Herland Sister Resources

Election night was a bitter-sweet celebration. We came together to witness the first black man who will become our president, yet watched in sadness as Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and California all voted down equal rights for all citizens.  In California, Proposition 8, which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry, passed by 52%.

Proposition 8’s passage left only Massachusetts and Connecticut as states where same-sex marriages are legal, though both Rhode Island and New York will continue to recognize such ceremonies performed elsewhere.

In Arizona, Prop 102 passed by 56% and amended the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.  Florida’s Prop 2 was a similar constitutional amendment and passed by 62%.

Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried Arkansas couples who are living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents, imposing a ban that the Legislature balked at adopting. More than 56% of voters supported the ban, said by its proponents to be aimed primarily at keeping gays from becoming foster or adoptive parents. The measure’s sponsor, the Arkansas Family Council, tried to paint its proposal as a battle against a “gay agenda.” The conservative group successfully pushed for an amendment banning same-sex marriage four years ago.

This is not a one time, four-state issue. It’s an issue of equality across America. Stand up and make your voice heard!

In an effort to make a positive impact in the lives of our community, our allies, and even our opposition, JoinTheImpact.com emerged. JoinTheImpact coordinates the national effort to promote LGBTQ equality and organized the recent rallies across the nation against California’s Prop 8.

Our movement seeks to encourage the LGBTQ community not to look towards the past and place blame, but instead to look forward toward what needs to be done now to achieve one goal: Full equality for ALL. We stand for reaching out across all communities. We do not stand for bigotry, for scapegoating, or using anger as our driving force. Our mission is to encourage our community to engage our opposition in a conversation about full equality and to do this with respect, dignity, and an attitude of outreach and education.

At JoinTheImpact, we are all inclusive. As such, we will continue to encourage debate from all sides of the conversation provided it is civil and respectful. We will encourage our community to not let anger steer the conversation, but with an understanding that anger is a human reaction and we hope that it can be used as a catalyst toward positive change.

An estimated 200 people attended the rally against Prop 8 in OKC on Saturday, Nov. 15, at City Hall, shown at right.
 

After 33 years in the Army, Ann E. Dunwoody ascended to the rank of four-star general, a first for U.S. military.

Dunwoody received her Army commission after graduation from the State University of New York in 1975.  Her first assignment was to Fort Sill, as supply platoon leader. She was sent to quartermaster officer school at Fort Lee, Va. In 1980.

After graduating from the Command and General Staff College in 1987, she was assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C., where she became the 82nd Airborne Division’s first female battalion commander.

She has numerous decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal and Defense Superior Service Medal.

There are 21 female general officers in the Army, and all but four at the rank of one-star brigadier.  The first one-star general of the Army was Anna Mae Hays, chief of the Army Nurse Corps, in 1970.

Jane M. Patten, of Norman, died November 12 at home following a short illness.  She began her career as a kindergarten teacher, and became one of the most influential women in Norman as the chairman of the board of Security National Bank.   She was a founding member of the Norman Public Schools Foundation, and served as a board member of the Okla. Department of Libraries.  With her friend Margaret Melton, she chaired the Norman Equal Rights Amendment Coalition and participated in local Democratic Party efforts.

For more information on this accomplished woman, go to www. normantranscript.com, November 14, 2008.

The Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma has begun a Women’s Studies Archive, reports Martha Skeeters, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, and Adjunct Assoc. Professor of History at OU.  Skeeters is recommending that anyone with papers on women’s studies, or related subjects, consider donating them to this collection.  Contact Barbara McClurkin, archivist, at her office in Monnet Hall on the North Oval, at 405-325-3641 or at barbmcclurkin @ou.edu, or Martha Skeeters at 405-325-3481, mskeeters @ou.edu.

The Norman Women’s Resource Center, Shelter and Rape Crisis Center are having their 22nd annual Stay-At-Home Benefit Dinner in December. This ingenious fund raiser lets you stay in your home and out of the cold, while feeling warm inside about your contribution to the lives of many women and children.

If you don’t mind the weather, love a sing-along, and still want that warm feeling, attend the 15th Annual Sullivan Family Concert on Monday, December 22 at 7:00 PM at the Sharp Concert Hall, Catlett Music Center, at the University of OK.  The concert is free and open to the public, with donations to WRC accepted. Concert Sponsors are still needed, and will be listed in the program.

The WRC is one of the oldest, continually operating women’s center/shelter in the U.S.  To find out more about their history and services call 364-9424 or go to wrcnorman.org.