by Ellie Kinnaird (former state senator and mayor of Carrboro)
Last year, I attended a program advocating for passage of the long-defunct Equal Rights Constitutional Amendment: “Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
Arising out of the passion of the women’s movement, many of us worked hard to persuade the General Assembly to pass the ERA. But the opposition, led by Sen. Sam Ervin – our famous Watergate hero – and Phyllis Schlafly was working just as hard. While we came within one vote, North Carolina’s conservatism just couldn’t be overcome, and its defeat was the nail in the coffin of the Amendment….Read Kinnaird’s entire guest column in the Chapel Hill News
