Equality matters. It always has.

In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was nearing the end of his first term as president, World War I was raging in Europe and dividing opinion across the United States, and Pancho Villa was terrorizing the southern border. The public was deeply divided on whether or not the U.S. should intervene in global conflicts, what role the government should play in business and banking, and how immigration and cultural identity would shape the nation’s future.

New forms of communication were accelerating the national conversation in ways people had never experienced before, too. News traveled faster, opinions formed and hardened quickly, and debates over free speech versus national security grew intense. Loyalty tests and public pressure campaigns emerged, and fears of espionage were widespread.

Global alliances were shifting. Power structures were changing. And women across much of the country were still fighting for something they did not have – the right to vote.

Sound familiar?

In the face of such turmoil, what could two women and a car, a Saxon Motor Car promoted as being “easy enough for a woman to drive,” a 10,700-mile road trip, a sewing machine, typewriter, fireless cooker, camera, literature, rain gear, car parts, tire chains, and a handful of maps hope to change?

Everything.

In 1916, two members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association – Alice Snitjer Burke and Nell Richardson—set out in a tiny Saxon Roadster on a bold mission: to drive across the country and back again, speaking in towns and cities along the way to build support for women’s right to vote. Their journey would take them more than 10,000 miles over rough roads and unfamiliar terrain, through communities where the idea of women voting was still fiercely debated.

Their road trip for “the cause” was not a publicity stunt; it was a moving campaign for equality. At every stop they spoke, wrote, distributed literature, and invited conversation. Their story is our roadmap, demonstrating the ways advocacy and collective action can create change. Progress has always been a hard-won reward, achieved by pushing against a status quo that doesn’t support equality and freedom.

Now, 110 years later, that journey is starting again. Only this time, they’re driving for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Sunday, March 1st, the Driving the Vote for Equality tour officially launched at the New York Historical, 170 Central Park West. Doors opened at 10:30 AM with the program beginning promptly at 11:00 AM. The Golden Flyer II — a beautifully restored 1914 Saxon motorcar — was on display outside the museum prior to its 1:00 PM departure, set to travel district to district, retracing the original drive across 25 states to secure a Pro-ERA Congress, prohibiting the denial of equal rights on the basis of sex,  and affirm the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment.

Dr. Nancy joined ERA Coalition, President and CEO Zakiya Thomas, Board Member and ERA NOW founder, Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and others to launch the tour. The Driving the Vote for Women’s Equality tour will raise awareness, activate supporters, mobilize voters, and collect petition signatures for the national ERA petition drive at Sign4ERA.org.

day, March 1st, the Driving the Vote for Equality tour officially launched at the New York Historical, 170 Central Park West. Doors opened at 10:30 AM with the program beginning promptly at 11:00 AM. The Golden Flyer II — a beautifully restored 1914 Saxon motorcar — was on display outside the museum prior to its 1:00 PM departure, set to travel district to district, retracing the original drive across 25 states to secure a Pro-ERA Congress, prohibiting the denial of equal rights on the basis of sex,  and affirming the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment.

Dr. Nancy joined ERA Coalition, President and CEO Zakiya Thomas, Board Member and ERA NOW founder, Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and others to launch the tour. The Driving the Vote for Women’s Equality tour will raise awareness, activate supporters, mobilize voters, and collect petition signatures for the national ERA petition drive at Sign4ERA.org.

James Barron with The New York Times pointed out how few women in Congress had more influence or leverage than Rep. Maloney during her 30 years in office. He quoted the Congresswoman as saying, “We are where the suffragists were in 1916 when they did the same drive. They decided in 1916 that the 19th Amendment was stalled, and they had to raise awareness. Now the ERA is stalled.”

Kim Villanueva, the president of the National Organization for Women, echoed Maloney’s statements about the importance of the amendment, saying that “women’s rights are under attack from the highest levels of our government. We need full constitutional protection before more rights are stripped away.”

This year’s tour is hoping to raise awareness, too. Follow along for the latest updates and watch history happen on the Driving the Vote website. Together, we can make constitutional protection a reality. Cast your vote at Sign4ERA.org today, and together, we’ll make history!