Photo: Nina Zacuto
Seguin, Texas — Democracy Built Locally, Equality Built Together
In 1838, the town of Seguin, Texas, was founded at the crossroads of cultures — Tejano leaders, immigrant settlers, and frontier communities all shaping what would become one of the oldest cities in the state. Nearly two centuries later, Seguin still tells a powerful American story: one of promise, perseverance, and unfinished work.
Today, that unfinished work is equality under the law.
As the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour travels through Texas, we stop in communities like Seguin not by accident, but by design. Places like this remind us that democracy has always been built locally — on town squares, in public parks, and through conversations among neighbors. And they remind us that while our nation has expanded rights over time, it has never fully delivered on its promise of equality for all.
Susan Monahan, Zonta Club of Seguin and the organizer who made the Seguin stop happen, takes her turn in the Golden Flyer II — the woman who connected the mayor, the bookstore, and a dozen antique cars, all in the name of the ERA. Photo: Nina Zacuto
The Equal Rights Amendment was designed to do something simple and profound: guarantee that rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. More than a century after it was introduced, that guarantee is still not explicitly written into the Constitution.
America’s Story: one of promise, perseverance, and unfinished work.
It matters in paychecks and pensions, in courtrooms and classrooms, in questions of safety, autonomy, and opportunity. While laws have evolved, they remain vulnerable — subject to shifting political winds and uneven protections across states. Constitutional equality provides a permanent foundation, ensuring that gender-based discrimination has no place in American law.
These are the messages of the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour, and when asked to help move ERA forward, people respond.
Tess Coody-Anders, owner of Pecantown Books & Brew and the woman who built a bookstore around "productive collision," takes her turn in the Golden Flyer II — proof that when books, community, and a century-old Saxon roadster collide, good things happen. Photo: Nina Zacuto
Seguin offered us a fitting place to reflect on the need for the ERA on a beautiful, breezy Sunday that began with an exciting visit at Pecantown Books & Brew. Our host, owner Tess Coody-Anders, provided a venue with a constant flow of people signing petitions, hearing about the 1916 suffrage tour and learning what they could do to help the ERA. It's a bookstore with a mission: "To provide productive collision," as Tess explained, with visitors colliding with new ideas, new people, new books, new tastes for building stronger community and stronger relationships. Tess added that "COVID started all this as a way for people to reconnect… books and food are a great way to bring people together."
Jeryl Schriever stops a concrete contractor in his tracks at Pecantown Books & Brew — he came for a look at the car, stayed for the story of Alice and Nell, bought both books, signed the petition, and talked about his wife and daughter. That's the Golden Flyer II effect: you don't walk past it without joining the cause. Photo: Nina Zacuto
What turned into hundreds of people over the morning — parents with infants, toddlers and children alongside teenagers, 30-somethings, middle-aged and seniors — they all came to enjoy a unique Sunday brunch, meet author Jeryl Schriever and hear about her book, Driving the Vote for Women: An American Journey for Suffrage, and experience the Golden Flyer II — taking selfies and posing for photos. Learning more about the ERA was their bonus. As usual, our wonderful team member Peter Brown had a clipboard in hand ready for more signatures on Sign4ERA.org.
Equality has always been driven by ordinary people willing to take extraordinary action.
The Driving the Vote for Equality Tour is about more than telling suffrage stories and retracing history. It is about completing it and finding people who want to help. Traveling in a restored Saxon motorcar, we are connecting past and present, reminding Americans that the road to equality has always been driven by ordinary people willing to take extraordinary action.
Peter Brown works the crowd at Pecantown Books & Brew, clipboard in hand — because even the master mechanic who keeps the Golden Flyer II running knows that signatures are what keep the ERA moving. Photo: Susan Nourse
In Seguin, that action might look like signing a petition, attending a local book author event, or simply starting a conversation about what equality means today. Small acts, taken together, have always fueled the biggest changes. And that change was felt throughout the visit to Seguin.
Zonta chapters across Texas coordinated our visits with Susan Monahan as the lead in Seguin. She artfully connected us with Mayor Donna Dodgen, bookstore owner Tess and Laurie Deatherage, who is a 35-year member of the T Fords of Texas.
A dozen antique cars from around Texas fall in line behind the Golden Flyer II for a cruise through downtown Seguin — Susan Nourse and Laurie Deatherage, former president and 35-year member of T Fords of Texas, leading the procession in the Saxon. Waves, honks, and a crowd gathering to find out why the cars came to town. Photo: Nina Zacuto
Laurie organized a dozen antique cars to travel together 30 miles to meet and greet our Golden Flyer II. The procession around the city made quite a stir with waves and honks — and people coming to the park to see the cars and hear more about why they came to town.
The next day, Mayor Donna — herself a Zonta member who had welcomed us at the bookstore the day before — was honored by ERA NOW as part of Mayors for ERA for being a Champion for Equality.
She in turn presented us with a beautifully written resolution for Women's History Month, recognizing Jeryl, the Driving the Vote for Equality Tour and most importantly noting that "women across generations have continued to advocate for equal rights and opportunities, including the continued effort to secure recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."
Mayor Donna Dodgen — Zonta member, ERA champion, and the kind of local leader this tour was built to find — receives ERA NOW's Mayors for ERA Champion for Equality honor, then turns around and presents the tour with a beautifully written Women's History Month resolution recognizing that "women across generations have continued to advocate for equal rights and opportunities, including the continued effort to secure recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution." Seguin showed up. Photo: Nina Zacuto
As we quickly approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, the story of America is not finished. Neither is the story of equality.
Mauryssa Ripley shares her experience integrating DEI programming in the corporate world while her sister Adriana Valadez signs the Sign4ERA.org petition — and both volunteered on the spot to help organize ERA supporters in their area. That's how a movement grows: one conversation, one signature, one sister at a time. Photo: Nina Zacuto
From Seguin to Seneca Falls, from Texas to Washington, the path forward is clear: we must finally enshrine equality in the Constitution — not just as an ideal, but as a guarantee.
The question is not whether we believe in equality. The question is whether we have the courage and determination to secure it.
The answer must be yes as we continue driving our vote forward for equality.
Follow the Journey
Watch history happen. The Golden Flyer II is rolling — New York to the Pacific and back. Track every stop as we drive the ERA fight across 25 states. Real stops. Real people. Real pressure.
