Redding: The Jewel of Northern California

Known as the Jewel of Northern California, it is a community that has long understood the relationship between place and purpose. And for the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour, it held a special distinction: this is where our story of national organizing began.

When Sign4ERA.org — the national ERA petition — was launched in 2023, the very first signatures came from Redding. Women’s Health Specialists, the city’s pioneering feminist reproductive health care facility, led the charge: all staff signed, then recruited patients and visitors, then reached out across the entire community. Before the Tour had crossed a single state line, Redding was already in the movement.

Women’s Health Specialists was founded more than 50 years ago, at a time when gynecology was male-dominated and patient education was nearly non-existent. Nationally, feminist health advocates — among them the late women’s health icon and visionary Carol Downer — were working to revolutionize reproductive care and put women first. Feminist Women’s Health Care Clinics opened throughout the country, pioneering entirely new models of care just as abortion became legal across the United States.

Today, Women’s Health Specialists continues that mission — empowering patients in Redding and beyond with cutting-edge reproductive and gender-affirming care, while helping their community become more politically engaged. Their early and enthusiastic embrace of Sign4ERA was not a coincidence. It was a continuation of fifty years of believing that women’s bodies, women’s rights, and women’s voices all belong to women.

At Riverfront Park, as the Golden Flyer II drew a crowd, the energy was unmistakable. Danielle Brewster — an original ERA Champion who has joined the Sign4ERA Wednesday Zooms since the beginning — was there, arms raised in joy, embodying everything this Tour is about: the belief that the fight for equality is not a burden to be endured, but a cause worth celebrating. We celebrated history and determination. We celebrated the people who refuse to give up. We celebrated our diversity and the belief that every generation has the responsibility to move the country closer to its ideals.

As the Golden Flyer II prepared to leave Redding for the long journey north to Oregon, something remarkable happened. The iconic Sundial Bridge — one of California’s most celebrated landmarks — lit up brilliant green in honor of the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour. The special tribute was arranged by our hosts, who understood that visibility is its own form of advocacy. A bridge glowing green over the Sacramento River, seen by an entire city, carries a message that no petition table or podium can quite replicate: this movement is here, it is growing, and it will not be ignored.

The green light served as a symbol of progress, of visibility, and of the ongoing movement for equal rights across generations — a reminder that local organizations and community leaders remain essential to advancing women’s health, equality, and civic participation throughout California and the nation.

Our deepest thanks go to Camerina Davidson, NOW State President, whose commitment to this Tour went far beyond a single stop. Camerina first met the Golden Flyer II in San Diego, then joined the Tour and traveled 700 miles — through seven California stops — planning, arranging, calling, and making certain that every moment in the state counted. Her dedication is the kind of organizing that doesn’t show up in headlines but makes everything else possible.

Thank you, Camerina. California was a success because of you. And the drive for the 2026 vote on the ERA continues — with you still behind the wheel.