DFER National President Shavar Jeffries Statement Honoring Women’s History Month
Washington, DC –Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) National President Shavar Jeffries today released the following statement honoring Women’s History Month:
“The history of women is the history of the world. Women have led and anchored virtually every major development in the course of our history. Women’s history is too often underappreciated because too much history has been written by men, for men. Women’s History Month reminds us that there is no history without women, and that women have led our families, communities, businesses, governments, and societies in ways that are indelible and indispensable.
“Women’s History Month also should remind us of the ongoing ways in which sexism constrains the possibilities of women and thus the potential of our country. Women continue to be paid less for the same work; women continue to be denied proportionate access to the highest corridors of American society; women’s bodies are under constant attack because of gender-based violence; and our culture is saturated with images and norms that seek to reduce women to objects for visual consumption. And women of color are faced with the double-bind of racial and gender-based discrimination—too many men of color only want to engage on race; too many white women think of gender in ways that ignore racial intersectionalities.
“This month is a time to call out and name the myriad of women who have contributed historically and in our present time to improving our world. My grandmother Nancy A. Johnson raised me and my then-infant sister after we lost our mother to domestic violence, a scourge that takes the lives of hundreds of American women each year. While raising three daughters and two grandkids, she was a community leader and activist, advocating for the economic empowerment of people of color. As countless women before her, she led community-based activities for decades that led to the election of a series of political leaders, most of whom received credit and attention for activities that would not have been possible without her. Neither her family nor her community would have been the same without my grandmother’s leadership. She, like so many other women, is a hero. And like all women, she deserves recognition daily, not simply in March. This month and every month thereafter, let’s affirm and honor the women who have changed our world.”
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