~ reprinted from the NYS League of Women Voters
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The 2024 LWVSC Fierce Feminist Award was presented this year to Linda Salzer by the 2023 award recipient, Patricia Nugent. The presentation was part of the ”Continuing Susan’s Fight for Equality” event and visit to Susan B. Anthony’s childhood home in Battenville, Washington County, NY, on Women’s Equality Day, August 26, 2024.
Last year, at our League’s Famous Person Fundraiser, Barb Thomas presented an unofficial award that she made up! As she described the recipient, including the term Fierce Feminist, I sat curiously listening, thinking, “Gee, I’d like to know the person she’s describing.” I didn’t realize it was me! She gave me an ERA pin that she’d had for close to 50 years. It means so much to me because I admire Barb so much. She was our original Fierce Feminist!
The award was intended to be a one-off, but I appealed to the LWV board to make it an annual recognition: The Fierce Feminist Award so now it will be presented every year – on Women’s (In)equality Day, August 26. (I told Barb I wouldn’t say Inequality Day today to ruin the celebration but a Fierce Feminist just HAS to!)
The rules are that 1) the past recipient chooses the next recipient 2) the prize is something they themselves own that represents their feminist journey.
It was no easy task to choose this year’s Fierce Feminist. I’ve had the privilege of working with 12 people on the Alice Brigade and every one of them qualifies. But I remembered Linda’s words to me when she first joined the Alice Brigade: “This is no time to be timid!” It became a rallying cry and has guided many decisions we made in this campaign to help women realize they are oppressed. One presentation she did for us was titled, “Bitches and Witches,” tracing the history of demeaning terms for women. (e.g. “Son of a bitch”). Linda continues to challenge me to call out conditions and what must be done.
She has co-chaired our Communication Team with Kim Harvish and pushed the envelope on our message. Our Women’s Rights Awareness Campaign Facebook page has 125 followers from all over the country and abroad. It prompted a foreign correspondent to call our League for an interview about a reproductive rights ruling in Alabama.
Linda has blogged about reproductive rights as well as other inequities for the LWV’s website. She has risen to every delegated challenge, although probably wishes she hadn’t at times. If she doesn’t know how to approach a task, she independently researches it. I threw some complex projects her way, and she figured them out in a timely way – even if it meant resorting to AI! Like converting a dense legal essay into a Q&A interview. Like recruiting people to leaflet for the ERA outside a theater at 9:30 for four weekend nights!
She lives here in Washington County and has extended the League’s reach here through organizing candidate events and ERA tabling. Linda is in her 25th year as an engineer as encouraged by her dad – her grandmother had switched careers from nursing to construction manager supervising all-male crews! And the feminist strain in her family continues as she takes her daughter with her on crusades. Linda has taken her daughter to marches in Washington. But perhaps the bravest thing she’s ever done is join Toastmasters to get over her fear of public speaking. She was terrified but did it anyway. It took her ten years to attend a meeting, but won awards once she did. Her story is one of slowly finding her voice and helping others find theirs.
Like so many of us here, Linda Salzer is a Fierce Feminist and I’m proud to share this honor with her. And may I remind you, in her words, “This is no time to be timid.” Congratulations, Linda!
Thank you, Pat, for your nomination and kind words. I am truly honored to be recognized as a Fierce Feminist by you and the League of Women Voters. When I first heard the news, I wondered, “Did Pat have the right person?” But here I am, deeply flattered and grateful for this award.
Some of us are born fierce, but many, including myself, have had to learn it. We started by faking it, and over time, that fierceness became an integral part of who we are. I suspect many of you have had a similar journey.
We are living through a challenging time in history, one that tests our resolve like never before. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and afraid. But now is not the time to be passive. The best way to combat fear is through action.
When we join forces, we discover that we don’t have to carry the weight of the world alone. Let’s lift up those around us and invite them to join in our efforts. Being fierce means standing up when no one else will, harnessing our anger to fuel our determination, and walking the difficult path even when it’s tough.
Time is short, and we must use our voices and speak up.
Every day, we have the opportunity to be fierce.
In the words of Kyra O’Connor:
“A fierce woman is fierce in belief, in joy, in compassion, in commitment, in intelligence, in wit, and in community. She’s capable not only of finding her own way but of creating a path for others; she doesn’t just break down doors, she tears down walls.”
