2005 NOW Conference an Event to Remember: Gandy Re-Elected, O'Connor Resigns

By Lisa Bennett, Communications Director

July 14, 2005

It wasn't yet the fourth of July, but NOW's 2005 National Conference started off with fireworks thanks to the news of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation from the Supreme Court.

This was a conference that had plenty of excitement already built-in, with NOW members voting for the organization's national leaders, as we do every four years. After impassioned speeches from two slates of candidates, delegates from across the country re-elected Kim Gandy to a second term as NOW president.

Joining Gandy as NOW's national officers are Olga Vives, who is moving to Executive Vice President from Action Vice President; Melody Drnach, taking over as Action Vice President; and Latifa Lyles, serving as Membership Vice President.

"Together, we will continue moving forward in this crucial time as women's rights are at stake," Gandy said.

O'Connor Gets a Rise Out of Attendees

It was Gandy who broke the news of O'Connor's retirement to attendees at the opening Friday morning plenary — a typically dry session devoted to adopting the agenda and passing the conference rules. After the gasps subsided and shock turned to resolve, everyone knew what was called for — a very public comment to President Bush and the U.S. Senate that women "will not go back."

A press conference was held at the conference hotel less than two hours after the announcement. Conference participants crowded the ballroom with hastily-made signs, sharing the room with TV cameras, reporters and photographers from just about every media outlet imaginable. The crowd was fired-up and loud, the emotion in the room palpable.

"NOW will lead the fight to ensure that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is not replaced with a right-wing extremist judge," Gandy said. "Women are counting on NOW to stand up for their fundamental freedoms and we are determined to succeed in that fight."

Other prominent women's rights advocates who spoke at the press conference included Feminist Majority founder and President Eleanor Smeal and former Ambassador and U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun.

The next day, nearly a thousand conference attendees and local participants marched in downtown Nashville to the steps of the State Capitol for a rally to "Save the Supreme Court, Save Women's Lives." Again, NOW's immediate and fervent response made news nationwide.

Time to Tackle the Issues

Before the O'Connor resignation, NOW had a full agenda planned for the weekend and not a single session or speaker was shortchanged, despite the extraordinary turn of events.

Thursday night, before the conference officially started, NOW sponsored a forum on Social Security that included a lively question and answer session with NOW leaders Gandy and Vives and special guests Hon. Barbara Kennelly, former Congress member and current president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and Mary Liz Knish, Tennessee AARP's communications director.

Workshops, which focused on skills-building, strategizing and developing action plans, addressed issues such as: women's health, emergency contraception, organizing young feminists, attacks on Title IX equal educational opportunities for women, the experiences of immigrant women, global organizing, sex trafficking, women and disability rights, equal marriage rights, economic justice, the "war on drugs," consumer feminism, ending violence against women, corporate responsibility, family law, white privilege and much more.

NOW also held our sixth annual Political Institute at the conference -- a series of workshops designed to prepare activists to run for office and to provide trained organizers to work in election campaigns.

Unforgettable Speakers and Honorees

A line-up of inspiring speakers guaranteed that the 2005 conference would be one to remember. Nashvillian Candace Corrigan opened each plenary session with songs about our movement that were both beautiful and moving, ensuring that everyone was in their seats on time, and she was joined in several sessions by powerful New York singer-songwriter Sandy Rapp!

The Friday afternoon plenary was devoted to NOW's commitment to ending racism and the report on recommendations that came out of NOW Foundation's Women of Color and Allies (WOCA) Summit in April. The plenary featured Diana Castaneda, chair of the WOCA planning committee; Mandy Carter, founder/executive director of Southerners on New Ground; and Loretta Ross, national coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective.

Attendees at the Friday night session were moved by a fabulous speech from author Sara Paretsky, known for her V.I. Warshawski mystery novels and her commitment to women's rights. Paretsky was joined by three amazing honorees who received Woman of Courage Awards that night: Tillie Black Bear, a founder of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and executive director of the South Dakota-based Buffalo Calf Women Society, the first shelter in the U.S. for women of color; Katie Hnida, the first woman ever to score in a NCAA Division I football game and a survivor of sexual harassment on the field and rape by a teammate; and Sybil Niden Goldrich, a breast cancer survivor whose long ordeal with hazardous silicone-gel breast implants turned her into a full-time advocate for women's health.

The Saturday afternoon plenary was so compelling that C-SPAN covered the session. Gandy gave a stirring keynote speech that had the crowd on their feet and ready to take on the serious challenges ahead.

A surprise Woman of Vision Award was presented to an elated Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers and one the century's most powerful and respected labor movement leaders. Huerta was the third recipient of the award, joining the late Hon. Patsy Takemoto Mink and Eleanor Smeal.

Accepting the weekend's final Woman of Courage Award was Kakenya Ntaiya, whose journey has been truly remarkable. Growing up in an African region where young women leave school at an early age, Ntaiya made a deal with her father. In exchange for being permitted to attend high school, she underwent genital mutilation. He kept the bargain, and Kakenya became the first woman ever to leave her village and attend college in the U.S. Ntaiya's mission is to return to Kenya and start a boarding school for girls, a maternity clinic and more. She urged the conferees to press ahead strongly to protect our rights and our advances: "If you go backwards, you will step on us — because we are coming right behind you."

Saturday's other high-profile speakers were: Martha Burk, chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations and author of "Cult of Power," taking on the ole' boys club that keeps women "in their place" and places like the Augusta National Golf Club closed to women; and local favorite Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey, the first Tennessee woman appointed to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and previously a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Full bios of all the speakers are available online.

With so many crucial issues at hand, participants needed a way to blow off some steam at the end of the day. Some of Music City's most exciting performers played into the wee hours both Friday and Saturday nights. On hand to entertain were: Mary-Ann Brandon, Jazzmyn, Jenny Madison, Jonell Mosser, Wall of Jules, and Fowler, Mosher, Tackett & Stamps.

Back to Business on Sunday

Sunday's sessions were dedicated to voting on resolutions that will guide NOW's agenda for the next year. These resolutions address many of the key issues discussed throughout the weekend, including the Supreme Court, the war in Iraq, the Morning-After pill, the Patriot Act and sexual assault in the military. Members also approved a resolution calling for regional WOCA summits in 2006 and 2007. The full text of these resolutions is available on the NOW web site.

Finally, with an invigorating election season over and Gandy's team ready to take the helm, conference- goers paused to thank NOW's two outgoing national officers for their longstanding commitment to the organization and women's rights. Executive Vice President Karen Johnson and Membership Vice President Terry O'Neill may be leaving NOW's national action center, but their hard work and the inspiration they imparted will long be remembered.