Detroit, Michigan — The Motor City, Motown, and the Road to Equality

The Driving the Vote for Equality Tour today came to downtown Detroit, a city that helped put America on wheels and gave the world its soundtrack. Known as the Motor City and the birthplace of Motown, Detroit is where innovation, determination, and creativity changed the nation. It is also home to one of the great but often overlooked chapters in women’s history.

Michigan has long been a leader in expanding women’s political participation. In 1918, Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Two years later, this state then became one of the first to ratify the 19th Amendment, helping secure voting rights for women across the United States.

Michigan again helped lead the nation forward for Constitutional equality in the 1970s thanks to the work of Michigan native Martha Griffiths, the congresswoman who refused to let the ERA languish in committee. Through determination, political skill, and persistence, Griffiths and New York Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm successfully forced the amendment onto the House floor, overcoming years of procedural obstacles.

Another Michigander, Gerald Ford, then serving as House Republican Minority Leader, helped build the bipartisan support to reach the two-thirds vote for passage. At a time when equal rights were not viewed through a partisan lens, Ford’s leadership helped unite Republicans and Democrats behind the principle that equality under the law should be guaranteed for all Americans. Together, Griffiths, Chisholm, and Ford demonstrated that advancing equality was not a Democratic cause or a Republican cause — it was an American cause. On May 22, 1972, Michigan became the seventh state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Tour received a truly warm welcome from the Detroit Historical Museum, with an outdoor event under that beautiful mural marking its “100 Years of Endurance and 100 Years of Inspiration.” For our event, the staff went into their collection to put on display an original suffragist costume — hat, dress, shoes, and sash — found in an attic and donated years ago by a local museum member.

Zonta International District 15 Governor Gail Johnson opened the event with a tribute to Martha Griffiths, noting that she was often called the “Mother of the Equal Rights Amendment.” Johnson read a quote from the London newspaper, the Guardian, describing Griffiths’s decade in Congress:

“The weapons she deployed during her 10-term congressional career included implacable determination, a lawyer’s grasp of procedural niceties, and a tongue like a blacksmith’s rasp.”

Next came a proclamation from Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, presented by Gloria Patterson, President of the Zonta Club of Metro Detroit. Patterson gave a warm welcome to the Tour and read the proclamation, which included recognizing the importance of continuing efforts that promote equality, civic engagement, and opportunities for women and girls. Thanks to the hard work of Gloria and her colleagues, Mayor Sheffield joined Mayors for ERA.

In receiving the proclamation, ERA NOW Treasurer Kathy Bonk added that there are seven women from Michigan currently serving in the United States Congress — six in the House and one in the Senate — placing the state among the top nationwide for female congressional representation. She gave a special shout-out to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who pledged her full support for helping to pass the Joint Resolution in Congress recognizing the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

Bonnie Odom-Brown made links from suffrage and the ERA to the attacks on voting rights today.

“We need to stand strong and work together to get the ERA over the finish line. Extremist threats on reproductive health care, employment rights, and voting rights calls for voters to demand that the protections of the ERA become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution by collecting one million signatures. Let’s get it done.” — Bonnie Odom-Brown

Jeryl Schriever, author of the book Driving the Vote for Women about the 1916 suffrage tour, reminded us that just a few miles from where we gathered, the original Saxon Motor Car Company built the automobile that became the Golden Flyer. More than a century ago, suffragists Nell Richardson and Alice Burke set out in a bright yellow 1914 Saxon roadster to carry the message of votes for women across America. Their journey covered more than 10,000 miles and helped build momentum for the movement that would ultimately win passage of the 19th Amendment.

Returning to Detroit with the Golden Flyer is, in many ways, bringing this remarkable story home. At every stop she ends with the same charge: if they could do the drive for the vote in a little car with no air conditioning, GPS, or cell phones — and help win the vote for women two years later — then we can do the same for the ERA. Get it done.

At this event, like all the others across the United States, our colleague and expert mechanic Peter Brown collected signatures for the national ERA petition, Sign4ERA. His enthusiasm is contagious, and many have noted it is great to have men working.

Later that evening, we were hosted by the Women’s Lawyers Association of Michigan for a special briefing on the status of the ERA and the Joint Resolution in Congress. President Kirsten Silwanowicz gave an overview on why the ERA is needed more than ever and explained the need for strict judicial scrutiny in cases of sex discrimination. Participants shared their stories of fighting economic discrimination, especially related to equal credit and the struggles for women starting small businesses. Over this past month, we have found these smaller group sessions especially helpful — both to those driving the Tour and the people who have joined us to show their support.

As we reflected on our stop in Detroit today — surrounded by the legacy of the automobile, the music of Motown, and the history of those who expanded American democracy — we are reminded that progress has always depended on ordinary people taking extraordinary journeys. Just as the suffragists drove the Golden Flyer across the nation to demand a voice in their democracy, we continue that journey today: collecting signatures, building support, and working to ensure that equality is finally and fully guaranteed in the Constitution for all Americans.