Of course, tearing down walls isn’t only a women’s job. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” A fierce feminist knows that equal rights and opportunities must be extended to all genders. We rise together or not at all.
Let’s all be fierce together. Thank you.
Letter to the editor published in the Daily Gazette on Women’s Equality Day, August 26. 2024:
A reminder from the LWV: Women are no longer property
The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920, the year (most) women got the right to vote with the hard-fought passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We soon realized that voting was not enough to ensure equality and, in 1923, pivoted to campaigning for an Equal Rights Amendment. It’s bad enough that the ERA – guaranteeing women’s rights under the U.S. Constitution – has not been codified over the last century but . . . now, there are those who would strip women – and other oppressed groups – of what rights they do have.
Women across this nation should be alarmed. For themselves, their daughters, and granddaughters. For their country. SCOTUS already reversed decades of Roe v. Wade protecting the right to abortion. Now the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, has produced a 920-page step-by-step playbook, titled Project 2025, for enacting draconian measures such as these:
Eradicate reproductive rights, including abortion and contraception, no exceptions
Correlate women’s voting rights with motherhood and socially shame childless women
Dismantle the Department of Education, along with Title VII and Title IX
Ban mention of “critical race theory” and “gender ideology” from schools
Eliminate labor protections (including unions and child labor restrictions) while deregulating corporations
Eliminate programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start
There have also been policy proposals for head-of-household voting only. And you can buy Repeal the 19th Amendment merchandise online. These are not to be taken lightly. All have a significant impact on women, especially lower-income and minority women.
We must raise our voices for “liberty and justice for all” on a national scale. And in New York State this November, voters have the opportunity to approve Proposition 1, the NY ERA, to codify not only reproductive rights but the civil rights of all marginalized groups.
We have waited long enough for justice. Women’s Equality Day, August 26 as designated by President Nixon, has remained a token gesture because there’s no political will to align women’s rights with the rights of men. And now, there are political agendas that would roll back women’s rights even more. Let us remember that women were once classified as “property” in this nation. We didn’t fight this hard for this long to be treated as objects again. We encourage you to vote YES on Proposition 1. And continue to fight for liberty and justice for all. It’s what every American deserves.
Linda McKenney, Co-President, Saratoga County LWV, Gansevoort
Ann Marie Pendergast,Co-President, Saratoga County LWV, Greenfield Center
MaryKate Owens, President, Albany County LWV. Albany
Tiffani T. Silverman, President, Rensselaer County LWV, Troy
Cheryl Nechamen, President, Schenectady County LWV, Schenectady
Submitted by Joanna Lasher, LWVSC Environment Chair
August 5, 2024
According to the Congressional Research Service, “The Farm Bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policy makers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues. In addition to developing and enacting farm legislation, Congress is involved in overseeing its implementation. The farm bill typically is renewed about every five years. Since the 1930s, Congress has enacted about 18 farm bills.” The budget projections for the 10 years for the 2018 farm bill was $867 billion. (Farm Bill Primer, Updated February 29, 2024.)
The massive sum of $867 billion and its impact through 12 categories of programs which affect the nation’s agriculture and food chain make it immediately obvious why there is a lot of controversy among legislators and their constituents over how the money will be spent.
The first is big agriculture, a small group of corporations who have controlled our food supply from farm to the marketplace, (including their army of paid lobbyists) who have been, by far, the primary beneficiaries of these funds. It has been felt that this was the cheapest, most efficient way to feed a large population. However, their use of chemical fertilizers poisons the water and the pollinators in addition to other wildlife and endangers our health. The practice of planting a very narrow list of engineered crops which use up the nutrients in the soil is unsustainable.
The second are the small to medium size family farms represented by a non profit organization called Farm Aid: www.farmaid.org. They are very concerned about corporate power in agriculture,
“Their unbridled power grants them increasing political influence over the rules that govern our food system and allows them to manipulate the marketplace—pushing down the prices paid to family farmers and driving them out of business.
“ For eaters, extreme consolidation leaves fewer choices in the grocery aisle and higher prices, while corporate-written policies are sparking growing food safety concerns and less transparency in the marketplace.
