also discussed their perception of race relations in the United States today and whether the situation has improved since their parents’ and grandparents’ time. “I do think the country has changed, but not to the point where race is just obsolete,” Bobby said. “I like to think in this country nowadays that anyone can do anything that they put their mind to, no matter the color that they are … But those systematically built [obstacles] are still there.”
 
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