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Monmouth County Democratic Women’s Caucus

March 2014 E-Newsletter

Women—United We STAND Women—United We Stand

Women Making History—March Event The saying goes…. “When you want anything said, ask a man; Call to Action—STAND Up for H.R.951 if you want anything done, ask a woman.” This March we are celebrating Women Making History in NJ—those special women STAND with WOMEN Rally who made extraordinary contributions in art, science, public MCDWC Spotlight—Ann Baker service, sports, politics, and countless other professions on behalf of their nation and their sisters. We count our country Celebrating Women in American History stronger, more compassionate and forward thinking because Remembering “LA ZIA” by Joe Grillo of their inspiration, sacrifice and dedication to their causes. MCDWC Calendar In 2014 it was decided that the MCDWC would focus on what impacts every facet of our lives—the Economy! Therefore, we

/Monmouthdemswomen encourage you to step up to the plate by fulfilling the dreams of our exemplary models who opened doors so we may walk /MCDWC through them… the right to vote, to seek public office, to enter any profession of our choice, to enjoy sports, etc.

“Young women today often have very little appreciation for the The Women and Workforce Investment for Non-Traditional real battles that took place to get women where they are today Jobs Act (Women WIN Jobs) has been introduced in the in this country. I don't know how much history young women House and Senate multiple times since 2010. In March 2013, today know about those battles.” Sandra Day O’Connor Rep. Jared Polis(D) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro(D) re-introduced Upcoming Events H.R.951, a bill which would provide women with a pathway to non-traditional, higher-paying job fields. With total Republican Women’s History Month—March 24th opposition to bring it forward for a vote, this bill languishes in Watermark Restaurant, Asbury Park, NJ limbo. That is why we must allow our voices to be heard and

become the “new” women in American history who take a stand Community Organizing—TBA to make our country stronger for future generations to come.

Last year’s MCDWC event at the Watermark was a huge success. Please join us for another another great evening at the Watermark on March 24, 2014.

 C A L L T O A C T I O N  Dear Congressman Smith, March is Women’s History Month. This is our time to recognize and honor all of the women who made personal sacrifices and dedicated their lives to making our nation a better place to live. Now it is our turn to pitch in and help those who need assistance in getting better, higher-paying jobs—but we need your help!

H.R. 951— Women and Workforce Investment for Non-traditional Jobs or Women WIN Jobs, is a bill that would provide funding to eligible entities (partnerships) with approved state plans to increase low-income women’s participation in high-wage, high-demand occupations in which women make up less than 25% of the current workforce. This would include technical assis- tance, state-registered apprenticeship programs, and permanent employment openings in publicly assisted projects. Grant funds would be allocated to support recruitment, training, placement and retention of low-income women in non-traditional occupations.

This bill would impact women’s lives in countless ways that could only benefit all of our families, our economy and our country. That’s why we need your help! There are thirty-two Democratic co-sponsors of this bill but not one Republican has stepped up to the plate! Can you be that one person to help American women succeed? So many of us need a promise of better jobs and security to help raise our children.

As one of your constituents from Monmouth County, I trust that you will help us make Women’s History Month meaningful for all women in New Jersey & America. Thank you for your attention to this matter. (Please copy, paste and e-mail to: chrissmith.house.gov/contact/)

On February 1st, the “STAND with WOMEN” rally took place at Congressman Chris Smith’s Freehold office. As passersby waved and honked their approval, thirty-five men and women marched around Raintree Plaza to express opposition to H.R.7, an anti-choice bill authored by Smith, which passed the house in January. Using humor and wit to critique Congressman Smith’s “Love and Compassion” plan to end abortions, co-coordinator Angela Gandolfo noted that mortgage companies do not accept love and compassion payments and doctors are not able to infuse these virtues into I.V. drips. Gandolfo added that although practical solutions in the form of bills to increase economic stability and reduce violence against women would lessen the need for abortion, Congressman Smith chooses to vote down these common sense strategies time and again. Gandolfo is founder of the District 4 Coalition for Change (D4CC) and member of the Monmouth County Democratic Women’s Caucus. Other supporters included statewide pro-choice organizations including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NJ National Organization for Women (NOW), and Organizing for America (OFA). United We STAND For more information, go to: http://youtu.be/zMvbwYFLLaI

Ann Baker has been an active member of New Jersey Stonewall Democrats since 2006 and has served as the chair of the Membership Committee since early 2007 and the Vice MCDWC Spotlight President of Legislative and Political Affairs since 2008. In that capacity, she registered the NJSD Continuing Political Committee with the Election Law Enforcement Commission enabling the organization to make political endorsements of New Jersey pro-equality state, county, and local candidates. She has been involved in social and political action for more than 40 years and served as the lobbyist for the National Organization for Women of New Jersey for 6 years. Ann is currently the Democratic Municipal Chair in the Borough of Roosevelt, serves on the Monmouth County Democratic Committee, and has been appointed by the Monmouth County Freeholders to the county Environmental Council. She also serves as the Legislative Committee Chair of MCDWC. She and her partner, Carol Watchler of 37 years, have lived in Roosevelt for 31 years. An Ohioan by Ann Baker birth, she graduated from Youngstown University and did graduate work at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Celebrating Women in American History

From the 16th century to the present, American women have contributed significantly to American history. Although all of these women have been responsible for the advancement of our society, you may not recognize some of them. Match up the women with their accomplishments to find how they all contributed to the advancement of women in America.

A) At the Battle of Monmouth, brought water to soldiers and replaced her fallen husband at a gun.

