Dear NOW Activist:

Welcome to the 1997 National NOW Conference!

As we meet here this 4th of July weekend, women are more independent, we have more freedom and more control over our own lives than when NOW held our first national conference some 30 years ago.

Just as women are more empowered, NOW has become stronger as a force for equality and justice. NOW's national conference is the largest annual gathering of feminist activists in the country. And it is here that we will shape our responses to the many challenges facing us as we head into the next millenium.

Lt. Kelly Flinn. Aberdeen. Late-term abortion. A national dialogue on race. Paula Jones. Same-sex marriage. The Promise Keepers. These are just a few of the headline issues that we will take on this weekend.

As we confront the risk that everything we have won could be lost indeed the likelihood that it will be unless we continue to build a strong movement that demands progress, we will take inspiration from our 1997 NOW Women of Courage:

Patty Wallace and Sandy Sanders who put themselves and their families on the line in rural Dyersburg, Tennessee by standing up to David Lanier, then a powerful local judge who sexually harassed, assaulted and terrorized women;

Pam Martens, Judy Mione challenging sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, glass ceilings and other discrimination at the investment firm Smith Barney; and the scores of women risking their livelihoods and reputations to charge global giant Mitsubishi with pervasive harassment and intimidation at their manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois.

We will take hope from Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and Representative Cynthia McKinney who stand strong on our issues in a hostile Congress. And we will rededicate ourselves to sending them reinforcements like Wisconsin legislator Tammy Baldwin in the 1998 elections!

We will fuel our spirits as we listen and dance to the Beale Street Blues of Joyce Cobb and Ruby Wilson; remember and honor Ida B. Wells, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Memphis' role in the civil rights and abolitionist movements; share our visions for the future; and establish lasting bonds, both personal and political, which will strengthen our commitment and our work.

Yours for a Feminist Future,

Patricia Ireland,

President