Signing of "A Declaration of Sentiments for the 21st Century", June 17, 1998 , by Rebecca Good

From MemoryArchive

Who: Rebecca Good
What: A Declaration of Sentiments for the 21st Century
When: June 17, 1998
Where: Aurora, New York

On June 17, 1998 I singed "A Declaration of Sentiments for the 21st Century" at Aurora, New York. This document was drafted at the Seneca Falls Seminar co-sponsored by Wells College and the Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN, a consortium of women's colleges). The first "Declaration of Sentiments" was signed in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Conference by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and 67 seven other women and 32 men. The Declaration signed by Staton demanded equal rights for women and was a key document in the early women's movement in the U.S. The Declaration for the 21st Century built off of the first Declaration and addressed the unique role of women in the 21st Century. It also demanded for the original Declaration to be fulfilled in whole.

Part of the introduction to the Declaration of Sentiments for the 21st Century reads:

We will no longer accept the role of second-class citizen that has been perpetuated by the prejudice of the social, legal, and institutional sexism inherentin our society.

In 1848, in Seneca Falls, N.Y., a group of brave, radical women came together to demand reform in the treatment of women by writing a Declaration of Sentiments. During this meeting, a document was crafted that set forth their expectations for the future of humankind. Many of their sentiments have not yet been met.

We have come together to demand a world where women and girls can stand proudbly, walk the paths they have chosen for themselves, and take up the torches lit by our foremothers 150 years ago.

Later, the introduction ends with the statement, "we seek direct action so that all women will be ensured the rights they have been denied throughout history."