UUSD to host Women’s Equality Day workshop Aug. 26

The Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware will host a workshop honoring Women’s Equality Day from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 26, at 30486 Lewes Georgetown Highway, Lewes.

(Re)Claiming Reproductive Justice: Anger to Action is an in-person, admission-free event. Registration is required and open to the public. Feminist activist and author Nancy Rosenstock will be the keynote speaker. 

Human rights are granted and rescinded through the passage of laws and court rulings, but always as the result of struggle. Women’s Equality Day is celebrated Aug. 26 each year to honor women in the United States being granted the right to vote in 1920 after a struggle lasting more than 60 years.

In June 2022, Roe v. Wade (1973) was overturned by the Supreme Court in its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. In one decision, 50 years of rights were rolled back.

The workshop will focus on what can be done by people working together, guided by lessons from the past, and what is working now to restore lost rights and assist those who are at risk. Women, trans and nonbinary people, and allies are warmly invited to share this important afternoon of learning and planning strategies together that will move all beyond anger and toward justice. This is an action planning event to create change, and fight for reproductive justice and abortion rights.

Rosenstock has been in the fight for human rights for more than 50 years, and she is a leading expert on how to create change as allies and collaborators. She is the author of “Inside the Second Wave of Feminism: Boston Female Liberation 1968-1972, An Account by Participants.”

Rosenstock has actively been involved in numerous social protest movements – fighting for immigrants’ and women’s rights, against racism and police brutality, and in anti-war movements. Today, she is a member of Chicago for Abortion Rights. There will be a book signing at the end of the event.

The laws in Delaware still protect reproductive rights, but disparities in access are widening, as 20 states have either limited or banned abortions outright. It is estimated that the number will grow in the coming year based on bills pending in state legislatures. Those restrictions represent millions of women who have lost legal control over their reproduction and whose health is at risk. The adverse effects on women of color and trans communities have increased exponentially. Action is needed now to reverse this trajectory for all affected by this loss of rights.

For more information, contact Joanne Saltzberg at j.saltzberg@uussd.org There is no fee for this workshop, but registration is required at eventbrite.com.