“ In sum, our corporate controlled food system damages rural communities, local economies, public health and the soil and water needed to sustain food production….
(Corporate Power, Farm Aid Archives, p. 2)
What Farm Aid wants in the 2023 Farm Bill
They support a Farm Bill that:
“Endorses policy platforms of our partners including National Sustainable Agricultural Coalition (PDF), RAFI, National Family Farm Coalition (PDF), RAFI National Family Farm Coalition (PDF) and others….”
They support a Farm Bill that:
“Addresses the economic crisis of family farms…
Reforms our industrialized agricultural system…
Addresses the corporate monopolies that dominate our food system…
Protects our soil and water and addresses the existential threat of climate change…”
(What Farm Aid Wants in the 2023 Farm Bill, https://www.farmaid.org/issues/farm-policy/what-farm-aid-wants-in-the-2023-farm-bill/ through investing in organic agriculture funding and research, increasing the funding of conservation programs, expanding programs that incentivize climate mitigation practices and prioritizing climate change, soil health and regenerative agricultural research. p. 1 of 9)
The farm industry most impacted in New York State is Dairy. Dairy Farms in America have gone from 460,000 in 1970 t0 28,000 in 1922 (USDA Milk Production Report, May 2023) The cost of production for farmers has risen due largely to the increase of input costs like fuel and feed, while the value of U. S. milk has been kept artificially low so that it can compete as an export on the global market (“U.S. dairy policies drive small farms to ‘get big or get out’ as monopolies get rich,” The Guardian, January 2023 ).
The result is that the average U.S. dairy farm has been in the black only twice since 2000, while profits of dairy cooperatives, export companies, and dairy lobbyists have ballooned (“Economic Costs of Food Monopolies: The Dirty Dairy Racket,” Food and Water Watch, 2023).
This is important to New Yorkers because it impacts food security and impacts the rural economy, not only through the farms themselves, but all the local businesses that service them in our region. Dairy farms are stewards of about 17.4 thousand acres of the land in our state, according to the 2017 census, and today large industrial farms pollute more and emit more greenhouse gases than family run operations because of the way they operate and process their waste. (“Dairy Decline: The Harsh Reality for Farmers and What We Can Do About it,” Farmaid.org 2023)
The third are the non-profit environmental groups. The leading one lobbying for goals in this Bill appears to be the Natural Resources Defense Council based in New York City, but with offices around the country and internationally. They have about 2 million members and a staff of about 500 lawyers, scientists and policy experts.
Their website (www.nrdc.org) lists the following priorities:
1. Reducing barriers to organic agriculture
2. Reducing food waste across the food system
3. Incentivizing cover crops to boost healthy soils
4, Extending and expanding support for healthy soil practices
5. Expanding access to clean energy
6. Providing support for effective rural sanitation
7. Building food systems and advancing equity
“Additional Considerations
Defending against policy riders and attacks that undermine protections for public health and and environment and make it harder for farmers to put food on the table….
(NRDC Fact Sheet 2023 Farm Bill Priorities)
NRDC also strongly opposes any provisions that threaten to slash critical investments made in the 117th Congress dedicated to supporting climate-smart agricultural policies that will help protect the livelihoods of farmers and producers and secure a safe, reliable food supply in the face of a changing climate. (Fact Sheet 2023 Bill Priorities, pp 1-2.)
The last Farm Bill (2018) expired in 2023. The controversy over the broad goals and objectives of this Farm Bill have continued into 2024 with many divisions, often along party lines, delaying renewal.
Barbara Thomas, who had been president or co-president of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County for 20 years, was honored with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award and recognized for a lifetime of activism on behalf of equality, the environment and other social justice issues. The Starbuck award is named for a prominent Saratoga Springs suffragist. Below are the remarks of Patricia Nugent, another past president of LWV Saratoga, introducing Barb at the awards luncheon on June 23, 2024..
Gideon Putnam Hotel, Sunday, June 23, 2024
Thank you. It’s a true privilege and a pleasure to be introducing Barbara Thomas today. She’s always had my admiration, and I’m happy to publicly share the reasons for that. Thank you for the opportunity.
