Thursday, April 9, 2020

MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND THE 2021 Equali-TEA Event

Now that the cancellation of this year’s Equali-TEA has been decided, we turn our thoughts to next year’s event.

We are fortunate that MTSU First Lady Elizabeth McPhee and Discovery Center CEO Tara McDougall have agreed to continue as Honorary Co-Chairs for the 2021 event. We look forward to celebrating our Tempest Award honoree, Dr. Carmelita L. Dotson and recognizing our scholarship recipients, Chanell Haley (Butler-Fouts Memorial Graduate Scholarship) and Joy Conklin (Ruth M. Houston Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship).

This brief delay to come together and support equality for women and girls in our community will give the event a sense of triumph and once again show the resilience of women who live up to the phrase, “And still they persisted.” Don’t forget where you stored the hat so you are ready to attend the 2021 Equali-TEA.

We invite you to make a donation to the Middle Tennessee Fund for Women and Girls to help fund our scholarships and programs for the next year. You can make a donation at our Square site by clicking the button below.

Meet the scholarship recipients

Joy Conklin is our Ruth Houston Undergraduate Scholarship recipient. Joy is a non-traditional student majoring in Psychology. She plans to pursue a graduate program in her field after receiving her degree. Joy has a passion for helping others and wants to not only assist future clients heal trauma but also nurture their ability to lead a fulfilling life. She serves as a tutor on campus and is deeply involved in the community. She is preparing to intern at a marriage and family counseling office after graduation. In addition to all her work, she is also a mother of four and primary caregiver to her mother.

Chanell Haley is our Butler-Fouts Graduate recipient. She is a doctoral student in the Human Performance program specializing in health, and is particularly interested in addressing the health disparities in maternal and infant health for minorities. Chanell wants to be an advocate for women of color and bring awareness to obstacles that these women face in healthcare. Her career goal after obtaining her PhD is to work for a government health agency such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or the Office of Minority Health.

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While you are isolating at home, why not do something productive that could possibly help you in your career and improve your economic security? Go to aauw.org and take the FREE on-line Work Smart training.

Take Online Course Now

Call to Action: Eliminate the Salary History Question

Although the world has temporarily slowed down, we cannot.

With the legislature on hold, we have an unprecedented opportunity to flood the committee members’ mailboxes with support for AAUW-TN’s Eliminate the Salary History question bill (HB 2545). HB 2545/SB 2641 calls for the elimination of salary history questions from job applications. Questions concerning salary history routinely keep women in lower-paying positions than what their skills and the current market rate indicate.

We can’t do this without your support and willingness to take Action.

Call or email your legislators and let them know you support HB 2545 for the economic security of women in Tennessee. Clicking the email address will provide you with a template email that you can send as-is or edit as you see fit.

Learn more

We are pleased to announce that Brianna Guydon, our 2020 recipient to attend the AAUW National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, has agreed to attend the 2021 NCCWSL in Maryland. Brianna is an MTSU student and currently the Office of Violence against Women (OVW) Grant Assistant in the MTSU June Anderson Center. She has also worked on the Power of One student committee which is a group on campus to address gender-based violence and promotes bystander intervention.

We look forward to supporting Michelle when Rutherford Cable reschedules the 2020 Athena Award. She is truly a leader in our community as well as our current Communications Officer. We will let you know when the event will be rescheduled so those of you who wish to attend the award ceremony can make your reservation.

More stuff to know about ...

A virtual branch business meeting will be held 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, May 7. We will send an agenda to our members a week before the meeting.

May 7

July 16

AAUW Cocktails and Conversation Social will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 16 (location TBD). This will be our end of the year celebration, and we hope this will be a face-to-face event. We urge all our members to attend and bring at least two friends with them as we add to our membership those who want to join in advocating for women and girls in our community.

In sweltering Nashville in 1920, the divided Tennessee General assembly debates the amendment that would give women the right to vote. Emotions run high. Suffragist leaders in town for a rally include Sue Shelton White of Jackson and Nashville's own Anne Dallas Dudley. Suffragists distribute yellow roses to supporters; anti-suffragists hand out red roses. Local African American suffragist J. Frankie Pierce is eager to speak. So begins Tennessee Women for the Vote, a one-act play to be staged at 3 p.m. July 26 in the Washington Theatre, Patterson Park.

The play is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, written by B. Ayne Cantrell, Professor Emerita, MTSU, and directed by Tom Harris, founder of the Murfreesboro Ensemble Theatre. The presentation will be free and open to the public.

July 26

Aug. 4

Advance Rutherford, a consortium of organizations serving women and girls in Rutherford County, will be hosting a reception/book club event from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, location TBD. Advance Rutherford asks that all organizations in the consortium read the book The Women’s Hour to discuss at the event. AAUW members are encouraged to purchase the book and attend the event which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote.

AAUW National News

AAUW national unveiled a new website that is the result of many months of hard work and close collaboration with design experts, staff at all levels and many of you.
It is intended to get you the information you need quickly — whether that’s the latest statistics on the gender pay gap or advice on how to stay connected with your community through the coronavirus crisis. I hope you will take some time to look around and peruse the striking images, at-a-glance stats and inspiring stories about the world-changing women AAUW supports. Visit it at aauw.org.

In principle and in practice, AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership and leadership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin or disability.

Copyright © 2020 AAUW Murfreesboro. All rights reserved.

PO Box 330323 | Murfreesboro, TN 37133

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