By Pam Smith for Gainesville Women for Harris
The history of women in Gainesville opposing the establishment goes back as long as Gainesville itself has existed.
Gainesville Women for Harris is just one of several groups that are working right now. As soon as Kamala Harris was designated the Democratic candidate, a Facebook group formed called Florida Women for Harris.
It took off like wildfire. Within one week, it was obvious that Gainesville had a strong presence in this statewide pop-up organization. Julie Thaler and I looked at those numbers and said “We need to establish a Gainesville chapter that has its own Facebook page so that we can organize local actions.”
That chapter now has 1300+ members, 165 of them joining in the past week. We have partnered with Gainesville Indivisible, Moms Demand Action, and the local Democratic Party. So far, we have acted as a funnel to get folks to do canvassing with the Dems, postcard writing with Indivisible, and ballot curing with the Statewide Dems.
In addition, we gather women and men to do a WAVE action every Saturday morning from 10 to 11am until the election. We have made a lot of signs so that people can just show up and they’ll have a sign to wave.
We go to a different location every week. Our “brand” is to keep the atmosphere very positive — the Trumpers who go by and give us the finger get a thumbs up and a smile in return. We also sponsored a party at Cypress and Grove brewery to watch Kamala’s speech at the Democratic Convention. Over 100 folks came to that. On Sept. 10, we are sponsoring a party at Heartwood Soundstage to watch the debate. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have set the tone to attract people to come toward them. We’re consciously following that lead. That’s fairly easy to do given the negativity coming from the other side.
This method of countering negative energy with positive energy comes out of the 20th century nonviolence movements, particularly from India with Mahatma Gandhi and then from the US South with Dr. Martin Luther King. Both of those movements met true deadly actions toward them with peace. We only have to counter hostile yells and gestures with our peace.
Our group is standing on the shoulders of over 65 years of the modern Women’s Movement in Gainesville. In 1963, Beverly Jones co-founded Gainesville Women for Equal Rights which was founded to end segregation in Gainesville. They met upstairs in downtown with low lights because it was illegal for whites and blacks to meet together.
The women who worked in Civil Rights here gradually became aware of their 2nd class status in that movement — always secretaries, never featured speakers. Along with four other cities, the Gainesville women founded Women’s Liberation consciousness groups.
Yes, it is true that Gainesville was one of only five cities where the modern Women’s Liberation movement began. In 1970, Carol Hanish of Gainesville authored “The Personal is Political.” It became a founding document for the fledgling movement. In 1974, right after Roe vs. Wade was passed by the US Supreme Court, four local women founded the Gainesville Women’s Health Center to offer well women gynecological care including first trimester abortions. I worked there from the beginning until 1983.
In 1978, the same women started the Birth Place to give families a chance to have a baby in a homey setting instead of a sterile hospital. Gainesville still has a Women’s Liberation group. It was instrumental in getting Amendment 4, legalizing abortion up to the viability of the fetus, on the ballot in November. We hope everyone votes Yes on Amendment 4.
From that time in the 1960s, Gainesville has become a haven for folks on the left of center. We’re known all over the state for our vibrant music scene and for always being one of the blue spots in what has become a red state. We have strong hopes for flipping this state from red to blue in this election. But we need everyone to register to vote and then to vote BLUE. If you are inclined toward us, get a Facebook account and then ask to join Gainesville Women for Harris. In this way, you will always know where the next WAVE is going to be. You’ll also have an easy way to sign up for other helpful actions to get Kamala Harris elected as the first woman President of the United States. And you’re going to love the others who are working on this campaign.
We are jazzed. We feel our power and potency. We are joining with people all over the country who are doing the same types of organizing. Our whole team looks forward to meeting you. You can write to acupam45@gmail.com with any questions. See you at the ballot box!