The timing of this event is good, even though a few of us arrived back from NYC around 11:00 last night. Our League of Women Voters took a busload to Broadway to attend the musical SUFFS about the courageous women who led the women’s equality movement in the early 1900s. The theater yesterday – and I hear this is true every day - was filled with sobbing women; women who are so tired of being marginalized and minimized as they continue to fight for equality in our current culture. So, celebrating Kathryn Starbuck’s legacy today is the perfect follow-up for remembering our own power. As is honoring my friend and colleague, Barb.
I’m going to take you way back - to the dark ages (no, that’s not when Barb was born) – take you to that dangerous era when we used to answer the telephone without knowing who was on the other end. (To remind you, phones also had cords that were attached to walls, not attached to people!) I can tell you from personal experience that there was nothing worse than saying “Hello” and hearing, “Oh, hi, Pat. It’s Barb Thomas.” (I worked on that imitation – I want you to appreciate that!) It was bad to hear her voice because Barb always had a knack for matching people’s interests with organizational needs. It’s not only hard to personally turn her down; it’s hard for chronic activists, like me, to decline the well-suited opportunity to make a difference that she offers others.
Because that’s what Barb has been known for in Saratoga County and beyond for more than half a century: Taking action on issues that impact the quality of life for every American. The League of Women Voters, with which much of Barb’s activism is closely associated, advocates and lobbies for fair and equal representation in our democracy, and now, even more so, protection of that democracy. We are a nonpartisan, yet political organization that studies issues, seeks consensus from diverse stakeholders, and then promotes a position – not a party or a candidate, but a position. For that reason, we’re in the unenviable position of offending either major political party at any given point in time. And we have. And we will. But in this hyper-partisan political climate, it gives the League the opportunity to come down on the side of how a representative democracy should always function no matter who’s in charge.
When Barb stepped down as our LWV president in 2011, after 20 consecutive years (who does that?), I had the terrifying honor of stepping into the role. To step into her little tiny shoes that were so huge to fill. I don’t know how she did it so well for so long - with a family, including four sons! I was exhausted after two years and, like LBJ, did not seek a second term. At various junctures, we’ve had as many as four people serving as a steering committee to do the job that Barb did single-handedly for 20 years! As a League president, you have many stakeholders who are passionate and not shy about expressing their views. I suspect this group knows a little something about that dynamic.
Part of why it’s hard for anyone to fill Barb’s shoes is that she not only carries passion for diverse social issues from climate change to gun safety, she also has the increasingly-rare tendency to speak in terms of facts and data. She can rattle off the reasons for League positions without notes. Some of us go on instinct as to what feels right; Barb remembers the nuts and bolts, and can clearly articulate them. She doesn’t mince words – she’s a straight talker. If she thinks you’re wrong, she’ll tell you. (Her kids can probably attest to that.) For these reasons and more, she’s also been a valuable League leader at the state level for decades. She is a treasured resource in many circles.
Barb is small but mighty. She puts her money where her mouth is. She walks the talk. She’s a generous donor to the League and beyond. She and her late husband Bob donated 13 acres of their personal property to Saratoga Plan to help preserve public access to Kayaderosseras Creek in West Milton and protect it from development. (Again, who does that?) She also self-funded an annual celebration of Roe to remind us of the importance of that victory to women’s lives. Little did we know the peril we’d be in today. I’m so glad Sasha will be speaking more about that shortly.
Barb’s current mission is to advocate for the right to die peacefully, without undue suffering. She lobbies the NYS Legislature to advance the legalization of medical aid in dying. I’m told everyone who passes her in the hall knows her by name.
I’ve said to her (somewhat seriously), “Barb, you can’t ever die!” to which she calmly replies, “Well, I have to someday.” I’m not convinced…she’s already conquered a couple serious diagnoses. But when that time comes, my world will be smaller and scarier. But certainly better because she was here.
When we recognized her on the bus yesterday for the honor you are bestowing today, she said, “The best way to honor me is to continue the work.” We must all continue the work.
So, I celebrate her today with all my heart. I’m grateful I have a Barbara Thomas in my life. And grateful to this committee for honoring her today. Thank you.
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See the Daily Gazette article on June 21, 2024 about Barbara Thomas’s 50 plus years of activism:
”Walking the walk: Community activist Barbara Thomas still striving toward equality: Schuylerville resident will be honored this weekend with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award “
