The Winds of Change

Another glorious day in Downtown Denver brought a plethora of special activities and programs in celebration of both the 2008 Convention and the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage. Would that there had been time enough to attend them all. The day started early with the Women's Caucus in the Four Seasons Ballroom at the Convention Center, followed by a moving Sufragettes' March to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment in Tennessee. The months leading up to that historical moment have been called "The War of the Roses", because those who were against giving women the right to vote wore red roses and those who supported it wore yellow. The vote was carried by a surprise shift of the voter upon whom the result would depend: a young man of 24 who had worn the red rose of resistance to women's suffrage received a letter from his mother the morning of the vote, in which she admonished him to "be a good boy and do the right thing." That afternoon, he placed the deciding vote for women's suffrage, saying, "I have always found it wise to listen to one's mother."

Today's march, with a large contingent of women wearing white dresses and suffrage banners, was a moving reminder of the hard fought, years long battle [1848 - 1920] for women's right to vote. The coup de grace was a luncheon on a large, multileveled piazza, where Hillary spoke as Chelsea stood by, and men and women of all ages shared the incredible good fortune of sharing the commemmoration of women's voting rights with Hillary RodhamClinton, the first woman to run for the presidency of the United States.

The day ended with an inspiring reception hosted by the incredible Heidi Li Feldman of The Denver Group, and author of Heidi Li's Potpourri blog, at which we shared our thoughts on our plans going forward with respect to our continued initiatives of media and political reform. Heidi, like Hillary, is another of our most inspiring leaders in the fight for fair, equitable and lawful election procedures.

At the end of the day, many returned from the day's mardching to gather at the PUMA den to watch Hillary's speech. Tears flowed as we watched Bill watching Hillary as she spoke, and recommitted ourselves to our shared ideals of PUMA unity in our work ahead.

As the winds of change continue to blow across civilization's timeline, bringing women's right to vote and the civil rights act, so they continue to blow life into the new movement for political and media reform.