B) Exerted political influence over her famous president husband & wrote about her life and times.

C) Supreme Court Justice and strong advocate for women’s rights and civil rights in general.

D) A “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, she led more than 300 slaves to freedom

E) NYC inventor who devised methods to reduce factory smoke emissions & el train track noise.

F) Susan B. Anthony Famous for gender role studies of Pacific Islands, Russia and the U.S.

G) Alice Paul Author famous for lucidly written books on ecological themes; critical examination of pesticides.

H) Molly Pitcher Founded Catholic Worker Movement, an outreach to disadvantaged and marginalized people.

I) Used her rare voice to advance race relations; alternate UN delegate; first black Met Opera star.

J) Flew across the Atlantic & Pacific oceans; disappeared while attempting to fly around the world.

K) Remembered for her independence and character, was re-elected to U.S. Senate four times.

L) Anne Sullivan As attorney and congresswoman, worked for progressive causes, especially women’s issues.

M) Mary Harris Sparked the modern civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus.

N) First woman physician in the U.S.; opened a slum infirmary and trained women in medicine.

O) Wrote a controversial anti-slavery story based on her experiences; spoke against slavery.

P) Tireless campaigner for gender equality, she inspired a nationwide suffrage movement.

Q) Overcame childhood obstacles to become famous teacher & lifelong companion to .

R) Head of Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Division; fought for minimum wage law.

S) Democratic Party activist, worked for racial equality and was U.S. Representative to the U.N.

T) Known as First Lady of Civil Rights, carried on the dreams of her husband.

U) As a preacher, campaigned nationwide for abolition of slavery and important women’s rights.

V) Labor organizer and speaker at many significant labor struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries.

W) A singular force as a crusader of women’s rights earned her an iconic place in U.S. sports history.

X) Mary Walton American media proprietor, award-winning talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist.

Y) Molly Dewson Woman suffragist who led a successful campaign resulting in the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Z) Pearl S. Buck Wrote on life in China; 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature; worked for adoption of unwanted children.

Z G, B, C, M, J, E, A, Y, L, F, K, V, I, P, S, D, T, R, O, N, X, W, U, Q, H, Answers: Freeholder Candidate Joe ‘Giuseppe’ Grillo remembers L A Z I A

It’s a special week. The greatest hero I’ve ever known came to America exactly 98  years ago this week. She was an empowered woman before those two words were ever put side-by-side. If you asked her, she would have said she was “self-empowered.” She was cut from a different cloth. Through her life story, she taught me that societal norms of men and women are never set in stone. And that, through resilience, tough- ness and work ethic, no one can predetermine your fate. She was ‘punk rock’ before Ferrandina, Italy

Cut to 1914 and the small town of Ferrandina in the deep south Basilicata region of Italy. This isn’t Rome or Florence. It ain’t sexy or romantic here. Ferrandina is essentially desert, broken up by smatterings of lush green olive groves. The land is hard, dry and unforgiving—an area so barren and untouched, famed director Sergio Leone would use this landscape to film his “spaghetti westerns” there 50 years later.

Maria grew up here, and like many young women at the time—engaged in an arranged marriage, presumably one that had more to do with farm land and dowry than love. But nonetheless, she fell in love with her promised spouse. The only problem was that he died while on a military excursion to Ethiopia, and Maria’s younger sister had married before her. In a tiny town like Ferrandina, that was a life sentence—single for life. People would whisper when she walked by. She was one rung above being a leper. She was called a ‘child spinster.’ Maria wouldn’t have it. She (literally) said, “Screw this town. I’m going to America.” In those times, leaving the comfort of family and familiarity for an alien land was beyond revolutionary...this was absurd. A single woman leaving to go to America…unchaperoned?? They said she was delusional. They said a lot of nastier things to her as well. But, she spit on the dusty ground of that town, flipped it the proverbial bird, and hopped on a horse to Naples where a ship awaited. Planting her newfound roots in Brooklyn, Maria toughed it out for decades on her own, working two jobs through two World Wars and the Great Depression. She was individually successful. She never married. When asked why not, she’d reply that her one love had died a long time ago. She never had kids. But if she had children, she’d declare, they’d be named Lightning and Thunder and they would “come out already as full grown men!” When her six nephews immigrated to in the 1950’s, she ruled with an iron fist. She kept those “hot- blooded” Italian boys in line with a 10:30pm curfew that, if broken, exacted a penalty of a locked door at home and having to sleep on the subway cars until morning. She once beat up a would-be mugger—when she was 75 years old. This was a tough, no-nonsense woman who drank a shot of Vermouth after dinner, smoked cigars, played the piano incessantly and lived to be 95 years old, outliving five of her doctors. I only knew my great-aunt Maria Grillo for the last 10 years of her life. We called her “La Zia” , translated ‘The Aunt’. Most of what I learned about her was posthumous. But, as a kid, she was only one thing to me - the old woman who would repeatedly say this: “Life is an anvil waiting to drop on you. Create your own fate and don’t worry about ‘other people’. They’re the ones holding the anvil.”

Published in the TriCity News on March 8, 2014, Asbury Park, NJ

2014 Year at a Glance

Monmouth County Democratic Women’s Caucus Upcoming Events Retha Onitiri Kathy Horgan

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL

January 10th & 11th February 1st March 24th April TBA

GamePlan Retreat STAND For WOMEN Rally Women’s History Month Community Organizing

Millstone Freehold Asbury Park

MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

September TBA

Women & Pocket Book Power