Through the Fog and Into the Future In Henderson and in Raleigh

Early this morning the Saxon crew drove through a dense fog toward Henderson, North Carolina. It lifted, as fogs do, right on cue. And what it revealed when it cleared was one of the best mornings of the entire journey.

In 1916, Alice Burke and Nell Richardson were advised to take a longer route to Henderson to avoid steep hills and dangerous curves. They spent the night in Clarksville before pushing on. In 2026, the Golden Flyer II pulled into Henderson City Hall through the mist — and found school children already assembled in the parking lot, waving and clapping as the suffrage-yellow Saxon rolled into its assigned spot. The mayor's staff had saved a space for it. The mayor's parking spot.

Bus after bus unloaded. Three, four busloads of students — over a hundred young people — pinning on their Sign4ERA.org buttons, buzzing with energy, not quite sure yet what they were about to hear but entirely certain something worth hearing was coming.

Mayor Melissa Elliott took to the scene as if she were born to host a rally. She didn't deliver remarks so much as issue a call — to the students, to the community, to anyone within earshot. "Dignity, opportunity, and equality belong to every person," she told the crowd. "The Equal Rights Amendment is about ensuring that the promise of equality is not just an ideal we talk about but a protection guaranteed." Her call for the day: "justice, mercy, and the courage to move forward." The heads were nodding. They got it.

Kathy Bonk brought greetings from Carolyn Maloney and explained the importance of the Sign4ERA Petition campaign , a major initiative of ERA NOW as is Driving the Voge for Equality.

Jeryl Schriever told the story of Alice and Nell — the 10,700-mile journey, the snowstorms, the hecklers, the hunger to make democracy real — and you could see it land on the students the way a good story always does when it connects the past to something they can feel in their own lives.

Then Mayor Elliott introduced McKenzie Spellman — a student at Henderson Collegiate Public Charter School and, as it turned out, exactly the right person for exactly this moment. Spellman led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and then stopped. She looked out at her peers. And she asked:

The crowd went quiet. Then it went loud. By the end of her remarks, students were chanting "ERA NOW" and lining up to jump into the Golden Flyer II for photos. Teachers and parents stood on the edges with phones out, capturing everything.

Melody Peters, Henderson's Youth Librarian and a passionate advocate for educational access, civic literacy, and gender equity, added her voice to the morning — a reminder that the fight for the ERA lives not just in courtrooms and congressional chambers but in every library, classroom, and community space where young people are taught that their voices matter and their rights deserve protection.

Jeryl signed books for the library while Mayor Elliott, beaming, accepted Susan Nourse's offer of a ride in the Golden Flyer II right to the front door.

Jeryl put it plainly afterward: "I love speaking to the children. They are our future."

She's not wrong. Not even a little.

Alice and Nell had their own North Carolina complications. The hazardous roads between Clarksville and Henderson forced them onto a longer route, costing them precious time. They missed a large mass meeting held in their honor at Raleigh's State Capitol Senate Chamber — the waiting audience was addressed by Chief Justice Walter Clark while Alice and Nell were still on the road. They finally arrived in Raleigh on Friday, had luncheon at the Yarborough Hotel, and pushed on.

One hundred and ten years later, the Golden Flyer II made it to Raleigh on schedule. Progress.

The fog was long gone by the time the Golden Flyer II arrived at the Woman's Club of Raleigh, where ERA champions from across the state had gathered to mobilize around both North Carolina ERA ratification and the Sign4ERA campaign calling on Congress to recognize the ERA as the 28th Amendment.

Marla Barthen, co-president of the ERA-NC Alliance, set the tone with a line that captured the whole afternoon: "Equality for All Y'All — because it is for everyone."

North Carolina is not waiting for Congress to act before doing its homework. The ERA-NC Alliance is already working on three fronts simultaneously: pushing for North Carolina ratification of the federal ERA, advocating for adoption of a state ERA in the North Carolina constitution, and — most remarkably — preparing for implementation. Seventy attorneys, organized by the prominent international law firm Winston & Strawn have volunteered more than 800 hours combing through all 47,000 pages of North Carolina's statutes to identify every provision that will need revision once the ERA is recognized.

The room was full of seasoned organizers — decades of community action, packed into one space. As one speaker noted, the challenge was remembering who was doing what, because everyone in the room held a position somewhere. This was not a crowd that needed convincing. This was a crowd that needed coordinating — and they left ready to do exactly that.

Mayor Virginia Gray of Wendell, NC signed the Sign4ERA petition. Mayor Buddy Gupton of Garner, NC signed. Mayor Pro Tempore Stormie Forte of Raleigh signed — and spoke. "As we gather today, let's recognize the significance of the ERA and the importance of acknowledging the women in our lives and communities," she said, urging attendees to champion equity and amplify women's voices. She meant it. You could tell.

Perhaps the most galvanizing moment came from Terry Bradley Dunn — woman business owner, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and a force of nature. She grabbed a handful of pen-and-paper petitions, climbed into the Golden Flyer II for a selfie, and climbed back out with a pledge: 500 signatures. Someone asked her why the ERA matters to her personally. She didn't hesitate.

Five hundred signatures. Coming right up.

Henderson gave us the future — young, loud, chanting, and ready. Raleigh gave us the engine — organized, experienced, and already moving. Between the two, North Carolina made clear that this campaign is not talking to the converted. It is activating them.

The road south continues. The fog has lifted.