Wow! What an Impressive Array of Actions!
Although we had a setback this week when the House of Representatives voted for the awful Trumpcare bill, we must fight on and regard this act as revealing the heart of the GOP, which does not reflect its rhetoric.
Since it has been 100 days since our world changed, it is a good time to remind ourselves of our accomplishments. What began on January 21 with marches on Washington and Charlotte has grown into a movement of 600 women and men who are working to affect change. In the last three months, we have saved the Affordable Care Act but only to see it threatened again; lobbied against Gerrymandering in Raleigh; marched in front of Senator Tillis’ office and delivered letters to Senator Burr’s office; called Representative Pittenger’s Town Hall; danced at the Planned Parenthood fundraiser; wrote in support of Immigrants; protested at President Trump’s rally in Charleston. We attended a forum on the Women’s March on Washington; learned how to run for office from Lillian’s List; assisted at an immigrant rights’ Power of Attorney workshop; marched for Women’s Rights in Barcelona, Spain; and attended an NAACP meeting with Indivisible Uptown.
We contributed to panel discussions on the Women’s Movement on WFAE and at the Levine Museum of the New South. We registered voters on St. Patrick’s Day uptown and at UNCC and Marshall Park for Earth Day. We marched for Science and spoke on women in the sciences. We support the Define American Film Festival in May.
Our calls to state and federal legislators voiced our opinions on the Affordable Care Act and other women’s health issues; registered our dismay at federal cabinet appointments; expressed our outrage at the government’s treatment of immigrants; protested the proposed budget cuts to the arts, the EPA, Meals on Wheels and other social welfare programs. We will continue to call our state and federal legislators voicing our opinions on upcoming legislation.
And our list of actions goes on and on. Have we been more effective than the White House?
We are coordinating with other groups to eliminate duplication. The Women’s March on Charlotte has joined us; Indivisible Uptown will sponsor a joint meeting with us in June; and a co-organizer of the March for Science has joined us. We coordinated with 100 activist groups to build a network that supports one another’s efforts.
Our eight interest groups are meeting monthly to map out agendas. These informative discussions are varied and have included a talk from the resident artist at the McColl Center during the Racial Justice committee meeting. The Women’s Health meetings begin with a short yoga practice to calm everyone down. The Votes and Candidates meeting heard from the League of Women Voters and Lillian’s List. Several immigration lawyers gave advice at the Immigration meeting. At our second general meeting in April we heard from four panelists on how to become more effective activists.
The glue that holds us together is the Communications group who works tirelessly maintaining our web site; our Facebook page and our mailing list. They edit, format and post our work, send out eblasts to interest groups and to the general mailing list and keep everyone informed. We have 470 followers on Facebook and 3500 views of our web page. Thank you for giving us such a professional look and ensuring that we are kept current on upcoming activities and are as effective as possible.
We are proud to announce that several of our members are current office-holders or are planning on running for elected office and we will support those efforts.
Wow! What an Impressive Array of Actions! We have made our voices heard and we will continue to make ourselves heard until we are sure that everyone in this country is respected for who they are and what they do.
Our work is not yet done. The Affordable Care Act is again under siege; the proposed tax reform will benefit only the rich; and immigrants continue to be convenient victims for this administration. Invite your friends to follow us on Facebook and our web page and continue to act. MARCH ON!
Keep up the good work! March On!Â
Jan Anderson
            Committee Meetings           Â
Tuesday, May 9Â
Women’s Health Committee Meeting CancelledÂ
Over the next few months we will be communicating via email. It is a very busy time for everyone. We believe this is the most effective way to keep in touch with information and needed actions to promote women’s health. Information will also be posted on the CWM website, Women’s Health tab.
Tuesday May 16
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Candidates & Votes Group Meeting
At the  home of Heloise Merrill
Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 21
The Racial Justice group will visit the Levine Museum of the New South’s “K(no)w Justice, K(no)w Peace” exhibit in uptown. We’ll gather at a nearby restaurant for cocktails and discussion afterward. Museum admission is $8 • 2:00 pm • Levine Museum of the New South
Thursday, May 25Â
The Racial Justice group will hear from Dr. Susan McCarter, a speaker with Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and a professor at UNCC. We’ll explore compelling data that lays bare the effects of systemic racism and implicit bias. We’ll also discuss the current legislative push to “raise the age,” an effort to change NC law so that 16 and 17 year olds are no longer treated as adults in the criminal justice system. • 6-7:30 pm. • Avondale Presbyterian Church, 2821 Park Road, Charlotte, 28209
             Recent Actions   Â
- Tuesday, April 4
Health Committee
Approximately 25 women discussed the status of current legislation regarding women’s health (it appears that none of the “bad” bills made it out of NC committees!!). Alma, VP of NOW gave us a presentation of their efforts and we plan to collaborate with them. We are continuing to monitor the women’s health clinic on Latrobe Drive- it has been decided the street will not have “no parking signs” so this battle will continue. Linda provided an update on the single-payer, “Medicare for all” system and we will be studying this in more detail.
- Saturday, April 22
March for Science
CWM marched behind its banner and sponsored a voter registration booth. Mickie Hall, Jan Anderson, Heidi Preuss and Karen Knoble spoke regarding the importance of STEM subjects in their lives.
- Saturday, April 22, April 29 and May Sunday, May 7
Conducted voter registration events at the March for Science and Climate March and OpenStreets 704.Â
   
We posted on the Immigration section on our web page a notice about bills that are before the different houses that will impact immigration. Some will have more detrimental impact than others. If you can manage the time, please call and leave a message about one or all of these.Â
In addition, the ACA replacement bill is terrible, and we also need to keep on top of what is happening there. Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont sent the second email attachment out today asking for help on that issue. It affect all citizens including immigrants.
Numbers to Call:Â Â Â
US Senate
Richard Burr 202/224-3154
Thom Tillis 202/224-6342Â
NC Senate
Leader Phil Berger 919/733-5708
Dan Bishop 919/733-5655
Jeff Tarte 919/715-3050
Joel Ford 919/733-5955
NC House
Speaker Tim Moore 919/733-3451
Mary Belk 919/733-5607
Chaz Beasley 919/733-5654
Andy Dulin 919/715-3009
Becky Carney 919/733-5827
John Autry 919/715-070
All of this information is posted on our Facebook page in greater detail.
Keep us posted on what you have done: send your notices and photos toÂ
charlottewomensmarch@gmail.com
You can help rally the troops so we don’t ever forget:
this is NOT the new normal!
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